Power-Assisted Writing for Science (PAWS)

Teacher Guide

Developed byCaryl Hitchcock and Cheryl Corbiell

Power 8

Pick a topic/ideaPicture organizerOutline OrganizeWrite wordsWrite sentencesEvaluate and editRevise and publish

TEACHING Exceptional Children, Vol. 46, No. 1. Copyright 2013 CEC. May be reproduced for educational use only.

Resources

Computer Software

The Power-Assisted Writing for Science (PAWS) process uses computer presentation software (e.g., Powerpoint, Keynote) to assist students with the writing process. Presentation software has the features of word processing, handles graphics, features drag-and-drop flexibility and stop-and-start voice recording, and can be shared with others using a variety of formats. Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows and Mac has built-in voice recording. Other presentation software, such as Open Office and Google Docs Presentation, don’t have built-in voice recording; with these programs, use plug-in software for voice recording.

As tablets such as Apple’s iPad become more widespread in education settings, availability of similar apps should increase; at present, Apple’s Keynote app, among others (Documents to Go, QuickOffice Pro), can import PowerPoint documents for editing, although not all apps offer the same features as in PowerPoint and often formatting is lost. There are also options for creating and editing PowerPoint in “the cloud” (for more on this, see MacWorld’s article, “Run Office on Your iPad”). In June 2013, Microsoft released Office for iPhone, so Office for iPad should not be far behind.

This Guide provides instructions for the PAWS process using PowerPoint software for Windows and Mac.

Picture Sets

Select 9 to 12 digital images to represent the required parts of the essay; place in a Word file and label each with the corresponding essay heading using text boxes. (This also can be done in Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, or iPhoto.) For more information on adding text to images in Word, see this Microsoft Office web page.

(Once they are familiar with the PAWS process, students may want to use pictures that they draw themselves and scan, take with a digital camera, or download from age-appropriate Internet sources.)

Copy or print sufficient paper copies for each student or team. Place in small zip-top plastic bags or envelopes to keep the picture sets together.

Sample picture set for Atoms unit

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Computer Templates

To create the PowerPoint template for students to use, open PowerPoint and insert the pictures into the slides, either using drag and drop or the Insert > Photo or Clip Art > From File). Once all the pictures are in PowerPoint, choose Save as… to create a PowerPoint template (pull-down window for Format; .pot or .potx instead of .ppt or .pptx). Then copy the template to each student’s computer file, or place in a central location for students to access.

(For more information on creating a PowerPoint template, see this Microsoft Office web page.)

It is recommended that you model the PAWS process for the class when implementing; that is, model each step of the PAWS process while reinforcing the POWER 8 mnemonic.

When introducing PAWS to the class, tell them the location of the template file and the version of PowerPoint used by your school; students should record this information in their Student Guide.

PAWS Process Using POWER 8

Students Arrange the Pictures

Using the picture sets, students arrange the pictures in the order they feel is logical. It can be helpful for students to discuss in pairs their order, and if they differ to discuss why. (Some headings have a specific order such as Introduction, but other headings can be in a different order depending on the content.)

When they have established the desired order, students paste their pictures into the picture organizer (left column) on the POWER 8 Planner.

Students Research and Create Outline/Plan

Once students have completed their research for the essay, they write key words for a recommended number of points (3–5) for each

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heading in the cognitive map on the Planner (middle column). Encouraging students to write key words as opposed to full sentences helps to prevent plagiarism; in the next step, when they “flesh out” their notes, it will promote the use of their own words rather than the source text.

Students Write Paragraphs

Students draft a paragraph (right column of the POWER 8 Planner) using the information they gathered and recorded on the cognitive map for each heading. Teachers may provide a further scaffold here by using structured sentences (fill-in-the-blank) or word banks, or by providing a topic sentence and asking students to write two additional supporting sentences.

Before moving on to the next step, students should refer to the POWER 8 Rubric (modified as needed) to ensure they have included the traits for a good paragraph.

Students Type Paragraphs

Students open the PAWS template and Save as… to create a new document with their name and the essay number, or whatever style is commonly used in your classroom. Students also can review the order of slides and reorder them (in sorter view, drag and drop slides into any order).

When they are ready to write, students click in the text box on the right of the slide page and type the paragraph. Continue for each slide/heading.

Students should visually check their writing for grammar and spelling errors.

Note: If time allows, encourage students to back up their saved work onto a flash drive (USB), the computer, or to the cloud. Backing up after each work session will ensure the most recent essay version exists elsewhere.

Students Audio Record Each Slide

Audio recording affords students an opportunity to listen to the words they’ve written and correct grammar, spelling, and word usage. Students can change the order after recording, and can re-record narration as needed. A text-to-speech tool (part of the Mac operating

Slide Sorter view

Slide iconsOffice for Mac

2011

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system, or available as add-on software; see CNET for a list of programs that work with Windows and How-to Geek’s review of programs and online tools) can be used as an alternative.

For Office for Mac, users either Insert audio or sound (from the menu bar) or (in the newest version) click on the “add Media” icon. Both of these approaches open a new window in which the user records voice-over narration.

For Windows, students select Slide Show > Record Narration. Note that “Telephone Quality” provides the best sound (if this is not selected, click on Change Quality).

The University of Pennsylvania has developed a detailed tutorial on recording narration in PowerPoint, which includes links to Microsoft resource pages and a demonstration PowerPoint that can be downloaded. Also see Microsoft’s overview of adding narration to presentations.

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Students Review and Edit Presentation

Students select View > Play Slide Show to watch and listen to their reports. Encourage students to edit and rework their presentations.

If there is time, students can polish their PAWS reports further by inserting transitions between the slides, changing the slide background, inserting other pictures (clip art, image from a web page, a scanned image, or a new digital photo), or adding audio (e.g., music, sound effects).

Assess Student Writing and Monitor Progress

Students self-assess by completing a POWER 8 CBM Assessment, rating their work on each of the eight POWER 8 rubric items on a scale of 1 to 5. The teacher should also complete the CBM assessment, on the same form.

Once the presentations and assessment process is complete, students record the information on a graph, which will enable progress monitoring. This can be done either using a blank reproduced POWER 8 graph sheet (part of the CBM assessment document), or by using the POWER 8 Graphing Tool (in Excel). If using the Graphing Tool, the teacher will need to create an individual Excel file.

Review the results individually with students (referencing the POWER 8 Rubric) and set goals for the next report.

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