what is the changing nature of the writing process?

WHAT IS THE CHANGING NATURE OF THE

WRITING PROCESS?

Benedictine University 1Unless stated otherwise the content of this section is based on Chapter 13 – Gunning, T.G. (2010) Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties. Boston, MA.: Pearson, Education, Inc.

Changing Nature of the Writing Process

• Inexperienced writers: – Use a knowledge-telling process; employing a “what’s

next approach” similar to telling a story orally• Experienced writers:

– Begin to transform knowledge– Begin to develop and revise their thoughts

• Most experienced writers:– Recognize that writing affects thinking and thinking affects

writing• To help students get to the ‘experienced’ state, we must

require students to move beyond retelling or summarizing to more complex tasks like comparing, contrasting and evaluating

Benedictine University 2

The Writing Process: Prewriting• Prewriting: What a writer does to prepare for writing

– Topic Selection• Often, struggling writers struggle to get started• Model this process by giving pros and cons for each topic

– Planning: Gather and organize information• This is a crucial step, particularly for under-achieving writers• Model using organizers or drawing to help them build strategies they can use to plan

– Brainstorming• Coming up with as many ideas as you can

– Rehearsal• Mentally composing a piece before writing

– Audience• Considering for whom the piece is intended • Novice writers often struggle with this because they think that if they

understand what they write, anyone who reads it should understand it too

Writing Conferences• Meetings between a student and the teacher (or another

student or adult) for the purpose of discussing the student’s writing

• Conferences should occur throughout the entire writing process, not at the end when the piece of writing is completed

• Tips on conferring:– Conferences do not have to be lengthy; you may focus on one issue

at a time– Have mentor texts on hand to reference in order to show students

good writing that they can emulate• Interested in learning more about conferring with student

writers? – Check out How’s It Going? by Carl Anderson


The Writing Process: Composing• Composing: The act of writing

– Types of questions that can be asked during a ‘writing conference’ are: Opening Question: Simple ice-breakers to start the flow

of the conference “How’s it going?”

Following Question: Maintain the flow of the conference “How is your plan working for you?”

Process Question: To help evaluate where the student is in the writing process “What do you think you will do next?”


The Writing Process: Revising• Revising: Writer reviews what has been written

and makes changes to contentand expression– Taking a fresh look at what has been written by

asking questions to clarify• For sample revision questions, see page 461 in Assessing

and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties – Modeling is also a key strategy at this stage– Revising should be cumulative; once a revising

strategy is mastered, introduce a second


The Writing Process: Editing• Editing: Making corrections to a written piece

– Look for error patterns• This will inform your instruction

– Devise skill lessons • Teach whole group or small group lessons on a regular basis, based on

what the students need• Instruct on an “as-needed” basis informally, during conferences

– Checklists can help focus students• See sample editing checklist on page 464 of Assessing and Correcting

Reading and Writing Difficulties– You may choose to focus on one or two areas of concern,

especially for struggling writers – All errors may be corrected, especially when publishing

piecesBenedictine University 7

The Writing Process: Publishing• Publishing: Students share their writing in

some way– Writing real pieces for real audiences is essential in

the writing process• Writing contests• Letters to our troops• School newspaper or literary magazine

– Helps focus students’ ability to write with respect to audience and purpose

– Invites feedback


WHAT ARE VARIOUS WRITING STRATEGIES AND WRITING

PROGRAMS THAT CAN BE USED WITH STUDENTS?


Guided Writing• Some skills need to be taught to the whole class, but many

students have specific needs that can be addressed in small group instruction. For example:

– Topic development– Awareness of audience– Use of language (sentence structure and word choice)– Use of mechanics

• Students can be grouped by writing level, strategy focus, or process focus, but groups should be flexible, not fixed

– Writing level can be determined by analyzing written pieces and considering a variety of other writing elements

See Figure 13.2 on page 466 of Assessing and Correcting Reading and Writing Difficulties

– Teacher can meet with one or two groups per day• Modeling

– Share your own writing and “think aloud” about the processBenedictine University 10

Strategic Writing Instruction• Can be implemented within a guided writing setting• Steps of Strategic Writing Instruction (Collins 1998):

– Introduce a strategy worth teaching• Examine students’ writing, confer with students,

and note their struggles– Begin by modeling the strategy– Help students try out the strategy with workshop-style

teacher guidance• As students use the strategy, make necessary adaptations to

personalize the strategy to make it work for them– Help the students work toward independent mastery of the

strategy through repeated practice and reinforcement


Rubrics• Rubrics can be used to determine what skills should be

taught during Strategic Writing Instruction, outlined on the previous slide

• Rubrics have the power to improve instruction– Rubrics should:

• Be concise• Encompass a teachable skill• Be clear and easy to use

• Rubrics and other feedback forms can also be used to aid conferring, outlined on Slide 11


What is a Writing Workshop?• A workshop atmosphere, in which students are often

allowed to write about topics and genres that they choose, within certain limitations

• The process of writing is emphasized• Writing Workshop typically includes:

– Whole-class instruction (mini-lessons)– Guided writing – Time to write while individual and small-group

conferences are held – Sharing time


What are the Benefits of Writing Workshop?

• Instruction can be differentiated • Element of choice increases student

motivation• Students evaluate writing multiple times• Students are encouraged to confer with peers • Students work on specific skills within

authentic writing

Adapted from: Lessons That Change Writers by Nancie Atwell


Conditions of a Writing Workshop• A Predictable Structure • Regular Time • Choice • Workmanlike Atmosphere • Response during Writing • Mini-lessons • Modeling/Demonstrations



Hints for Making Writing Workshop Work

• Front-load the curriculum with important “craft” mini lessons at the beginning of the year:

– The Rule of “So What?” – Everything you write should have a theme, a reason that it is written

– The Rule of “Thoughts and Feelings” – If you are bored while reading your paper, trust your instincts; you need to add thoughts and feelings to give your reader an “in”

– The Rule of “Write About a Pebble” – Don’t write about a general idea or topic; write about a specific, observable person, place, occasion, time, object, animal, or experience

• Set up a routine that students can follow• Visit students randomly during writing workshop, so they

never know when you might drop in to see them



6+1 Traits of Writing: A Common Language for Writing Instruction

• Ideas– The main message

• Organization– The internal structure of the piece

• Voice– The personal tone and flavor of the author's message

• Word Choice– The vocabulary a writer chooses to convey meaning

• Sentence Fluency– The rhythm and flow of the language

• Conventions– The mechanical correctness

• Presentation (the “+1”)– How the writing actually looks on the page

Web Source: http://educationnorthwest.org/resource/503


http://educationnorthwest.org/resource/503

Interested in Learning More about the 6+1 Traits of Writing?

Here are some resources to check out:• Education Northwest [Click on the link to learn more]

– Formerly known as the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory, this group pioneered the use of 6+1 Traits

• Creating Writers Through 6-Trait Writing Assessment and Instruction by Vicki Spandel

• 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide (Grades 3 and Up) by Ruth Culham

• 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide for the Primary Grades by Ruth Culham


http://educationnorthwest.org/traits

WHAT ARE THE TECHNIQUES FOR

MOTIVATING RELUCTANT WRITERS?


Motivating Reluctant Writers• Writing Aloud

– Teacher and the student create an experience story together, while teachers scribes the story

• Written Conversation– Teacher and student talk to each other on paper– This focuses the writing at the student’s level of reading and writing proficiency– Good writing is being modeled by the teacher

• Journal Writing– Daily record of events, thoughts, ideas, or feelings

• Quick-writes– Informal, brief response to text (usually 10 minutes or less)– One-draft paper to express an opinion, react to a topic introduced in a content

area, respond to an idea or question, etc.– Designed to foster writing fluency, not assess the mechanics or writing


Writing Instruction for ELL Students

• ELL students tend to be limited in:—Vocabulary—Knowledge of grammatical structure—Experience with organizational patterns

• As-needed instruction is important:– Before writing a sequence piece, introduce words

that signal sequence– Before writing a “how-to” piece, introduce words

that explain


Interested in Learning More About Teaching Writing?

• You might want to look at these resources:– Lessons that Change Writers by Nancie Atwell– Wonderous Words and Study Driven by Katie

Wood Ray– Teaching Adolescent Writers by Kelly Gallagher– 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide (Grades

3 and Up) and 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide for the Primary Grades by Ruth Culham


HOW DO YOU TEACH AND DEVELOP SPELLING?


Spelling• Spelling can present two issues for writers:

– If a student is spending excessive energy on trying to figure out how to spell words, he/she has less cognitive energy left for thinking about what she is writing

– If a student is ashamed of his/her spelling ability, the student may choose to only use words he/she can spell

• Correct spelling requires use of:– Phonological processes

• If child has difficulty with phonological processes, sounds may not be adequately represented in the mind’s ear

– Orthographic processes • If the child has difficulty with orthographic processes, letters representing sounds may not

be adequately represented in the mind’s eye, especially when these letters comprise irregular, infrequent, or complex spellings

– Spelling rules – Knowledge of roots, prefixes– Suffixes


Analyzing Spelling Errors• The answers to the following questions can help inform spelling

instruction:– Is the student able to use knowledge of sound-spelling

relationships to spell words?– Is the student applying spelling rules?– Is the student able to use orthographic knowledge or visual

sense to spell words that cannot be spelled strictly phonetically?

– Is the student able to use an analogy strategy to spell words?

– Is the student able to use morphemic analysis to spell words?

– Is the student able to use meaning clues?– Are some misspellings due to faulty handwriting?– Is the student making careless errors?


Teaching Spelling• Sorting exercises can be geared towards the

student’s level of spelling development• Help the students make meaningful

connections, especially with root words• Teach strategies for students to apply• Practice is key


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