Writing To Learn in the Elementary Grades Diane Henry Leipzig,
Ph.D. Fairfax County Public Schools SOL Institutes, Dulles, VA
October 16, 2014
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Objective Participants will experience the double benefit
gained from informal writing activities in elementary content area
lessons: They drive home the content that is taught They make daily
writing relevant, building a bridge between self-selected and
formal writing 2
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Driving Home the Content Edgar Dales classic cone-of-experience
model states that students retain: 10%-30% of the content they
hear, read, and see but that they retain: 70%-90% of the content
they write, say and do. 3
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Making Writing Relevant Digital writers are everywhere and so
are audiences. Self-sponsored writing = direct delivery Social
networking The Age of Composition We need new models of
composition, new curricula, and new models for teaching. Yancey, K.
B. (2009) Writing in the 21 st Century. NCTE. 4
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Meet Thomas, a Fifth Grade Writer AT SCHOOL: Reading Journal
Biographies Book reports Power Points Narrative essays Research
papers Writing prompts Persuasive essays AT HOME: Skype chats Team
speak Video game chats Comic strips Song parodies Music raps
Minecraft stories Youtube vids/comments 5 HOW DO THEY DIFFER? TURN
AND TALK
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Content-Area Writing: Every Teachers Guide By Daniels,
Zemelman, and Steineke (2007) Presents strategies for secondary
teachers to use writing in order to deepen content knowledge. Two
forms of writing: Writing to Learn (informal, quick assignments)
Public Writing (formal, edited pieces) TODAY: I will present
Writing to Learn strategies modified to use with elementary school
students. 6
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Why Writing to Learn ? More engaging; like self-selected
writing Little time needed Deepens content knowledge Sharpens
writing skills Prepares students to share with and learn content
from each other Provides immediate assessment information to
teacher 7
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Why Writing to Learn in Elementary? TIME: What gets tested gets
taught: reading and math. Writing and content squeezed out.
ENGAGEMENT: Our students are writing more out of school than ever
before. LEARNING: Content coverage is vast; little is retained from
one year to the next. 8
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Writing SOLs Addressed (Grades 1-2) The student will write to
communicate ideas for a variety of purposes (1.13, 2,12), such as:
1.13b Focus on one topic 1.13g Share writing with others 2.12c
Expand writing to include descriptive detail 9
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Writing SOLs Addressed (Grades 3-4) The student will write
(cohesively 4.7) for a variety of purposes (3.9), such as: 3.9d
Write a paragraph on the same topic 4.7b Focus on one aspect of a
topic 3.9e/4.7e Use strategies for organization and elaboration
according to the type of writing 10
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Writing SOLs Addressed (Grades 3-6) The student will write for
a variety of purposes (3.9, 4.7): to describe, to inform, to
entertain, to explain and to persuade 5.7, 6.7): 3.9a/4.7a/5.7a
Identify audience (and purpose 6.7a) 3.9f/4.7k/5.7i/ Include
details that elaborate the main idea 3.9g/4.7j/5.7h/6.7i Revise
writing for clarity of content using specific vocabulary and
information 11
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1. Writing Break: What it is At specific (pre-planned) points
during lesson, students stop and reflect for 1-2 minutes on
information theyve heard/seen Prompts can be general or
content-specific Use every 10 minutes for new content Followed by
quick sharing with pairs (ex. trade papers, comment on each other,
some pairs share with large group) 12
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1. Writing Break: You Try (6 th gr. S.S.) 13 What does this
political cartoon suggest about The Articles of Confederation, and
why?
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2. Exit Slip: What it is 14 Save final 2-3 minutes of content
block to jot a response to the days lesson Prompts are open-ended
Notes are used as diagnostic assessment Can be used to address
processes or content Helps inform next days lesson May read select
(anonymous) comments next day
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2. Exit Slip: You Try (4 th gr. S.S.) What did you learn about
Jamestown? 15
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3. Admit Slip: What it is A homework assignment to prepare for
next days lesson Asks students to reflect on content read, seen, or
heard in class the day before Teacher selects a few slips (or
volunteers to read own slips) to kick off lesson, or uses all slips
as an activator/greeting Start-up Writes: Rather than HW, have all
students jot down a reflection in class before lesson begins
16
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3. Admit Slip: You Try (1 st gr. S.S.) 17 We will learn more
about George Washington tomorrow. Talk about him with your family.
Write or draw something you learned about him.
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4. Brainstorming: What it is Brain dump of everything that
comes to mind when presented with a prompt No concern for accuracy
or form: goal is quantity over quality Can be used at any point
during a lesson, to activate prior knowledge or review information
Combine to create class list Return to list to correct
misconceptions 18
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4. Brainstorming: You Try (2 nd gr. Science) 19 Write down
every object you can think of that is attracted by magnets. Be
creative!
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5. Drawing and Illustrating: What it is A quickly drawn graphic
or diagram (sometimes with words) to represent ideas or how ideas
relate to one another Helps students process complex ideas by
capturing it in a different mode Whole class drawing can be used to
correct individual misconceptions Important that drawing is
constructed, not copied: dont choose a drawing familiar to all
20
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5. Drawing and Illustrating: You Try (3 rd gr. Science) Draw a
picture that helps you remember the names for the four types of
measurement: length, volume, mass, and temperature. 21
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6. Clustering: What it is Introduced by Gabriele Rico in
Writing the Natural Way (1983) a.k.a. concept mapping Non-linear
brainstorming process that shows the relationships among ideas or
concepts Key word in a center balloon; other concepts drawn in
balloons connected to center showing how they are related to each
other and to the center word 22
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6. Clustering: You Try (5 th gr. Science) Place the word CELLS
in the center of your cluster, and draw as many words and concepts
that relate to it (and to each other) as you can. 23
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7. Mapping: What it is Visual arrangement of groups of ideas
designed to show relationships among them Mind maps can mean common
graphic organizers (ex. Venn Diagrams, flowcharts, etc.) Mind maps
can be novel creations by students to show how ideas relate Text
structures can help dictate appropriate maps (linear vs. cyclical,
etc.) 24
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7. Mapping: You Try (4 th gr. Math) Construct a Venn Diagram to
show the relationships between fractions and decimals. 25
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Do You Remember? 1.A weakness of the Articles of Confederation?
2.A drawback to Jamestowns location? 3.A new fact about George
Washington? 4.An object attracted by magnets? 5.The four forms of
measurement? 6.A part of a cell you thought youd forgotten? 7.A
similarity between fractions and decimals? 8.Andthe two benefits of
Writing to Learn? 26
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Reflections: An Exit Slip! 27 3 things you learned today 2
things you want to try 1 question you still have
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Questions? 28
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Bibliography Daniels, H., Zemelman, S., & Steineke, N.
(2007). Content-Area Writing: Every Teachers Guide. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann. Yancey, K. B. (2009). Writing in the 21 st Century.
Urbana, IL: National Council for Teachers of English. 29
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Disclaimer Reference within this presentation to any specific
commercial or non-commercial product, process, or service by trade
name, trademark, manufacturer or otherwise does not constitute or
imply an endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the Virginia
Department of Education.
