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Reading Rockets

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Learning to write is a challenging task. Students need to balance purpose, audience, ideas and organization with the mechanics of writing (sentence structure, word choice, spelling). They also need to learn the importance of editing and revising. That's a lot to think about! That's why it's so important for kids to start writing as early as possible - beginning in preschool with simple marks on a page. In the early elementary grades, a good writing curriculum introduces children to different genres - descriptive, informative, narrative and persuasive writing - throughout the school year.

In these video segments, you'll meet Shana Sterkin, a third grade teacher at Springhill Lake Elementary School in Greenbelt, Maryland. Sterkin brings her training with the National Writing Project into her classroom each day. It all begins with the understanding that they are a community of writers (including Miss Sterkin herself) and that the ultimate goal of writing is to share your ideas with others.

This web-based production is the newest episode of Launching Young Readers, WETA's award-winning series of innovative programs about how to help young children learn to read and write.

About the program

Students at Springhill Lake Elementary School in Greenbelt, MD, take environmental action! See the kids at work cleaning up their local stream and watch the newscast - written and produced by the students themselves. Helping Hands is the brainchild of our featured teacher, Shana Sterkin, who saw a great way to combine community action with real-world practice in research, writing and sharing what you've learned with a wider audience.

Meet the teacher

Third grade teacher Shana Sterkin talks about how she integrates writing into her class every day, the importance of sharing work, tips on building vocabulary, the role of iPads and other technology tools, what she's learned from her National Writing Project workshops and much more.

Transcript

A Room of Writers

Narrator: At Springhill Lake Elementary in Greenbelt, Maryland, a class of third graders is living in a real fantasy world.

Aracely: There's a big castle and you can hear birds singing and you can only drive limos.

Narrator: In actuality these students are getting a very grounded education in writing thanks to their teacher Ms. Sterkin.

Sterkin: It was little scary at first to teach writing because of all the different layers that go into writing. There's mechanics, and ideas, and purpose, and audience, and genre, and then on top of that, you want them to be able to express themselves in a really interesting way for their readers. But every single year, I learn something new to help them to just keep layering their skill level in writing.
: Ms. Sterkin set a solid base for this scaffolding by creating a classroom environment where writing is fully integrated into the day.
Graham: When you take a look at elementary schools and the state of writing instruction, there's two things that stand out. One, there's very little writing going on by kids. Second, there's very little instruction writing going on.

Sterkin: Okay, you can begin.

Narrator: Ms. Sterkin is determined to make sure her class is an exception. For example, to keep her students writing every day, Ms. Sterkin had each of them create a writers notebook. In it, they can brainstorm and draft ideas, which they can then share with the class.

Student: The house is red and white. Outside is quiet and peaceful.

Sterkin: The first week of school, we start with their own writer's notebooks. We talk about the kind of space they need as a writer. We talk about the tools. And we also give them a lot of time to share, so that they're comfortable sharing their writing and when it's time for them to go through the revision process, they know that they're able to share in a way that isn't really scary for them.

Sterkin: Yes. What are some things you like about Mohammed's details? What'd you like, Daira?

Daira: That it smells like strawberry and flowers.

Sterkin: Yeah. Wasn't that a really good detail. It really helped us visualize with our five senses what it's like there. Nina, what did you like about Mohammed's?

Nina: I like about Mohammed's that he kinda added a little bit part of poetry.

Narrator: And it's not just the students who take part.

Christian: Ms. Sterkin, would you like to share?

Sterkin: Yes, Christian, I'd love to, thanks.

Narrator: Writing teachers need to see themselves as writers too.

Rogers: Teachers of writing must write. You have to be confronting both the satisfactions and the challenges of the writers task and then modeling that for your students. Being willing to show them a piece of writing that you have to fix and revise. You can't just be one who assigns and grades.

Sterkin: Shimmering purple trails, led me to the journey to his kingdom. I might have to re-read that and make it sound a little better. With each step I took, purple sparkles swiftly scooted from beneath my feet. Swiftly scooted. That's right. And what is it when I add two words together with the same beginning sound?

Student: Alliteration!

Sterkin: Alliteration. Good job.

Narrator: Besides creating regular writing opportunities for students, this workshopping provides a chance for them to give and receive feedback effectively.

Sterkin: I think the students cheer for each other because we would cheer for them when they share their own writing. And when we start in the beginning of the year, we would specifically find examples in the students writing that they should be proud of. And then we would invite the other students and specifically ask them, "what are some things you noticed in this person's writing that you really think they did a great job on" and " what are some of the things that maybe you can suggest that would make it more interesting as a reader"?

Narrator: After Ms. Sterkin's class, these particular entries also acted as a pre-writing exercise for their unit on fairytales.

Sterkin: Okay, let's talk about what we're going to do today. Today we're going to start writing our fairytales. And before we write our fairytale, we're going to talk a little bit about what some really good writers do. We had some awesome examples of good writers in the last couple of days.

Narrator: Ms. Sterkin is referring to her use of mentor texts, which are pieces of writing whose idea, structure, or written craft can be used to inspire students own writing.

Sterkin: And we're also going to read a story today called Crickwing. And it's not a fairytale, but the author did something really special in that book that made the story sound exciting when we read it. And it helped us visualize what the characters in the story were doing. So we're going to see what special trick that author used and we're going to see if we can use it today in our fairytale writing too.

Hansen: The ideal way to look at the notion of mentor texts is that children, as readers, are noticing what they can use as writers., and finding mentor text that work for them.

Rogers: So it's not just saying here's a model text, everyone be Shakespeare. Here's the perfect text - imitate it.

Student: Vivid.

Sterkin: Vivid verbs. When something is vivid, it's really easy for us to see. So when we have a vivid verb, it's easy for us to visualize it in our head. And in this story, Janell Cannon used a lot of vivid verbs. Tons of vivid verbs. I don't think she used a whole lot of plain verbs. All of them are so easy for us to visualize in our head when we read her story. So, as we read, if you hear a vivid verb, I'd like you to hold up "V." What is "V" for?

Students: Vivid verbs.

Sterkin: "Far below the great forest canopy lies a shadowy world that many insects call home. Among the damp clutter of fallen leaves and branches, leaf-cutting ants toil all day while large cockroaches await their evening search for food." What did you hear? Nico, what did you hear?

Nico: Toil.

Sterkin: Toil. So if they're toiling, what are they doing?

Students: Working hard.

Sterkin: Working really hard. Yes. We toil all day. "Pow! Swoosh! A sharp-eyed monkey clobbered Crickwing and swiped his sculpture." What did we hear?

Students: Swiped.

Sterkin: Swiped. So if he swiped his sculpture, that means he did what?

Students: Took it.

Sterkin: He took it, but it didn't just say he took it. How did he do that?

Students: Swiped.

Sterkin: What does it look like if you swiped it? I see you're all moving with your arms very quickly. When you swipe something... She swiped it from me! Go ahead. Swipe it. She swiped the word swipe. Do it again so everybody can see. Swipe it. She did it fast. So we know that monkey was moving how?

Students: Fast.

Sterkin: Why do you think Jannell Cannon decided to use these special vivid verbs instead of plain old verbs?

Student: I think when she used vivid verbs, so her story, so it like, makes the story more interesting.

Sterkin: It sure does. Wasn't the story more interesting when we can visualize the special way the character moved or felt.

Students: Yes.

Sterkin: Yeah. And now, at this point, we're such good writers that we want our readers to be interested in the story just like you are interested in listening to Janell Cannon's story. So we're going to try to put some vivid verbs in our fairytales that we write today.

Narrator: Ms. Sterkin follows up the whole class work with more explicit instruction, in small groups. This gives Ms. Sterkin a chance to assess the students' understanding of vivid verbs, while the students get a chance to practice with the text in a more intimate setting.

Sterkin: "I can't do this, Eartha blurted as last." If you blurt something out, what does it sound like?

Student: I can't do this anymore! That's exactly why I visualized that.

Sterkin: Perfect. If I say, in the classroom, Tylere blurted out the answer, what does it mean?

Student: Shout.

Student: Two!

Sterkin: What do you think?

Student: He just screams it out.

Sterkin: He just screams it out. So if Eartha blurted out "I can't do this anymore," what does she do?

Students: I can't do this anymore!

Student: Like...just talk, talk.

Sterkin: Do you want me to keep talking? Are you the director now? Okay. So we're talking about the word...

Student: Stop!

Sterkin: Ah! So, she blurts it, like and interruption.

Student: Yeah.

Sterkin: Good thinking. So, if she had just used the word "said" in the story, we would no visualize that she interrupted, but since she used that word "blurted"...That was a perfect reenactment of the word "blurted." She interrupted us. I'd like you to read the rest of it by yourself. And I'd like you to find your vivid verbs just like we did together, and circle them, or you could put "VV's" on them. And then I'd like you to find one that you think is a really beautiful example of how that vivid verb helped you make an inference about the character.

Narrator: Ms. Sterkin is giving the students multiple chances to work with this new material and varying her lessons between whole class, small groups, and individual instruction.

Sterkin: Did you find the one that you really feel like was a good example of a vivid verb?

Student: Quavered.

Sterkin: Quavered. You like that? So why do you like that one?

Student: Because, it's like "shuttered." And then this one is almost like this one.

Sterkin: So, what does it help you infer about that character?

Student: Maybe this one was nervous, maybe he's nervous.

Sterkin: Mmm hmm. Yeah. Did they have something to be nervous about?
Student: Yeah.

Sterkin: Yeah, they do. So it's a great way to help us visualize how the characters are feeling without just saying they felt nervous. It doesn't even say the word nervous in there does it? But because she used special words, we can make these inferences by ourself, as a reader.

Narrator: For Ms. Sterkin, success with writing means creating a respectful community of writers.

Sterkin: I make sure I take the time to listen to listen to their concerns and make sure that, they feel like when I'm talking to them about their work that I'm not really criticizing what they're doing, but that I'm there to help them. That we're here to help each other. I learn from their ideas. I can take what they're doing and share it with the rest of the class because they might have an idea that's better than mine. And to do that frequently, so they know that this is just not, like, a one woman show in my classroom. We're all learning together and helping each other.

Student: It doesn't have "they lived happily ever after."

Sterkin: Classic fairytale line, right? Yep. Let's see.

Digital Tools for Young Writers
Narrator: Today, writing doesn't have to mean putting pen to paper
Narrator: It can mean putting finger to screen.

Student: "T" for text.
Narrator: Narrator: And one of Ms. Sterkin's goals is to show her students how they can effect social change through their writing. Technology can help them craft and share their ideas. Technology is an integrated part of the modern classroom.
Sterkin: Springhill Lake was lucky enough to receive a grant for iPads. We've been using the iPads a lot to organize their thoughts and even different applications, or apps, in the content areas that just get them excited to learn. So the use of the iPads has not only been helpful for the students to acquire knowledge, but just as a general tool for engagement.

Sterkin: and I'd like to share with you some really cool ideas I found in this book. "If you want one year of prosperity, plant corn. If you want ten years of prosperity, plant trees. If you want one hundred years of prosperity, educate people." What do you think that might mean? What do you think, Jasmine.

Jasmine: Educate people. That means make people that they have to save the earth and not pollute it.

Sterkin: If I plant one little tree, that's great, right? What if I share that information with everybody in this classroom. And then what if Jasmine and Mohammed and Lavontay and Symiah and Dennilson and everybody else in this classroom - what if you all told people to plant trees. Then what would happen?

Students: More.

Sterkin: More trees. And say that again.
Narrator: Ms. Sterkin's students learned about natural resources in science. Now she's asking them to incorporate what they learned into their fairy tale drafts.
Lavontay: And then they tell people. And the other people tell people and it goes on and on.

Student: And then there would be more trees. And even when they cut it down we can plant more and more.

Sterkin: Exactly. There'll be more and more and more. So if we keep teaching people these important ideas, then everybody will learn what we really need to do to help our earth, won't they?

Sterkin: Once the students are immersed in content, they have a lot more to say and they have a knowledge base to write. We're always encouraging the students to integrate the content and knowledge that they've gained in the classroom in to their own writing.

Sterkin: All righty. We're going to show you how to make a popplet, which is a cool way to organize some of your ideas. And then you're going to make a popplet...
Narrator: For writers, understanding the purpose and audience of a piece is essential.
Student: Like a web.

Sterkin: Yes, like a web. That will help you with your fairy tale writing and help you teach your readers...

Student: (cough)

Sterkin: It's okay. (laugh) About the environment.

Harris: If you don't have a clear understanding of why you're writing and what your goals are and how those goals involve the reader - do you want to effect their emotions? Do you want them to learn? - if you don't have a clear concept, you can't set the goals that will guide you through the writing process and the writing tasks in front of you.

Sterkin: Okay. I want you to think back to your fairy tale. On your iPad, I'd like you to do a double-tap two times and you should have your first popple come up.

Student: Push "t".

Sterkin: Say it again.

Student: Push "t"!

Sterkin: Push "t" for text. In the middle of your popple, I'd like you to type your natural resource. So if your natural resource was water, type in water. If it was trees - your welcome - type in trees. Ms. Schnupp and I made an example of what yours will look like. And you notice that we have some special colors here. You're going to put some special colors on your popples too. We have a natural resource and ours is oil. We have two blue boxes, because in those blue boxes you're going to write a cool fact about that natural resource. So a cool fact that I know about oil is that oil is used to make plastic. So I would type in my box, for cool fact, that oil is used to make plastic. I also have two red boxes. What word do you notice in the red box?

Students: Problem.

Sterkin: Problem. We also know this word from when we write a story. Our story has a problem. This is your chance to brainstorm some really good problems in your story. Maybe in my story, somebody, maybe the villain, spilled oil in the oceans. That would a problem. So I'm going to jot that down in my problem box, "spill oil in the ocean." Think about the cause and effect of what would happen if we harmed those natural resources. In the green box, what special word do you see here.

Students: Setting.

Sterkin: Setting. And in this box we really what to know, where is this natural resource in your setting. I know that Christian's setting is on a pirate ship in the Atlantic Ocean and his natural resource is air. Am I right?

Christian: Yeah.

Sterkin: Okay.

Sterkin: When we're planning the lessons we don't focus the lesson solely around using the iPad. We want to use that as a tool to enhance the students' learning.

Sterkin: So when you're done you're going to have a popple that's actually not only going to have some cool science ideas on it about your natural resources, but it's also going to help you with your story writing. Because we'll have some problems we can look at to include your natural resource in the story. And you might also have some really cool facts that you can include in your story as well.

Rogers: One way to think about the goals of writing for young children is to think about it in terms of both the cognitive and the social. There's the familiarity with language and structure and parts of speech, but there's also a social dimension of writing that we really need to emphasize. Because why do children engage with writing? They engage with writing because it gives them positive interactions with adults and with peers.

Sterkin: So what else do you think is another problem that we would have with our water natural resource?

Student: Um. It gets polluted.

Sterkin: Okay. So how could water get polluted?

Student: By throwing trash in the water?

Student: Okay, so who might throw trash in the water to pollute water?

Student: People.

Sterkin: Okay. So people throw trash in to the water and it pollutes the water. What is the effect of that?

Student: An animal would die.
Narrator: Featuring an author on a class bulletin board is great. Narrator: Enjoying one of her books together is even better.
Sterkin: So animals could get harmed? Okay.

Student: Let me do that.
Narrator: Meeting her in person...
Sterkin: The growth that the students have made this year is just...it's just so much to take in because they're so proud of the work that they've done. We've tried new things that I've never done before and that they've never done before. And together we're learning how all of these pieces take shape.

Imagination Collaboration
Narrator: Author visits may seem like just fun and games but they can have a major impact on students.
Shana: So boys and girls we have a new featured author. Her name is Erica Perl.

Shana: Let's share this book today called Dotty that she wrote.

Shana: Thirteen, she silently added. Whose nose did she want to count?

Students: Dotty's

Shana: Dotty's

Students: Erica!

Students: Ooh!

Shana: Our featured author's here!
Narrator: Reading aloud to students engages them with the written word and gets them excited about books.
Rogers: Students will sit in rapt attention listening, engaging, asking questions and if that author will talk to those students as fellow writers, it is so affirming.

Erica: I thought that we could read Dotty together and I could tell you a little bit about kinda how I wrote it. And I could hear about the kind of stuff you guys are writing. Maybe we could even do some writing together. What do you think?

Student: Yeah.

Erica: Now, everyone here brought their imagination today right?

Students: Yes.

Erica: Good
Narrator: Writing can seem a daunting task to students. And while teachers can offer a lot of guidance, instruction, and practice, a published author has real-world weight behind her words.
Boy: I forgot mines at home.

Students: (laughing)

Erica: You left your imagination at home. That's not good. You're going to have to go get it right now.

Erica: So when Ida started school, she took her new lunchbox, and...

Students: Dotty.

Erica: I am a huge fan of reading aloud and I really believe that it should be the most fun part of a teacher or a parent's day.
Narrator: Erica is showing the students that there are many ways to start writing and they don't always involve using words. Narrator: The writer's notebook is a great tool for encouraging daily writing from students. Keeping it free from grading, and the red ink of a correction pen, helps students see it as a pressure-free outlet for their ideas.
Erica: Ahhh!

Erica: Because if you're enjoying it, the kids will enjoy it. So I think getting excited about the books that you're sharing, getting silly with them, I think that all hugely important.
Narrator: Revising can be one of the trickiest things for students to understand, but it's also one of the most important steps in the writing process. Learning that a professional writer has to revise, often multiple times, is a terrific learning experience for young writers. Not even professional, adult authors are perfect! Narrator: A key component to the revising process is peer editing. Once the students understand how to give constructive feedback, sharing their work with each other will result in stronger writing and more confident writers. And this is a message Erica is happy to underscore.
Erica: Say it all together. Ready?

Students: Wham!

Erica: Because they all start with an idea, right? And so, in the case of Dotty, when I was growing up I had all these friends. Right? Friends, just like you guys. Alright. But, I also had some friends who not everybody else could see. What do you think is a good thing about seeing something nobody else can see?

Girl: You have real friends, but some kids make fun of you, that you don't have friends but you really do.
Narrator: Group writing a story with students is a great way to have fun, while checking their understanding of story elements.
Erica: And your imaginary friends, would they ever make fun of you?

Girl: No.

Eric : No way.

Erica: When I go and talk to kids about writing. I always tell them that the thing about writing fiction, is that it has to have a truth in it. It has to have an emotional truth. And so, for me, in every book that I write, there's an emotional truth that comes from my life and my experience. And so, with Dotty, the story of having an imaginary friend was a story that I could relate to when I look back on my own experience as a kid.

Erica: I would always worry that if people knew about Dotty they would say "Oh my goodness. Have you heard about Erica? Bah ha ha." And they would laugh. So, I didn't tell people, but I always wrote my ideas down, or I drew them. So, this is sort of a storyboard, of the story of Dotty. And as you can see, I drew these little sketches like here's Ida here. She's walking to school. And then, there's Dotty who still looks sort of like a goat.

Erica: So, I started drawing the class, and drawing my ideas out because sometimes that's how I get my ideas flowing. And then, usually I write the words down in one of my journals. Do you guys do this? Raise your hand if you do this. Do you guys write stuff down just in writer's notebooks? Because, my idea's if you don't write it down it kind of flutters away. But I don't just write stories in it and I like it to get good and messy.

Erica: And then, sometimes I will get on the computer. Raise your hand if you ever get on the computer and do some writing there. Yep. And I start taking my ideas and putting them onto paper on the computer. And then I go through and change things, little things here and there. I revise it. Do you guys revise? Okay. Yes?

Students: Yes!

Erica: Yes! Good! Because if your revising, you're writers. That's a huge part of the writing process. You don't just show up day one and write and you're done.

Erica: 'Cause I never get it just the way I want it the first time, and so I start kinda changing it around. So I go through it a million zillion times changing ideas. And you'll see that some of these things ended up in Dotty and some of them didn't. And I also read it out loud to kids.

Erica: Sometimes I talk to my grown up writer friends and sometimes I talk to my kid writer friends, and we all talk about how the story can get better. Like a big collaboration. Do you guys do that? Do you share your work with each other?

Students: Yes.

Erica: Again another important part of the writing process, is sharing your work. So now we're going to make a story together!

Students: Yay!

Erica: Yay! Okay.

Erica: What does a story need to have? Yes!

Boy: Characters!

Erica: Characters! Characters! Okay. So, we gotta have some characters! Okay. What else?

Student: Words

Erica: Characters.

Boy: Setting!

Erica: And setting okay.

Erica: We're going to put.

Student : Plot

Erica: Plot. What does plot mean?

Students: Beginning, middle, and end.

Erica: Beginning, middle, and end. Everybody give me some beginning, middle, and end.

All: Beginning, middle, and end.

Erica: Yeah! Okay, plot.

Student: The theme.

Erica: Theme, okay What does theme mean?

Student: Um. What it's all about.

Student: Oh, the message.

Erica: The message. What has to happen in the middle? Something that has to happen in

the middle of the story. To make it dramatic. Or surprising!

Student: Drama!

Erica: Drama, would be good. Yeah.

Student: Problem.

Erica: Some sort of...thank you.! Say that again.

Student: Problem

Erica: Problem! We have to have a problem.

Student: And solution!

Erica: And solution!

Narrator: Erica is going to keep the class active by having each student represent an element of the story.

Erica: Okay. Okay, I'm going to need two people to be the characters.

Students: Me! Me!

Erica: Okay. You and you.

Student: A baby with giant diapers!

Erica: A baby with giant diapers. No, no, no, no.

Student 2: Superman.

Erica: Superman. Okay we got Superman and?

Student 3: a princess

Erica: And a princess! Superman and a princess. Excellent. Okay.

Erica: Setting. Where are you guys going to be?

Student 4: I want to be the tree.

Erica: You're a tree. Good. So, we're sort of outdoors.

Student 5: I want to be the boy.

Erica: A boy?

Student 4: Maybe a guard.

Erica: A guard? Like a castle guard?

Student 5: Like a castle

Erica: Castle guard and tree.

Erica: Who's going to be our problem? You two are going to be our problem. Come up here problems. What are the problems? Two problems.

Student 2: A giant monster is going to attack the city.

Erica: A giant monster is a pretty good problem. Do you guys want to be a giant monster?
Narrator: Erica pauses the story, because while the students are enthusiastic and engaged, it's important to make sure that they also understand the story elements they're acting out.
Student 6: Yeah.

Student 7: Okay.

Erica: Okay. Good. We've got a giant monster and a castle in the woods. Let me just put giant monster behind you.

Erica: What's our theme going to be?

Student 1: If you're mean to someone, then someone will be mean to you.

Student 2: When you help other people, they might help you back.

Erica: Those kinda fit together. What do you guys think?

Student: Yeah.

Erica: It's sort of like two sides to the same coin.

Student narrator: Once upon a time in a land far, far, away. There was a queen in a castle and her mother. And then, there was this green, ugly, smelly, one-eyed monster.

Erica: Let's pause for a second, so we can see that. We've got the princess and the queen. Right here.

Erica: Look at the monster. Where's the monster? There's the monster! Let's see some monstering.

Student monster: Grrrrr!

Erica: Good good good. Okay. Okay. Now.

Student narrator: The guard's Omar. He came in. He tried to stop the monster, but the monster was too big and too strong.

Erica: Okay. We've got conflict going on, clearly the monster is having a conflict with the guard. Let's see where we are so far. Are we at the beginning, the middle, or the end of the story?

Erica: We've got the beginning, right? We've got the middle. Problem. How are we going to end it? How are we going to resolve this? And let's remember - what's our theme? Who said our theme so beautifully? You, said our theme so beautifully. Say it again.

Student 1: When you help somebody, when you're nice to somebody, then someone will be nice back.

Erica: Will be nice back.

Student 4: I think the monster has to be nice because Superman takes the thorn out.

Erica: Okay, Let's see that part acted out.

Student narrator: The monster attacked.

Student monster: Grrrr...

Erica: Superman. Superman, go help. Where's the thorn. Who's being the thorn. There you go. Good. Very good thorn removing. Excellent.

Student narrator: Can we - when he starts fighting. He just thinks why is he fighting? And then he puts his foot up and he sees it.

Erica: Oh, that's good. That's very good. So you discover it. Okay. So you discover the thorn. Thorn, in position.

Erica: Okay. And you discover that there's a thorn in his tentacle! So, superman pulls the thorn from the tentacle! Okay. And then the monster says?

Students: Ahhhh!

Erica: Thank you! Awesome! That was really good. And then the princess and queen say?

Student princess and student queen: Oh, you're my hero.

Erica: And how does the story end?

Student: And everyone lives happily ever after!

Girl: Superman and the princess get married!

Students: Yeah!

Erica: How about. How about they all...

Student: Live happily ever after.

Erica: ...have friends and eat imaginary ice cream cones together.

Students: Yeah.

Erica: Yeah! And then they dance. And now, can everybody give me a nice "the end" bow? Ready? One, Two, Three. The End.

Student: For now.

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Learning to write is a challenging task. Students need to balance purpose, audience, ideas and organization with the mechanics of writing (sentence structure, word choice, spelling). They also need to learn the importance of editing and revising. That's a lot to think about!

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International Literacy Association

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Mentor texts or texts that serve as examples for different types of writing can be especially helpful for writing teachers at every grade level. Teachers can use them as exemplars for good writing or can draw examples of one of the six traits of writing from their pages so that their students know exactly what conventions and presentation, ideas and content, organization, sentence fluency, voice, word choice involve. By relying on published texts that epitomize one of the six traits, teachers can help students gain confidence as they develop into proficient writers. This week's book reviews from members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group focus on writing mentor texts. Learning from expert writers or mentors can reap bountiful harvests when it comes to writing and self-expression. Teachers may be interested in checking out "Plugged In: Coming to You Live ... Mentor Texts" on Engage or ReadWriteThink's multitude of lesson ideas for using mentor texts. Also check out the teacher-created blog called Teach Mentor Texts.
GRADES K-3
Dahl, Michael. (2013). Goodnight, baseball. Illus. by Christina Forshay.
Mankato, MN: Capstone Press/ Picture Window Books in conjunction with Sports Illustrated for Kids.

A father/son day at the baseball park is the setting for this book. Told in somewhat uneven rhyme, usually from the boy's point of view but also from an outside narrator, the thrill and excitement of a baseball game is described. Borrowing the nocturnal pattern from Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight Moon (1947), the young boy ends his baseball-filled day saying goodnight to the teams and continues with "Goodnight, diamond. Goodnight grass/ Goodnight, home plate/ where each runner ran past." (pp. 19 & 20). After reading this book aloud, teachers might pose the question to students about a big day they themselves experienced and how they would say goodnight to the many things that they encountered during that special day. Readers can enjoy a book trailer at the publisher's website.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant
Fandel, Jennifer. (2012). You can write awesome stories. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.
Perfect for beginning writers or even those who are a little bit older but lack confidence about being able to write, this book offers tips for how to tell a story effectively. The author briefly covers essential writing topics such as character development, setting, plot, mood, and dialogue as well as how to add details to a story. The author reminds readers that it's important to grab readers' attention from the beginning of the story, but as important as the way a story starts may be, the ending is also important. For each topic, there is an example and an exercise for would-be writers to try out. This is a good introductory text even though it is not comprehensive in its scope. Writing teachers can use the exercises as starting places upon which they can build with their own examples and lessons.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman
Ganeri, Anita. (2012). Action words: Verbs. Mankato, MN: Heinemann Library.
Writers, especially those who are just learning to practice their craft, are always looking for words to use in their writing. Part of a series on different parts of speech and words that can add vibrancy to writing, this introductory book provides an explanation of the role of grammar in writing and then offers a brief tutorial on verbs, including examples exploring verb tense and active and passive verbs. The author even acknowledges that passive sentence construction may function in a more gentle way than active construction; for instance, "The boy hit the ball" may be a stronger sentence than "the ball was hit by the boy," but there are times when passive construction is more appropriate. The book contains examples in simple sentences accompanied by photographs that help young writers understand this important part of speech. Although brief, the book covers a lot of ground. Teachers will want to use this title as a starting place before introducing even more examples of how verbs can enliven sentences.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman
Nunn, Daniel. (2013). True or false? Seasons; True or false? Colors; True or false? Farm animals; True or false? Transportation; True or false? Weather. Mankato, MN: Capstone Publishers/Raintree.
Almost everyone knows how to play the True and False game. The author has created a series of books that uses this familiar format to present the topics of season, colors, farm animals, transportation and weather. Each book begins with a statement such as: "The Seasons. A season is a period of time. The year is divided into four seasons. How much do YOU know about the seasons?" (p. 4). Each book then launches into statements, or sometimes misconceptions, about the topic. The bottom of each page has a large red and green box asking readers to decide if the statement is true or false. The following page holds the answer as well as explanatory statements. For teachers who are looking for early research activities with young students, this nonfiction series provides a mentor text series of books that will guide the reading and research of primary age students.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant
Parish, Peggy. (1963). Amelia Bedelia. Illus. by Fritz Siebel. New York: Harper and Row.
For fifty years, teachers have been using the many Amelia Bedelia books, including this one, as mentor texts to illustrate vocabulary, idioms, homonyms, and homophones as Amelia and her feather duster share her hilarious mix-up of words and expressions. This year HarperCollins has prepared a 50th Birthday celebration of the character and book that started it all. Teachers can enjoy the downloadable party kit "friend" Amelia on Facebook or Twitter. There are Amelia Bedelia books for a plethora of occasions and everyday situations. Although the book's originator died in 1988, her nephew Herman Parish picked up the family trade and continued writing the Amelia Bedelia stories. There are numerous videos available on YouTube depicting many, many of the Amelia books through book talks, book trailers, and full readings of her stories.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant
Shapiro, David. (2013). Tool. Time. Twist. A brief history of tools through time. Illus. by Christopher Herndon. Portland, OR: Craigmore Creations.
Teachers who are looking for a way to introduce simple machines might like to start with this interesting approach to the history of tools, in addition to trying this particular format as a writing prompt or mentor text. Each double-page spread introduces a tool chronologically according to when the tool was developed. Page 2 opens the history with "What's the tool? Sticks and stones! What's the time? 2.5 million years ago!" Page 3 continues the chronology, "What's the twist? Humans and our ancestors are not the only ones to use tools. Otters, octopuses, chimpanzees, and crows have all been known to use them too." The format is launched, and the Tool Time Twist begins. This writing pattern could be applied to any nonfiction topic as guided research for information.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant
GRADES 3-5 Asselin, Kristine Carlson. (2013). Think for yourself: Avoiding plagiarism. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.
After defining what plagiarism is for those who may not know or who may regard copying someone's words as a form of flattery, the author offers suggestions about how to avoid it and why someone else's work cannot be used without crediting the source. This is an excellent introductory text on plagiarism since students often start writing reports during the early years of school. A unit on report writing and research would be remiss if it failed to address this particular topic since even many college students don't realize what plagiarism is, why it's wrong, and its possible consequences. Colorful photographs showing young scholars hard at work accompany the text, part of the Research Tool Kit: Think for Yourself series, the titles of which provide support for academic writing lessons, even on an introductory level.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman
Florian, Douglas. (2012). UnBEElievables. New York: Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane Books. Guillain, Charlotte. (2012). Jobs if you like reading and writing. Mankato, MN: Heinemann Educational Books.
Using poetry as an entrance point to science, nonfiction, or nature is not new. The poet however creates a word-filled world brimming with the warmth of the sun and the variety of a garden, peppered with rhymes that are fun to hear and say, and yes, interesting information in the book's pages. Readers are introduced to the bee's world and its various parts, the hive, anatomy, queen bee, drone, worker bees, the bee dance, life cycle, swarm, the pollen and honey. Much of the poetry and information can be discussed with students, read aloud, or used to inspire drawings. This is also a great mentor text for students working on projects involving bees or any life cycle. The book is perfect for an entire class project (where students choose to do a small bit of the whole) or a small group project (where students get to do a part that is of interest to them). Students can practice writing poetry and non-fiction passages by following the text styles. This book is a great addition for classrooms dedicated to exploring the world around us.
- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman Hopkins, Jackie Mims. (2013). Prairie Chicken Little. Illus. by Henry Cole. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publications.
- Rani Iyer, Washington State University Pullman

As is the case with the other titles in this series, this entry in the Jobs if You Like...series encourages young readers to draw upon their skills and interests as they consider the right jobs for them later in life. It's never too early to begin preparing for a career. Someone who enjoys reading and writing, for instance, might enjoy being a librarian, a journalist, an editor, a bookseller, a translator, or a web content manager, among the other careers listed in the book. The author explains how reading and writing skills are useful in those fields and then includes a table that describes the best part of each job. Some of the jobs such as acting are jobs that many readers will not have linked to reading and writing. The photographs that accompany the text show all sorts of individuals enjoying what they are doing. Maybe with a little more foresight and preparation, more adults will enjoy their own lifework. This book might provide a gentle nudge in the right direction.
Marsalis, Wynton. (2012). Squeak, rumble, whomp! Whomp! Whomp!: A sonic adventure. Illus. by Paul Rogers. Somerville, MA: Candlewick.
What happens when you cross a Chicken Little story with a new ecosystem? You get a variant on the original Chicken Little story, but this time there is an unexpected "rumbling and a grumbling and a tumbling" (p.1). Mary McBlicken, the prairie chicken, is "out on the grasslands where bison roam" (p.1) when she hears these outrageous sounds, fears "A stampede's a coming" (p.2), and hightails it back to the ranch. On her frantic trek she runs into her friends the prairie dog, the jackrabbit, the meadowlark, and then ... Slim Brody, the sly coyote. Slim helpfully offers to show the prairie friends a shortcut to the ranch. As young readers will predict, Slim is up to no good. Teachers will want to share other versions of the Chicken Little story such as Rebecca Emberley's Chicken Little (Roaring Brook Press, 2009) or Steven Kellogg's Chicken Little (HarperCollins, 1985). Teachers might also like to introduce Prairie Chicken Little with this video rendition. They might want to connect a short science lesson with a photograph and paragraph about the endangered Prairie Chicken.

- Karen Hildebrand, Ohio Library and Reading Consultant
Rissman, Rebecca. (2012). Be the best at writing. Mankato, MN: Heinemann/ Raintree.
With several distinctive visual and textual references to the sights, sounds, and flavors of New Orleans, this picture book illustrates how much rhythm can be found in everyone's daily lives. A boy starts off his morning by opening a back door with its familiar squeak and pauses a moment to savor the sounds that typify his home and neighborhood. As he follows the routines of the day, he hears music in the simple act of buttering toast or the sounds made by a barber's clippers gliding along his now-smooth and close-cropped head. The various sounds are interesting enough in their own right, but when they all come together in a cacophony of notes on the book's last pages, readers will be tempted to tap out some beats of their own. This is a great read aloud title filled with several examples of onomatopoeia for budding writers and musicians. The ink illustrations that were finished digitally allow the sounds to receive attention as they move across the book's pages in harmony.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman
Salas, Laura Purdie. (2011). Picture yourself writing poetry: Using photos to inspire writing. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press.
This helpful writing primer provides several simple but effective tips on how to be a better writer. Late elementary and early middle graders will find it helpful to be reminded of the importance of purpose and audience when they choose words for their written pieces as well as the necessity to narrow their focus before they begin a piece. The author even makes suggestions about preparing and polishing a paper so that it looks finished before turning it in and how to get organized before writing or studying. For instance, it's a good idea to gather all the necessary materials, including snacks, before beginning to write. The tips that have been provided are also tested throughout the book as readers have a chance to respond to a question about writing after each tip section.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

Teachers and budding writers can find lots of advice on poetry writing in this book. Even if they choose not to write poetry but to use the photographs or exercises as writing prompts, so much the better. Topics range from choosing a topic or focus for a poem to enhancing a piece by adding sensory details, moody verbs, unexpected words, unusual characters, and even arranging words on a page to create the intended effect. The author even discusses concrete poems and provides brief examples of all the techniques being explored in the book. This is a great writing primer, filled with ideas teachers can use with little modification. Readers will wish for even more tips, examples, and full-page photographs to inspire writers. This title is sure to build confidence in even the most inexperienced writing teacher.

- Barbara A. Ward, Washington State University Pullman

These reviews are submitted by members of the International Reading Association's Children's Literature and Reading Special Interest Group (CL/R SIG) and are published weekly on Reading Today Online. The International Reading Association partners with the National Council of Teachers of English and Verizon Thinkfinity to produce ReadWriteThink.org, a website devoted to providing literacy instruction and interactive resources for grades K-12.

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Mentor texts or texts that serve as examples for different types of writing can be especially helpful for writing teachers at every grade level. Teachers can use them as exemplars for good writing or can draw examples of one of the six traits of writing from their pages so that their students know exactly what conventions and presentation, ideas and content, organization, sentence fluency, voice, word choice involve.

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Now Available: Literacy Essentials

How do we ensure that all students are engaged each day in meaningful, challenging, and joyful work and have equal opportunity to learn? Literacy Essentials: Engagement, Excellence, and Equity for All Learners provides myriad practical suggestions, actionable research, extensive online resources, and personal and professional stories to inspire all K-12 teachers and leaders. Learn how to create a trusting, safe, intellectual culture of empowerment in the classroom and school so all learners thrive as self-directed readers, writers, thinkers, and responsible citizens.

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October 4, 2019
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Peoria, IL
Luncheon Keynote: Literacy and Life Essentials: What Matters Most for Achievement, Fulfillment, and the Pursuit of Happiness
Session: Follow-up to keynote with Literacy and Life conversation and Q & A

February 6, 2020
CCIRA 2020: Innovation
Annual conference of the CO Council of International Literacy Association for K-12 educators
Denver, CO
Featured session: INNOVATION MATTERS: How Bold Thinking Saved My Teaching, My Students, and My Life--and how that can be true for you too
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No teacher deliberately sets out to disadvantage students and, yet, we unintentionally do so all the time. Students do not become self-directed, joyful readers because teachers and administrators prioritize daily, guided reading groups. Students become readers, in every positive sense of that word, when most of their ...

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How do we ensure that all students are engaged each day in meaningful, challenging, and joyful work and have equal opportunity to learn? Literacy Essentials: Engagement, Excellence, and Equity for All Learners provides myriad practical suggestions, actionable research, extensive online resources, and personal and professional stories to inspire all K-12 teachers and leaders.

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All things Kelly Gallagher, including my books, my schedule, teacher resources and what's going on in my life as a teacher.

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Kelly Gallagher

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When George Lucas was making Star Wars, his special effects team was at a loss as to how to film realistic-looking dogfight scenes. They began by storyboarding them, but they found that simply drawing the scenes on paper didn’t help them understand the pacing and rhythm of the fights. They solved th

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ifaketext.com | The first iPhone text message screenshot generator.

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ifaketext is a place where you can generate fake iphone text message screenshots and send and share them with your friends!

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Teacher Pranks Students Asking for a Movie Day

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Focus on these- Ideas, Organization, Conventions

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The traits of ideas, organization, and conventions play a bigger role in the overall impact of the message. Therefore, they are often referred to as the "trump" traits. Similar to a card game where the trump suit outranks the other cards, the importance of these three traits in writing outranks the overall weight of voice, word choice, and sentence fluency.

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Use a Cheat Sheet to Recognize the 6 Traits

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To master the6 traits, it might require more than a poster on the wall. For Kristina Smekens, it required a personal cheat sheet. Download a free cheat sheet!

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The Writing Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo

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Writing Strategies Book by Jennifer Serravallo.

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Collection of strategies that span all aspects of the writing process, all genres and modes of writing, and that will work well with students in grades K-8. Organized so the busy teacher can find just the right strategy at just the right moment.

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Writing Strategies with Reading Textbook Series

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Writing Strategies with Reading Textbook Series

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There are a series of these- short and sweet!

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Opinion Writing for Kids | Episode 1 | What Is It?

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10 Fun and Engaging Ideas to Teach Science Vocabulary

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10 Ideas to help students learn science vocabulary words10 Ideas to help students learn science vocabulary words-- awesome for 3rd grade, 4th grade, and 5th grade

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Regie Routman

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8 Strategies

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By Shaun Killian (MEd, MLead)
Robert Marzano and John Hattie have both reviewed the research on which teaching strategies work best. While they used different methods and terminology, they agreed on these 8 powerful strategies.

Strategy 1: A Clear Focus

John Hattie highlights how important it is for you (and your students) to be clear about what you want them to learn. According to Hattie, teacher clarity is one of the most potent influences on student achievement. Robert Marzano agrees! He includes lesson goals in his top 5 list of factors that affect how well students do at school.

Hattie states that lesson goals:

Clarify what you want your students to learn

Can focus on surface or deep learning (or both)

Must be challenging for the students relative to their current mastery of the topic

May be grouped (i.e. a single lesson may have more than one goal)

Need to be shared with the students

Marzano also found that posing questions at the start of a lesson is an effective way to focus students. For example:

How do you add mixed fractions with different denominators? That's what you must know by the end of this lesson.

What is the difference between elements and compounds?

Why is Persuasive Essay A better than Persuasive Essay B?

When (what period) were Egypt's great pyramids built?

Hattie suggests using questions in a slightly different way:
How To Set Lesson Goals To Boost Student Achievement

What are today's lesson goals?

What do I already know that will help me achieve these goals?

What actions will I need to do to ensure I achieve these goals?

Strategy 2: Offer Overt Instruction

Robert Marzano claims it is important to explicitly teach your students the things they need to learn. In fact, he found it was the most critical factor (teacher controlled) affecting students' success. You need to:

Tell them what they need to know

Show them how to do things they must be able to do for themselves.

John Hattie did not review explicit teaching per se, but he did find that Direct Instruction was very effective. Direct Instruction involves explicitly teaching a carefully sequenced curriculum. And, it has built-in cumulative practice.

Hattie also highlighted the power of giving students worked examples. More specifically, you should use worked examples when explaining how to multi-step tasks. Marzano also highlights the importance of providing examples and non-examples of the concept you are teaching. For example, when teaching prime numbers it would be useful to highlight:

2 as an example

9, 15 and 21 as non-examples

This helps to avoid confusion with odd numbers.

Marzano also found that you can explicitly teach deeper levels of understanding. How? By using graphic organisers. You should use graphic organisers to show how different ideas were related to each other. For example, you should use them to show steps, cause-effect, hierarchy, lists, comparisons, etc.

.

Neither Hattie nor Marzano believes that great teaching is nothing more than standing out the front of the class and imparting knowledge. However, both agree that telling students what they need to know and showing students what they need to be able to do are essential aspects of teaching.

For an example of explicit teaching in context see the I Do, We Do, You Do model.

Strategy 3: Get the Students to Engage with the Content

You must teach students what they need to know and be able to do. But, it is also essential to get them to actively engage with the content.

Marzano and Hattie agree that this starts with students' prior knowledge. You need to help them link new information to their prior knowledge of the topic. Students need to engage with the content as soon as they hear it by:

Adding it to what they already know, or

Using it to clarify some of the faulty assumptions they currently hold

Engaging at the Surface Level

When students are relatively unfamiliar with what you are teaching, engagement strategies include:

Generating questions while reading

Taking and organising notes

Summarising

Rehearsal

Marzano also found getting them to work with physical manipulatives is helpful. And, he found that the simple act of asking students simple recall questions works well.

All these strategies are useful, but they only allow students to engage with the content at a surface level.

Engaging at a Deeper Level

Hattie and Marzano also found several ways for students to engage at a deeper level. These include exploring relationships between things using:

Marzano also recommends using analogies, such as:

Persuasive devices are to a writer what tools are to a tradie, or

The Magna Carta offered citizens what a referee offers a game of soccer

These are practical strategies that exemplify the higher levels of the SOLO taxonomy. This is an alternative to Bloom that Hattie advocates.

For further information, see 7 High-Impact Learning Strategies You Must Teach Your Students.

Strategy 4: Give Feedback

It is vital that you give your students feedback after they engage with any new material. This involves:
See How to Give Feedback to Students: The Advanced Guide

Highlighting what is right and wrong, or good and bad about their work

Helping students to see how they can improve

Robert Marzano found that you need to give your students feedback while they still have time to improve. John Hattie agreed with this but went further. He found that:
See The Value of Feedback Infographic

Novice or struggling students need immediate feedback

More experienced and capable students do better when they receive delayed feedback

Hattie also highlighted that feedback is a two-way street. Student results provide the basis for both feedback to:

Students on how they can improve

You on the impact your teaching is having

Strategy 5: Multiple Exposures

If you want students to internalize new information, you need to expose them to it several times.

Robert Marzano explored ways to enhance students' vocabulary. He found that it was critical for teachers to expose students to the same word multiple times.

John Hattie picks up on the significance of multiple exposures. He talks about the critical importance of techniques such as rehearsal and review.

Rehearsal means going over the material until you can remember it

Review involves going over things you have learned previously

He also stresses the merit of giving students time to practice doing the things they have learned to do. When spaced out over time, Hattie found that having students practice things led to a 26-percentile improvement in their marks.

On a more cautious note, Hattie warned that practice without feedback could be dangerous. Why? It leads to students internalizing the wrong things.

Strategy 6: Have Students Apply Their Knowledge

Robert Marzano found that helping students apply their knowledge deepens their understanding.

A Deductive Process

Knowledge application is a deductive process. Put another way, students apply general principles to specific case studies or problems. Marzano found that deductive thinking helps students to generalise their learning beyond the topic or task at hand. He advocates:

Teaching students how to think deductively

Giving them guided practice in doing so

Hattie confirmed that deductive processes are much more useful than inductive teaching (i.e. asking students to discover general principles from observing particular situations).

Problem-Solving

Knowledge application also involves problem-solving. Robert found that problem-solving had a significant effect (d = 0.54) on students' understanding. Marzano believes that problems should require students to apply previously learned knowledge and skills. Hattie agrees. When problem-solving is used in this way, Hattie found a similar effect size (d = 0.61) to Marzano. However, when a problem is used to stimulate discovery learning, the opposite is true (d = 0.15). Hattie also emphasized the importance of teaching students how to solve problems.

Strategy 7: Get Students Working Together

Robert Marzano and John Hattie agree that getting students to work together is a good idea. It helps them to achieve better results. The use of cooperative learning groups adds value to:

Whole-class instruction (d = 0.41)

Individual work (d = 0.59-0.78)

They also agree that inter-group competition can increase the effect of cooperative learning even more.

However, neither Marzano nor Hattie believes that cooperative learning should replace whole-class instruction. Nor should it replace individual learning activities.

Hattie highlights the importance of individual students' competence. If students haven't gained enough mastery of the material, they cannot actively participate in cooperative learning tasks.

Marzano adds that if students are to master what they are being taught, they also need opportunities for individual practice and feedback.

Finally, Marzano and Hattie agree that cooperative learning is only useful when you:

Structure it carefully

Keep groups small

Teach students how to work in groups

For further information, read Group Work That Works.

Strategy 8: Build Students' Self-Efficacy

Self-efficacy refers to a student's belief about their ability to successfully complete a task. It is situation specific. For example, a student may feel confident that they can dance well on stage but be insecure about public speaking.

Hattie & Marzano both found that students' self-efficacy had a substantial impact on how well they did at school. Students who:

Believed they would master fractions were more likely to do so

Saw themselves as poor readers were less likely to improve their reading

Marzano found that you could build students' self-efficacy through praise and expressing your belief that they can do well. However, to be effective, such praise must:

Be genuine - i.e. only given when students have made a real improvement

Refer to specific accomplishments related to the task

As Carol Dweck noted, if you praise lavishly and liberally, you end up praising mediocrity. In turn, this sends a message that you believe that this is all they are capable of.

Hattie highlighted the reciprocal nature of the link between self-efficacy and achievement

Achieving genuine success influences self-efficacy

Self-efficacy influences success

Marzano & Hattie In a Nutshell

John Hattie and Robert Marzano have each conducted significant reviews of what works best in the classroom.

There are some apparent differences in their work.

They use different terminology to each other.

Marzano uses more isolated strategies, while Hattie combines strategies into broader approaches

Marzano's findings are based heavily on teacher-designed assessments. Yet Hattie's findings make more use of standardized tests

However, as you can see, there is significant agreement between Robert Marzano and John Hattie when it comes to what works best in the classroom.
Updated December 2016
References

John Hattie. (2009). Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement.

John Hattie & Gregory Donoghue. (2016). Learning Strategies: A Synthesis and Conceptual Model.

Robert Marzano, Debra Pickering & Jane Pollock. (2001). Classroom Instruction That Works.
[+Ceri Dean, Elizabeth Hubbell, Howard Pitler & BJ Stone. (2012). Classroom Instruction That Works. (updated)]

Robert Marzano & Debra Pickering. (2010). The Highly Engaged Classroom.

Robert Marzano & Mark Haystead. (2009). Meta-Analytic Synthesis of Studies Conducted at Marzano Research Laboratory on Instructional Strategies.

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Marzano & Hattie Agree on These 8 Strategies

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By Shaun Killian (MEd, MLead) Robert Marzano and John Hattie have both reviewed the research on which teaching strategies work best. While they used different methods and terminology, they agreed on these 8 powerful strategies. John Hattie highlights how important it is for you (and your students) to be clear about what you want them to learn.

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Teachers, Profs, Parents: Writers Who Care

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by Ken Lindblom Many students dislike writing in school, and it's no wonder. Five-paragraph essay formats, predictable essay questions on books they didn't choose to read, all written for a teacher (or faceless exam scorer) who knows more about the subject than they do. Who would find this "schoolish writing"--as Anne Elrod Whitney has called...

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Heather Clayton, the author of Making the Standards Come Alive!, is the principal of Mendon Center Elementary School in Pittsford Central School District, New York. She is also a co-author of Creating a Culture for Learning published by Just ASK.

It's Amazing How Authentic Writing
Can Motivate K-12 Writers

Authenticity in writing is when we ask our students to write in their own voices to audiences outside of the classroom, for a real-world purpose, and on topics of significance. When our students write authentic pieces, they may write for the purposes of informing an audience, persuading readers to agree with their position, debating an issue, or presenting a solution to a problem. Whatever the purpose, authentic writing is in a real world format such as an article, letter, book, interview, or business report. When our students write for real reasons they are empowered, motivated, and inspired to communicate effectively.

To further understand authenticity in writing, it is important to understand what authenticity is not. When we ask our students to assume another's persona or write from another person's perspective, while this is still an important learning activity, it is not an authentic task. When writing is decontextualized from real world purposes, when students do not experience choice, and when there is not an audience beyond the classroom, writing becomes a rote exercise versus a meaningful experience that teaches students to value writing. Authenticity connects writers to the outside world, inspires writing for a real audience, and ensures that students' voices are heard. According to Grant Wiggins, authenticity "stimulates contexts that mirror the workplace and other real-life contexts." The bottom line is that we need our students to become adults who can write. They need to know how to communicate effectively, ethically, and intelligently.

Ways to Promote Authenticity in Students' Writing

Focus on the process versus the product.
When promoting authenticity in students' writing, it is important to place a greater emphasis on the development of students' ideas relative to the writing versus a focus on layout, grammar, organization and style. A process approach promotes students' ideas through brainstorming, class discussions, and revision. Students are not asked to merely imitate the structure of a model text, but are empowered to draft ideas and then use models to help them identify ways to convey the message they wish to share.
In a process approach, students should also be engaged in sharing their drafts with classmates for the purposes of reading each other's work and responding to each other as readers. In a process approach, ideas are the starting point and there is a strong emphasis on the purpose of the writing, the intended audience, and the form. The work is collaborative and students are engaged in a recursive process where their writing is developed through multiple drafts and iterations.

Allow choice.
Our students need to be personally invested in learning for their own purposes. The best way to promote this ownership and inquisitiveness is by involving our students in making choices about what they will learn and how they will communicate their learning with others.

Share students' writing beyond the classroom.
When students know they are writing for an audience besides their teacher and classmates, the stakes are raised and students are driven to produce their best. Once students know their intended audiences, time should be spent thinking about the different ways to appeal to their audiences. There are number of ways students can do this. For instance, a students' writing may gain appeal by its stucture, organization, content, craft, evidence, voice, word choice, sentence structure, and layout.

Write for real-world reasons.
Our students inherently have a desire to make an impact on the lives of others. When they recognize the potential power behind their words and see the relevance of their writing, they are inspired to change the world. In the absence of a clear purpose, students' writing simply becomes an exercise in compliance rather than a vehicle for change.

Seize opportunities to create authentic writing tasks with your students.
Our students become better writers by writing frequently and willingly. In order for this to happen, we need to find ways to motivate our students to write at home and in school not just to fulfill an assignment, but because they crave the opportunity to connect and communicate with others.

One way to increase the frequency of students' writing is to work with them to design tasks that make them want to share their message and persevere to get it right. Once our students are clear about what they want to work on, we can help them to grow.

When students are concerned with things like required length of a piece, requirements for mechanics, the number of sources required, and whether or not they need to write in complete sentences, we know they are not engaged in authentic writing. Rather than the teacher holding all of the answers, authentic tasks provide students with the chance to write for "experts" and those most personally invested in what they have to say. Students can make their own decisions about their writing and become an authority on their topic.

Embrace students' questions.
When writing experiences are authentic, our students should be asking questions not for the purpose of identifying a "right" answer, but rather to gain feedback that will help them with future writing decisions. Some questions students may ask when the writing task is authentic are:

How will my audience respond to my ideas?

Is my evidence convincing?

Are the length and form appropriate for my audience?

A uthenticity in Action in Our School

At Mendon Center Elementary School in Pittsford, New York, students were intrinsically motivated and highly engaged by the annual task of authoring and illustrating a class book for Scholastic's annual Kids Are Authors competition. What made this competition so motivating for students was that if the class won, their book would be published by Scholastic and sold at book fairs around the country.

Between the years of 2009 and 2016, there has been one class per school year that entered a book in the nonfiction category. The quality of student work, ingenuity of the topic, and the voices of the students resulted in two grand prize winners and three honorable mentions during the eight years the school participated.

The process of authoring and illustrating a class book was always the same. Students selected a topic based on the interests and knowledge of the class, researched the topic using a myriad of resources, engaged in brainstorming and drafting about that topic, selected a text structure for their writing, then worked collaboratively to revise, edit and publish their writing. At the same time, students made decisions about the medium and style for their art work and the techniques they would use to bring their illustrations to life. Working in conjunction with the art teacher, students created art to accompany each page of their writing. The process of creating a class book required making all decisions collaboratively, following strict timelines, and synthesizing information from a number of resources.

What made these assignments so relevant and authentic for the students was that they were writing for an audience of published authors and illustrators, they were writing about topics that mattered to them, and they were ultimately using art and writing to make a difference in the lives of others.

The Kids Are Authors award-winning books created by Mendon Center students are as follows:

2015-2016
Honorable Mention
Prelude
Written and illustrated by fourth grade students at Mendon Center Elementary
A book of poetry describing significant endings and new beginnings in nature. The inspiration came when the students learned it was the last year of the Kids Are Authors competition. They wanted to write about endings, and through a great deal of brainstorming and discussion, ultimately decided on endings and new beginnings in nature.

"Sandpiper darts across the sand, a treasure trove of ocean's jewels."
Unaware of what's hiding beneath...

K-12 Examples of Authenticity in Action

School Newspaper
Students wrote articles for their high school newspaper that was distributed to all students and faculty. Features in the paper included one-minute interviews of staff members, information about new clubs, reviews of new school performances, and highlights from a mural project completed by students for a local hospital.

Letters to Organizations
A small group of fifth grade students wrote to "Operation Migration" to pose questions they had as a follow-up to a book they read about whooping cranes titledBorn to Fly. Students were excited to receive responses from the organization that answered all of their questions.

Persuasive Letters
Middle school students wrote to their principal persuading her to allow them to start aGay/Straight Alliance Club at their school.

Informational Book
A second grade student, intrigued by a fundraiser for cancer, learned more about the deadly disease. He then authored and illustrated a picture book about cancer that was shared with all of the parents, administration, and teachers in the school.

Proposals
After a unit of study on global issues, fifth grade students wrote proposals to a local grocery store for them to eliminate the use of plastic bags. Students included quotes, a rationale, benefits and opposing viewpoints for making the change to all recyclable bags.

The quote selected by students was "We are living on this planet as if we have another one to go to," by Terry Swearingen.

Literary Magazine
High school students submited poetry, artwork, articles, and fiction for their school literary magazine available online and in print to all students, faculty, and families.

Thank You Letters
Fifth grade students wrote thank you letters to the local Parent Teacher Association to thank them for the purchase of iPads for the classroom. Students' letters included evidence of their experiences with the iPads and artifacts illustrating the work they were able to do with the added technology.

Letters to the Editor
High school students wrote letters to the editor of a local newspaper on a myriad of topics.

Speeches
Public-speaking students at a high school authored and recorded original speeches for a Veterans of Foreign Wars national competition entitled "Voice of Democracy."

Toasts
High school students in public speaking wrote and delivered toasts to a chosen audience outside of the classroom. Some audience members were coaches, parents, and outside mentors.

Public Service Announcements
High school students in a course on Mass Media wrote and produced public service announcements read over the radio.

More Possibilities of K-12 Authentic Writing Products

Teachers should emphasize real-world purposes for writing. When students write authentically, or for real purpose, they are learning how to construct a message, consider their audience, and evaluate their work. Some authentic products students may create include:

Press releases

Blogs

Social media posts

Postcards

Photographs and captions

Charts, diagrams, and graphs

Emails

Restaurant Reviews

Scientific reports

Field notes

Movie, book, musical, or play reviews

Infographics

Video scripts

Presentations

Podcasts

Brochures

Digital Resources

https://talkswithteachers.com/authenticwriting/
In this article by Brian Sztabnik, "Authentic Writing: What it Means and How to Do It," nine teachers share their definition of authentic writing and share examples of how they promote it in their secondary classrooms.

https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/03/22/10-ways-to-promote-writing-for-an-authentic-audience/?_r=0
This link contains 10 ideas for using the feature "Student Opinion" across the curriculum in order to promote writing for an authentic audience. The list includes debating controversies, developing surveys, reviewing arts and entertainment, reflecting on education, and more.

https://writerswhocare.wordpress.com/2014/08/04/igniting-your-childs-passion-and-precision-through-writing-letters-to-editors/
This link shows ways that parents can support their children in writing letters to the editor to advocate positively for things they believe are important.

https://writerswhocare.wordpress.com/2014/05/06/authentic-writing-across-the-curriculum/
This link highlighting Black River Middle School contains a wide range of innovative practices related to authentic writing across the curriculum. On a daily basis they focus on digital literacy and take risks using web based tools and mobile learning devices.

Publishing Opportunities for K-12 Student Writers

https://teacher.scholastic.com/writeit/fiction/publish/competition.htm
This link includes a list of publishing opportunities and writing contests for students.

www.artandwriting.org/
Through the Scholastic Awards, teens in grades 7 through 12 from public, private, or home schools can apply in 29 categories of art and writing for their chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited and published.

www.cicadamag.com/
Accepts fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry from writers between 14 and 23. Artwork and photos are also considered. A "Call for Creative Endeavors" offers a new theme for every issue.

www.teenink.com/Resources/PublishingR.php
Teen Ink publishes a monthly print magazine, daily website, and new book series that are written by teens for teens. Teens may publish essays, short stories, reviews, interviews, poetry, art, and photography.

Student engagement in authentic writing tasks ensures that we are teaching our students to learn the importance of audience, how to determine when a situation requires writing, have a repertoire of strategies for writing, and the ambition to write. One thing our standards aren't able to do without the work of the teacher is to intrinsically motivate our students to write for a variety of purposes. When students are given the opportunity to write for authentic reasons, they not only learn more about writing in the real world, but they feel empowered to make a difference.

Please include the following citation on all copies:

Clayton, Heather. "It's Amazing How Authentic Writing Can Motivate K-12 Writers." Making the Standards Come Alive! Volume V, Issue III 2016. Available at www.justaskpublications.com. Reproduced with permission of Just ASK Publications & Professional Development (Just ASK). ©2016 by Just ASK. All rights reserved.

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It's Amazing How Authentic Writing Can Motivate K-12 Writers

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Volume V, Issue III Download PDF Subscribe Heather Clayton, the author of Making the Standards Come Alive!, is the principal of Mendon Center Elementary School in Pittsford Central School District, New York. She is also a co-author of Creating a Culture for Learning published by Just ASK. It's Amazing How

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Jennifer Serravallo

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the writing strategies book: your everything guide to developing skilled writers

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teaching methods & materials - reading & phonics

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education / teaching methods & materials / language arts

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education / teaching methods & materials / reading & phonics

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english language - composition and exercises - study and teaching (elementary)

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education / teaching methods & materials / general

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Amazon.com: The Writing Strategies Book: Your Everything Guide to Developing Skilled Writers (9780325078229): Jennifer Serravallo: Books

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Amazon.com: The Writing Strategies Book: Your Everything Guide to Developing Skilled Writers (9780325078229): Jennifer Serravallo: Books

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Reading Seed

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Content Writing
Combining writing with content-areas is a great way to have students practice and sharpen their writing skills as well as learn content-area knowledge through nonfiction texts. Not only do students get to use the information they are learning in nonfiction in a purposeful way, they are also able to see what it is like to "talk like a scientist" and "talk like a historian", etc. When students use their learned knowledge in a practical and real-world way, they begin to see the connections between what they learn in school and what goes on in the world around them. When students are young and still in school, they may seem to forget about the world around them and focus on the immediate: their friends, classmates, school, and home. However, when educators incorporate learned knowledge from nonfiction texts with writing strategies that aim at real-world issues or real things in the world... the knowledge comes alive.

Reading/writing strategies are just as important as the content-area knowledge being taught. It is these strategies that enable students to participate in and actively create their own knowledge. High levels of scaffolding are first needed when students are beginner writers or still struggling with writing. Before students are expected to connect the real-world with learned content-area knowledge, they must use reading and writing strategies with teacher aid. This process of steps ensures that the student understands the procedures of the strategy and utilizes them to translate content-area knowledge into meaningful and purposeful activities.

Interactive and Shared writing are just two strategies that teachers can use with their students to begin to grow competent writers. They both have an element of scaffolding and are great ways to open the doors of writing to young or struggling students.

Shared & Interactive Writing
Shared and interactive writing engages students in the writing process as well as to continue thinking about what it means to think and read as a writer. Students in shared and interactive writing are the writers. The teacher does not write for the students, but rather, she plays the role of "expert" as she writes with the students. In shared and interactive writing, the students practice making decisions and solving problems as writers do with a high level of scaffolding.

The topic of the writing, type of writing, and focus of the piece may be selected by the students, depending on their age and grade level. In most cases, the teacher makes these decision, especially if doing shared and interactive writing for the first time. When scaffolding younger students, all aspects of writing need to be touched upon. Such as: how to hold the pen, concepts of print, conventions of print, how to form letters, how to space, how to sound out words for spelling, and directionality of print.

Shared and interactive writing can be about virtually anything. It can be anything from compiling and writing a grocery list, recipe, letter to the president, letter to the principal, scientific observations, daily journal entry or description of an event. Remember that tying in content-area knowledge is best so that students see the connections between what they are learning about and how it relates to the real world and themselves.

Differences Between Shared & Interactive Writing
The main difference between shared and interactive writing is who is holding the pen. In shared writing, the teacher holds then pen and serves as the scribe. The teacher also serves the roles of: summarizer of ideas, questioner, and prompting for quick decisions on spelling and print concepts. The teacher must be sure to write the student's ideas quickly so that they may stay on task and not lose their ideas. With this out of the student's hands, they are able to focus more time and energy on language, features, and the style of writing that they want to achieve.

In interactive writing, the teacher and the student write together; it is a jointly written piece. The students engage in all the aspects of shared writing but now, additionally, they are the scribe as well. The teacher decides which students will write. Usually, the teacher chooses students that he knows need practice or will benefit from the interactive writing experience as well as students that will teach their peers something. The teacher can write words that he knows the students already know and understand such as "and" or "the", that way energy is focuses on unfamiliar or difficult words or ideas in the text.

Explore shared and interactive writing some more!:

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Content Writing Combining writing with content-areas is a great way to have students practice and sharpen their writing skills as well as learn content-area knowledge through nonfiction texts. Not only do students get to use the information they are learning in nonfiction in a purposeful way, they are also able to see what it is like to "talk like a scientist" and "talk like a historian", etc.

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Two Writing Teachers

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If you teach writing workshop, then chances are you value student independence. You encourage kids to solve problems on their own, do their very best work, choose their own topics to write about, and to work at their own pace.

For the most part, kids will improve as writers by practicing writing themselves. However, there are times when kids might need a little extra scaffolding. Shared writing can support their work in a variety of ways.
What is shared writing?
Simply put, shared writing is when the kids come up with the ideas as a group, and the teacher does all or most of the actual physical writing on the page. Most often, shared writing happens on chart paper or on a SmartBoard, so that the whole class can work together on a story (or essay, song, poem, or any kind of writing). But shared writing can also happen in small groups, or even one-one with a student on smaller paper.

Shared writing is not the same as independent writing, and it doesn't take the place of it. But it can be a helpful method to use a certain points in a unit, and with small groups of students.
How does shared writing go?
There are many ways that shared writing might go, but after lots and lots of practice, I have found myself following a pattern.

Here's what I usually do:

1. We meet in the class meeting area so that all the kids are close to me and the easel I'm using for writing (this is across the grades K-8).

2. I invite the kids to come up with ideas for a piece of writing. I usually steer them toward the genre that we'll be studying in writing workshop. I might say, "Soon you'll all be writing your own personal narratives. Today we're going to write one together. First, let's come up with an idea for a story. It should be something that all of us experienced together so that we can all remember how the story goes. What should our story be about?"

3. Kids turn and talk to a partner about their ideas. I move around the meeting area, listening in on kids and gathering ideas.

4. As I move around, I briefly coach kids to be active listeners, and to lift the level of their storytelling.

5. I select one of the ideas I heard (sometimes restating or embellishing it a bit, perhaps making it easier for the rest of the class to understand), and convene the class. "One of you had a great idea that I think all of us could work on together..."

6. I point to the page that I'll be writing on, and say something like, "What should we write here? How should our story begin? Turn and tell your partner what I should write here?"

7. Again, kids turn and talk. I listen in and coach again. Again I gather ideas by listening in.

8. I convene the class. I share what I plan to write. "I heard one of you say..." and then I write it as quickly as I can.

9. I move on to the next sentence or the next page in the same way. I ask kids for ideas, they turn and talk, I coach, and I write what they said.

This pattern works for any genre or type of writing, I just change my prompts accordingly.

What I don't usually do:

1. Shared writing doesn't take the place of the usual writing workshop-it's in addition to it.

2. I don't usually call on one kid at a time (I use turn and talk instead).

3. I try not to spend an inordinate time with just one partnership-I try to move around.

4. I don't try to make their storytelling perfect. I coach briefly, and then accept their approximations.

5. I don't spend a long time on only a tiny bit of writing.

6. During shared writing I don't usually focus on spelling or mechanics. I just write it. (However, interactive writing is another story, for another post someday.)

Some tips to keep in mind for shared writing:

I use large paper that looks just like the paper the children use during writing workshop. I write on chart paper or perhaps a SmartBoard so the whole group can easily read it.

The children are engaged and involved in telling the story (or essay, song, poem, or other kind of text).

I restate/scaffold children's language by modeling rich language and coach them when they storytell.

Over time, children see each step of the writing process modeled:

Coming up with ideas

Planning across the pages, rehearsing how the text will go

Drafting words and sentences

Revising

Editing

Publishing

Over time, children see qualities of good writing modeled:

This kindergarten teacher created this information book with her students by asking them to decide what she should write on each page. They were also working on writing pattern books, so you'll see that she's coached them to use the same pattern across the pages. When students in this classroom went to write their own information books, they knew just what to do to get started, because they had already written several as a class.

You can see in the above example that all of the writing was done by the teacher (you can tell by the handwriting that the kindergarteners did not write the words). The kids did help with the pictures in this case, but that might not be the case in every piece of shared writing. With older students, there might not be pictures at all-the shared writing should mirror what the kids will be doing on their own.
How long does shared writing take?
One session of shared writing usually takes me about ten minutes, fifteen tops. I find that engagement is highest when ideas are fresh and the pace is moving along. It's easy to get sucked in and wind up spending half an hour-time that I just can't afford when I think about all the other things I would like to do in a day. I also find that splitting shared writing into smaller chunks and revisiting it daily gives kids time to think about our piece across days, rather than all in one-shot.

Writing in front of the kids can take a while, especially if you're working with older kids and you want to model writing with lots of detail and elaboration. Occasionally I might say to the kids, "Is it okay with you if I take this home and finish up this part using the great ideas you gave me? I'll share it with you tomorrow so you can make changes to it." This speeds up the process a bit so that we can have a complete piece of writing in a matter of days, rather than weeks, while still ensuring that the kids feel ownership over the text. It's their story after all, not mine.
What's the difference between "shared writing" and "interactive writing?
My colleagues and I at TCRWP refer to shared writing when we are talking about creating a text together with the class (or small group), and the focus is on the kids coming up with the ideas and language. The teacher does the physical writing. Shared writing takes kids through the entire writing process together through oral storytelling: from gathering ideas, to drafting and revising a complete piece. By rehearsing ideas aloud, kids are getting lots of practice with language-they are able to rehearse an idea multiple times in a relatively small amount of time when compared to the time it may take to write. For some kids, oral language/rehearsal is their preferred mode or learning style while others struggle with sharing their thoughts verbally. Shared writing helps you reach those verbal kids who need to and like to talk in order to think and understand, while at the same time supporting the kids who are less comfortable and need extra practice in the speaking and listening department.

On the other hand, we refer to interactive writing when the kids come up to the chart paper and actually do some of the physical writing on the page. Some call this "sharing the pen" or "guided writing." In interactive writing, the goal is to coach the kids to write a conventionally sound text-spelling, grammar, and mechanics are front and center. These pieces of writing tend to be shorter so that each spelling pattern or grammatical feature can be discussed along the way. In grades K-2 an interactive writing text might only be a one-word label, or a sentence that states the classroom news of the day. In grades 3-5 an interactive writing text might be a bit more than that, but still pretty short. I highly recommend the book Interactive Writing by Andrea McCarrier, Irene Fountas, and Gay Su Pinnell if you're interested in learning more.

An example of interactive writing:

You can see that the teacher wrote most of the words, but students wrote the initial consonants, G, T, F, and T. In the process of creating this text, the teacher discussed capitals/lower cases, apostrophes, spaces, listening for the first sound in each word, and end punctuation.

Of course, sometimes I might add a sentence or two to a pre-existing shared writing text, using interactive writing-but that's getting fancy.
What is shared writing good for?
Shared writing provides kids with a mentor text that they had a hand in creating, so that their understanding of the meaning of text, as well as the craft and structure is very strong. For example, if you're about to begin a unit of study on realistic fiction, you might write a realistic fiction piece together with your class before the unit even begins, giving students the big picture of how the unit is going to go. Then as the actual unit progresses, you'll find yourself referring back to the shared class story often, saying "Remember when we wrote our class story? Well today I'm going to teach you that you can do the same thing in your own stories..."

Additionally, early stage English Language Learners especially benefit from the shared experience of creating a story together before being expected to go off and come up with the language to write a story from scratch. In a unit of study on personal narrative, for example, your class story should be about something that the whole class experienced together so that they can all contribute something to it. Then, when it is time for kids to write their own stories, there may be a few individual students who decide to write the same story that was told as a class. For students who are just learning English, using the class story idea and then putting it into their own words is a nice scaffold-one that they will grow out of as they learn more and more vocabulary.

Lastly, for very reluctant writers-I mean, EXTREMELY reluctant writers-the kid who will literally sit for the entire writing workshop day after day without writing anything. Sitting down one-one and starting a shared piece of writing together isn't a terrible idea. The student comes up with the words, you write it down. Don't kid yourself into thinking that this counts as independent writing-it does not. But it is better than nothing and it might help a student get over the toughest part-taking a risk and getting started. It also might help forge a more positive relationship between you and the student, and more confidence about writing in general if the student likes what she/he sees once the words are recorded on the page. Perhaps you start out by writing down the first page or two (depending on the age and needs of the student), and then they finish it. Then the next time you only write a few paragraphs. Then finally you only write a sentence or two. In this way you can gradually release responsibility to the learner, and give them a little boost to get over whatever hang-up is keeping them from getting going.
In Conclusion...
While shared writing can never take the place of giving kids time and space to practice their own writing, you might find that it can play an important role along side your minilessons, conferences, small group work, and all the other important methods you have in your teaching repertoire.

My questions for you:

1. What do you think? Does this match what you thought shared writing was? Or is this different than what you had heard in the past?

2. Do you use use shared writing in your classroom? When do you use it? When do you not use it?

Please share your thoughts and comments below. Let's have a conversation!

Literacy Coach, Consultant, Author, Graduate Course Instructor, and Mom. Passionate about fostering a love of reading and writing in learners of all ages. View all posts by BethMooreSchool

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Shared Writing 101: A Crash Course in Writing Together

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A quick, down and dirty, overview of shared writing and how it might support your students.

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Shared Writing- Regie Likes It

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In shared writing, the teacher and students compose text together, with both contributing their thoughts and ideas to the process, while the teacher acts as scribe, writing the text as it is composed.

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Read, Write, Think