TEACHING WRITING WITH “MORTAR”

Ellen LevySanta Cruz County Office of Education

Wednesday, March 16th

Today’s Plan

• “Mortar” for explicit writing instruction • “Mortar” in note-taking• “Mortar” when summarizing• “Mortar” for longer compositions

What is Mortar?

• Not the language we are drawn to teach • Driven by function or purpose• Yet it is essential…• Because it connects topic-specific vocabulary in

a way that conveys the conceptual understanding; the purpose for communication

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Informal and Formal WritingInformal and Formal Writing

Informal Writing• Writing to learn• Everyday writing• Less structured• Deepens content

understanding

Formal Writing• Learning to Write• Final product• Structure matters• Correct counts• Demonstrates content

understanding

© E.L. Achieve/2010

Ask Yourself

What do I expect of my students when it comes to informal and formal writing?

How do I prepare students to meet those expectations?

Writing to LearnWriting to Learn

This is low stakes writing. The goal isn’t so much good writing as coming to learn, understand, remember and figure out what you don’t yet

know.- Peter Elbow

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The critical need forThe critical need for

Low-stakes WritingLow-stakes Writing

Writing to learn activities provide non-threatening opportunities to practice the language of new learning and new ideas.

The act of writing requires that students practice crafting sentences and transforming thought to print.

Note-taking ToolsNote-taking Tools

Note-taking is a critically important skill

and can have a strong impact on student

achievement (Marzano, 2001).

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Note-taking vs. Note-making

Note-taking• at the surface• word-for-word• directly from text• at the literal level

Note-making• below the surface• requires reflection• promotes questioning• supports summarizing• at the interpretive level

for summarizing Cornell Notes

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Dialectical Journal

• provides clear purpose and focus

• structured to support movement between direct quote and response

• offers language appropriate to citing text and responding to content

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Says-Means-Matters

• models the process of quote selection, interpretation, and explanation

• mirrors the structure of an analytical or persuasive paper

• supports critical thinking and discussion

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S.O.A.P.S.

• outlines components of analysis

• suggests language for each component

• prepares students for writing longer pieces

Try it On

Which of then note-taking tools could you use in your classroom?

How might you modify or change the tool to work in your classroom?

Learning to WriteLearning to Write

Academic writing draws together and applies listening, reading, and speaking to articulate the

writer’s insights and communicate to other readers.

Summary FramesSummary Frames

Analyzing text and isolating critical information is the pre-work of summarizing.

Actually creating a summary requires reassembling the identified critical

information into a new structure with different language.

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The ability to summarize information requires readers to sift through large units of text, differentiate important from unimportant ideas, then synthesize those ideas and create a new coherent text that stands for the original.

This sounds difficult, and the research demonstrates that, in fact, it is.

- Dole, et al,1991

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The Skills of Summary

Summarizing relies on the ability to• condense information• consolidate information• discern essential details• simplify language• restate language

Using a Summary Frame• identifying the components of

a summary• offering appropriate language

choices for synthesizing information

• providing a paragraph structure for drafting

• modeling academic syntax

Try it On

Which of then note-taking tools could you use in your classroom?

How might you modify or change the tool to work in your classroom?

Drafting TemplatesDrafting Templates

Strong academic writing is the hallmark of a successful student. The ability to compose clear prose, discuss

abstract ideas, and organize complex thinking symbolic of a student’s success with language.

Schleppegrell, 2004

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Academic “moves”Academic “moves”

What makes writers masters of their trade is not only their ability to express interesting thoughts, but their mastery of an inventory of basic moves…less experienced writers are often unfamiliar with these basic moves.

- Graff & Berkenstein, They Say, I Say

© E.L. Achieve/2010

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Character Analysis

• offers a organizational model and appropriate language

• divided into three sections: introduction, body, and conclusion

• Provides options for use of functional language.

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Article Review

R review

E examine

V verify

I interpret

E explain

W wonder

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Lab Report

• demystifies final product by breaking it into discrete sections, each with a list o components to include and sample language to use

• allows students to accurately document a process and analyze results

Try it On

Which of then drafting templates could you use in your classroom?

How might you modify or change the tool to work in your classroom?

Planning TimePlanning Time