Strategy Exploration #3 by Alyson Dumont https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz Power Writing and Independent Reading Notes en-us 2023-07-31 00:55:39 UTC 2025-12-08 12:11:22 UTC hello@padlet.com alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653255598 Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (n.d.). A range of writing across the content areas. https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/writing/articles/range-writing-across-content-areas

Meyer, J. (n.d.). How to integrate writing across content areas. https://theliteracyloft.com/2018/07/how-to-integrate-writing-across-content-areas/
]]> 2023-07-31 01:01:02 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653255598 Explanation of Strategy alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653256521 Power writing is a brief, timed writing assignment (Fisher & Frey, n.d.). Teachers write a word or phrase of their choosing on the front board or in an area in the classroom that is visible to all (Fisher & Frey, n.d.). Students then must use their word or phrase somewhere in their writing piece (Fisher & Frey, n.d.). Students are given one minute to write down anything about the word or phrase (Fisher & Frey, n.d.). Afterwards, students reread what they wrote and circle any errors they have (Fisher & Frey, n.d.). Finally, they chart their word count on a personal growth chart (Fisher & Frey, n.d.). The goal is that students' writing fluency increases over time (Fisher & Frey, n.d.).]]> 2023-07-31 01:03:11 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653256521 Explanation of Strategy alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653256617 For this strategy, students take notes independently on a selected text that is being read aloud to them (Meyer, n.d.). Teachers can decide whether students have complete control over what notes they are taking, or if they need to stop at a certain point or many points to take note of something specific (Meyer, n.d.). The note-taking skills that are done during this read aloud time can then be practiced during an independent reading selection (Meyer, n.d.). This strategy combines both oral/independent reading comprehension and writing together to practice implementing both of these skills concurrently.]]> 2023-07-31 01:03:25 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653256617 How Strategy Will Be Used to Promote Content Area Learning and Proficient Reading Skills alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653256944 Power writing is a great way to get a formative assessment in the classroom of students' knowledge of a content area topic or vocabulary word. By selecting a word or phrase that is related to the content area, this can be used to not only gauge student understanding of the content, but also assess their nonfiction reading comprehension as well based on what they write and how much they understand about the chosen word or phrase.]]> 2023-07-31 01:04:04 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653256944 How Strategy Will Be Used to Promote Content Area Learning and Proficient Reading Skills alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653257201 This strategy promotes content area learning because the teacher can decide what text is being read aloud and then read independently by the students. 

This strategy also promotes proficient reading skills because students must comprehend what is being read to them in order to take notes effectively. Teachers can see where students may struggle with comprehension based on the quality and accuracy of their notes.]]> 2023-07-31 01:04:40 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653257201 How Strategy is Used in Other Content Areas alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653257374 This strategy can be used in any content area. ELA, science, and social students choices are endless based on the amount of vocabulary present in these content areas and the amount of reading that is done. For math, a vocabulary word or even an equation could be written on the board and the students' power writing could be the explanation of how to solve. This strategy is extremely adaptive to all content areas, which makes it a quick and effective assessment to see students' progress and where they are at in their understanding.]]> 2023-07-31 01:04:59 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653257374 How Strategy is Used in Other Content Areas alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653257508 For social studies or science, teachers could read the beginning section of a lesson aloud and students can then independently practice by reading the remaining parts of the lesson. For ELA, this could be broken up by novel chapters. For math, it could be the individual steps to solving a math equation together and then additional practice equations during independent practice.]]> 2023-07-31 01:05:18 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653257508 Differentiation alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653257630 Students can be given one or two more minutes of extra time to write down their thoughts if they struggle with time management. Because the main purpose of this activity is to improve writing fluency, more than three total minutes should not be given. This is because it may take away from the goal of improving writing fluency due to the generous amount of extra time. Additionally, students may be given one or two extra words or phrases associated with the one that is being focused on so that students who may struggle with recall can get additional information to try and produce a writing piece to the best of their ability.]]> 2023-07-31 01:05:31 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653257630 Differentiation alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653257729 To differentiate for students who may need additional support with note-taking, teachers can decide to read aloud to a small group of students for longer and pause at more parts to scaffold learning. The more that is read aloud, the more the teacher should gradually release the amount of pausing and prompting given. This can continue until the teacher feels that the group is ready to work independently. When working independently, students can be provided with check-ins for understanding at different parts of the reading.]]> 2023-07-31 01:05:43 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653257729 Why Strategies Were Chosen alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653257857 Both of these strategies were chosen because they provide simultaneous work on reading and writing comprehension. In middle school, sometimes teaching reading or writing in isolation does not always work when only given a short amount of class time. These strategies also use a multimodal approach to learning because they give students opportunities to hear text being read aloud and are then expected to write about what has been read.]]> 2023-07-31 01:05:59 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653257857 Benefits and Drawbacks of Strategies alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653258094 One benefit of these strategies is that it gives teachers insight into student comprehension. With both power writing and independent reading notes, teachers can read student responses to determine whether students are understanding the content. It can also give teachers guidelines for student groupings based on need and ability.

An additional benefit is that students are working on both reading and writing at the same time. Especially in content areas, this can be challenging to accomplish if not done simultaneously. With these strategies, teachers can have students practice both of these skills together.

A drawback of these strategies is that some students may struggle with the flexibility and freedom of what to write that these strategies provide. Some students may need several modifications in order to complete the activity successfully.

Another drawback of these strategies is that it can be hard to modify if students are absent for the activity. Because it is predominately teacher-led, especially independent reading notes, it can be difficult to work one-on-one with the absent student in the same way that was done when the whole class was working on the activity together.]]> 2023-07-31 01:06:16 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653258094 Student Preparation alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653258262 For preparation of power writing, students will need to have read or completed other activities that are based on understanding the word or phrase that the power writing assignment focuses on. Students should have background on the given word or phrase before being asked to write about it during a power write. Additionally, students should have a notebook that houses all of their power writings as well as their fluency chart.

For independent reading notes, students need to have a copy of the text that is being read aloud to them and a notebook for their notes. This notebook should be dedicated to one subject so that students can easily go back and reference something if needed.]]> 2023-07-31 01:06:37 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653258262 How to Make Strategies More Meaningful to Students alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653258552 In order to make the strategies more meaningful to students, I would ask them to come up with a topic for reading. I would also dedicate a particular time once or twice a month to completing power writing and/or independent reading notes based on a student's chosen topic. By incorporating student ideas into the classroom, this gives them more interest in what is being done.]]> 2023-07-31 01:06:58 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653258552 Accompanying Visual Elements/Writing Models alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653258885 I would have students draw a web for power writing before they actually write. The word or phrase would go in a middle circle, and different "branches" would extend from the circle to record different ideas. I would also let students choose a traditional written paragraph if that would make it easier for them.

For independent reading notes, I would use Cornell Notes to take notes. This universal template, where students record main idea/words on the left column and notes on the right, helps students organize their ideas and provides an easy way for teachers to read the notes and analyze them quickly and efficiently.]]> 2023-07-31 01:07:21 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653258885 Implementation of Feedback alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653259020 Feedback is implemented into the instruction of both of these strategies by the teachers collecting the notes and looking them over. Teachers can choose to give participation credit or a formal grade, however, at least one insightful comment or question should be written on each student's piece of writing so that the student has a focus point for next time.]]> 2023-07-31 01:07:34 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653259020 Student Interaction and Classroom Space alysondumont18 https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653259202 For power writing, there is not much student interaction, so classroom space should not be affected. Since independent reading notes starts off whole-class with a read aloud, there should be either a dedicated space in the classroom where students can sit on the floor, or the desks should be arranged to encourage collaboration, such as a large circle or groups all facing the direction of the teacher.]]> 2023-07-31 01:07:55 UTC https://padlet.com/alysondumont18/134dknlevlv1zxkz/wish/2653259202