NAME OF STRATEGY: COOPERATIVE STRIP PARAGRAPH

CATEGORY: READING AND WRITING WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE RESEARCHERS AND OR ORGINS: Adapted from Nancy Whisler and the Group Frame

Editing checklist comes from UCI (University of California Irvine) Writing

Project

Krashen says that, “Merely writing does not make one a better writer. Reading

and thinking about your writing (metacognition) makes one a better writer.”

KEY POINTS:

WHAT: A strategy from Nancy Whisler that teaches the entire writing process utilizing the teams to come up with supporting details

from the process grid. WHY:

Modeling expository text and the writing process

Teams write in their own color to promote ownership

Builds and promotes fluency and automaticity

Becomes grade level text in the content area

Content-based reading for emergent readers

Authentic source of revision and editing

Negotiating for meaning

Facilitated writing

Metacognition

Daily oral language process

Models organization, voice, mechanics. Utilizes the 6 Traits of

Writing

The writing is used a teaching tool, to teach writing conventions

appropriate to grade level

WHY:

Explicitly teaches revising and editing skills in a low-anxiety

environment due to the fact that the team has created the

sentence, not an individual

Scaffolds how to gather ideas from the process grid or expert

group text

Models the writing process, writing skills, metacognition, and

quality of writing

Models how to make sentences clearer and how writing makes

sense to readers

Teaches writing process

Standards-based, student-generated texts

Models and scaffolds editing and how to use editing marks to

check for spelling and punctuation

Helps students write to a prompt.

HOW:

Teacher provides topic sentence-sets the stage for type of writing, example: a compare and contrast, sequential, or cause and effect

paragraph.

Asks, “What do you think are the important or scientific words in the topic sentence? Highlight key words. Prewriting your topic sentence

can save time, but don’t forget to read it with the students (having them read it also) and highlight the important words with them in the

topic sentence. This helps teach them to write to a prompt and how to write a closing sentence using the highlighted words.

Teacher models a sentence as he/she walks the process grid pulling examples sentences using the categories. Model higher level sentences

using information from the process grid

Students get information from the process grid using the teacher’s model

Teams agree on a sentence as a group, they say it to the teacher, teacher approves, students write on a sentence strip, place in pocket

chart.

Use and check off things from your editing checklist in order from the beginning. Ask why—metacognition

First time doing the coop, teacher may model giving the reason why changes were made.---Scaffolding and as students become more

comfortable with the process release the responsibility to them.

Use with students when at least one student in the group can write. Primary and prewriting students do a group frame where the teacher

writes dictated sentences from the students.

Highlight what the students like or what makes the writing interesting or compelling.

Repeated readings for fluency and automaticity.

Model combining to make complex sentences

Corrections are done by teacher in black.

We do not ask permission to rip the sentences. Just do it and explain why you are doing it.

Asks students to approve any changes to their own sentences and make suggestion for others.

Go back to SPC—are there any words we could add to make this paragraph more descriptive?

Teacher models metacognitive suggestions, eg "I think this would be clearer because......."

Allows students to negotiate for a concluding sentence, based on highlighted words in topic sentence, in teams and in whole group.

Scaffolds how to paraphrase the topic sentence in order to arrive at a concluding sentence

Teacher is the final editor

VARIATIONS AND EXTENSIONS: Types the final copy of the coop strip paragraph

Utilizes the text as a reading resource for guided reading, shared reading, and independent reading