INSTRUCTIONAL WRITING STRATEGIES GUIDELINES
To provide multiple opportunities for
students to develop complex communication skills for a variety of purposes,
teachers will:
o
Writing for a
variety of purposes and audiences.
o
Experiences
that reveal ownership and independent thinking.
o
Writing in
which students draw on their own experiences, learning, reading, and inquiry to
complete writing tasks.
WRITING PORTFOLIOS
To ensure every
student has a writing portfolio that includes samples of work that show interests and
growth over time, follows the student from grade to grade, and follows the
student to any school he/she attends.
The portfolio will
contain developmentally appropriate pieces using the three types of writing:
·
Writing to Learn-for
all subject areas, Writing to Learn activities can include but are not limited
to:
o Learning Log
o Class Journal
o Reading Response Journal
o Thoughtful Education Tools
o Writer’s Notebook
o Note-taking and/or use of graphic organizers
o
·
Writing
to Demonstrate Learning-for all subject areas, Writing to
Demonstrate Learning activities can include but are not limited to:
o Open-Response
o Summaries
of reading
o On-Demand
Prompts
o Book,
Research, or Library Reports
o Essays
o Exit
slips that involve writing
o Projects
that involve writing
·
Writing
for Publication (one from each category)
o Personal Writing: Narrative or Memoir
o Literary:
Short Story or Poem
o Transactive:
Article, Brochure, or Letter
o Reflective
OPEN-RESPONSE
QUESTIONS
To ensure that
students know how to demonstrate knowledge of content when responding
to an open-response question, the writing plan will incorporate:
·
Open-response questions should be
included within the unit of study as an assessment of the content and skills of
that unit. Open-response questions should NOT be an isolated activity.
·
The process of answering an ORQ will be
extensively modeled at the primary
level. The process will continue to be modeled for students in grades 3-5.
Coaching is the key! Each grade level will develop a continuum that is
developmentally appropriate for that grade level.
·
Teachers will use and model graphic
organizers before writing the open-response.
·
Teachers will focus on the quality of
the ORQ in order to achieve desired levels of proficiency from students.
Questions should be written at a DOK 3 or DOK 4 level.
·
Teachers will teach vocabulary and
utilize Thoughtful Education tools so students’ vocabulary will strengthen and
be apparent in the open-response answers.
·
Students will receive prompt feedback and be given the
opportunity to improve responses to the proficient level. Teachers should give
students specific feedback that is positive and constructive.
·
Develop an open-response folder that
includes only “4” answers. Review folder throughout the year. Use responses
from the folder so students become familiar with the criteria of a “4”.
·
Teachers will use the OR analysis grid
to analyze student work with the leadership team once a month.
·
Teachers will implement LIVE SCORING as
directed by the principal.
ON-DEMAND
WRITING
To ensure the student
learns how to demonstrate knowledge of writing, the writing
plan will incorporate:
·
First
Grade:
o
First Semester:
Extensive modeling of whole group letters
o
Second Semester:
Independent Letter Writing (model as needed)/Extensive modeling of a whole
group feature article
§
Skills:
ü
Writing complete sentences
ü
Write margin to margin
ü
Teach indenting
ü
Put sentences together to make
paragraph (MODEL 3 P’s Paragraph)
ü
Use Word Walls
ü
Practice correct capitalization and
punctuation
ü
Expand sentences by adding describing
words
ü
Use Elmo to revise work whole-group
ü
Begin exposure to magazines and
articles
ü
Know Text Features such as bold,
italics, captions, etc.
ü
Use Time Transitions (first, next,
then, last, and finally)
ü
Use Proofreading Marks (capital letter,
check spelling, insert a word, delete, and end punctuation)
·
Second
Grade:
o
First Semester:
Modeling/Independent letter writing
o
Second Semester:
Modeling whole group feature articles/Independent developmentally appropriate
feature articles/Continue independent letter writing
(Teach
a unit on Persuasive Writing—students write persuasive letter)
§
Skills:
ü
Write complete sentences correctly
ü
Use correct beginning capitalization
and end punctuation when writing sentences.
ü
Identify Purpose in a passage
ü
Identify Audience for specific writing
pieces
ü
Know and use the Writing Process
ü
Brainstorm about a topic before writing
ü
Write descriptive sentences
ü
Write in paragraph form when
appropriate
ü
Expand sentences by adding descriptive
details
ü
Indent the beginning of paragraphs
ü
Use graphic organizers when necessary
to plan writing
ü
Continue exposure to magazines and
articles
ü
Focus of Text Features such as
captions, headings, titles, etc.
ü
Discuss SPAT when reading articles
(Situation, Purpose, Audience, Task)
ü
Select titles and captions for stories
and pictures
ü
Write letters in proper formation and
correct parts
ü
Use commas correctly in a Letter
ü
Continue to use Transitions Words
ü
Write paragraphs using the 3 P’s
Paragraph Method
ü
Write further support sentences
appropriate to topic
ü
Know how to write fact and opinion
statements
ü
Teach writing Leads using questions
ü
Use the thesaurus
ü
Know and use Proofreading Marks
ü
Revise student work by modeling and in
whole-group
ü
Display and discuss Proficient student
work
ü
Begin to practice with SPAT by breaking
down Letter prompts
·
Third
Grade:
o
First Semester:
Independent Letter Writing (model as introduced)/Model Feature Article
o
Second Semester:
Independent Letter Writing/Feature Article (model as needed)
(Teach
a unit on Informative Writing- students write informative article following
SPAT Method)
§
Skills:
ü
Review steps of Writing Process
ü
Write for an intended purpose
ü
Write to specific audiences
ü
Write topic sentences
ü
Use correct capitalization and
punctuation
ü
Use commas appropriately
ü
Revise own work using Proofreading
Marks
ü
Use the thesaurus
ü
Use a variety of prewriting strategies
(lists, webbings, etc.)
ü
Model and display Proficient Work
ü
Introduce students to the Kentucky
Writing Scoring Rubric
ü
Allow students to score own work using
KWSR
ü
Must know all parts of the Letter!
ü
Practice using the 3 P’s Paragraph
Model
ü
Understand the purpose of further
support sentences
ü
Know how to write fact and opinion
statements
ü
Write a persuasive Letter following the
SPAT technique
ü
Indent paragraphs on own initiative
ü
Use SPAT to breakdown prompts
ü
Use questions in Introduction
paragraphs
ü
Use questions as Topic Sentences
ü
Write informative paragraphs
ü
Use Text Features when appropriate
ü
Continue exposure to magazines and
articles
ü
Do SPAT when reading an article
ü
Practice writing Leads for pieces
ü
Write effective Conclusion sentences
ü
Practice writing Conclusion paragraphs
ü
Make up titles for pictures, change
titles
ü
Add captions to pictures
ü
Use Transition Words effectively
ü
Write from different Points of View
ü
Discuss the elements of Nonfiction
writing
ü
Write an article using the SPAT
Technique
·
Fourth
Grade:
o
First Semester:
One On-Demand Prompt using the form of a letter (Use and Model the SPAT Method)
o
Second Semester:
One On-Demand Prompt using the form of a feature article (Use and Model the
SPAT Method)
§
Skills:
ü
Follow the skills outlined in third
grade
·
Fifth
Grade:
o
Model/Review SPAT for all forms and
purposes
o
Introduce/Model graphic organizer
o
Teach/Model Introduction paragraphs for
Letter writing
o
Model-Persuasive Letter using SPAT
Method
o
Introduce/Model Introduction paragraph
for Article writing
o
Model-Informative Article using SPAT
Method
o
Model-Narrative Letter or Article using
SPAT Method
Fifth graders will be
given a writing prompt that will follow the same format as the state assessment
4 times throughout the year. The prompt will include the same purpose
(persuade, narrate, and inform) and task (letter or article) that has been
modeled in class prior to the “grade-wide assessment.” The final “grade-wide
assessment” will include two prompts, giving the students a choice in the
writing task. Each assessment will include 12 multiple choice items addressing
editing and revision skills.
Fifth
grade teachers will score these prompts using the on-demand analysis grid and
identify next-steps in the instructional process.
POLICY EVALUATION
We
will evaluate the effectiveness of this policy through our School Improvement
Planning Process.
Date
Adopted: _1-11-11____
Date
Reviewed or Revised: _____ Council Chairperson’s Initials _____
Date
Reviewed or Revised: _____ Council Chairperson’s Initials _____