Proven
Instructional Practices
for High-Quality Writing
In the rert
The Neglected “R”: The Need for a
Writing Revolution
the ational oission on Writing
state
Writing is not simply a way for students to
demonstrate what they know. It is a way to help them
understand what they know.
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Best Practices in Teaching Writing
1. Establish a positive atmosphere for writing,
reading, and learning by:
reating an inviting classrooith eile seating
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haring the teachers on riting ith stuents
stalishing routines anctations
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3. Provide meaningful student writing activities by:
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ction anonction riting
Proviing ortunities for authentic riting
alloing for the recursive nature of riting ractice
over a riof ays anor ees
4. Ensure that students read, respond to, and use a
variety of materials written for a variety of purposes
and audiences by:
iving reaing an integral role in the riting
classroo
Proviing iverse reaing aterials oeling the
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2
Proven Instructional Practices for High-Quality Writing
5.
Write regularly across the curriculum and
grade levels by:
•
Collaborating on assignments among content
area teachers
•
Sharing writing rubrics across grade levels and
subject areas
6.
Arrange for students to have constructive
response to their writing and to offer response to
other writers by:
•
Making teacher and peer response an integral
part of writing instruction
•
Providing class time for revision after response to
the original draft
•
Providing selective responses that do not
?
overwhelm the students
?
•
Responding intermittently throughout the writing
process, not only after the fnal draft
•
Using many techniques for response, including
student-teacher conferences, peer reviews,
response forms, class critiques, and self
assessments
7.
Provide opportunities for students to collaborate
as writers, thinkers, and learners by:
•
Using collaboration techniques such as furniture
placement, modeling collaboration, providing
checklists and forms, and organizing writing pairs
or small groups
•
Providing guidelines and demonstrations of
appropriate student interactions and creating
specifc tasks for students to accomplish during
their collaborations
8.
Conduct effective mini-lessons on writing by:
•
Choosing writer’s craft lessons that relate to
students’ needs as well as curriculum and/or
assessment needs
•
Structuring mini-lessons so students can observe,
discuss, and simulate the targeted writing craft
lessons or skills
•
Providing specifc responses to these simulated
practices
(Adapted
from
Best
Practices
in
Teaching
Writing:
An
Outline
by
Charles
Whitaker,
from
the
Annenberg
CPG
Channel
Write
in
the
Middle
video
series (2004),
produced by Kentucky Educational Television.)
Four Components of Writer’s
Workshop
How does a teacher incorporate these eight best practices
into writer’s workshop? Through direct writing instruction
scaffolded within the instructional components of
writing
aloud; shared writing; guided writing; and independent
writing
(Allen, 1998; Routman, 2000; Fountas & Pinnell,
2001). These four components are described below.
1.
WRITING ALOUD
•
Teacher demonstrates – writing on chart paper,
overhead/LCD, board
•
Teacher models aloud what she/he is doing,
thinking, and rethinking while writing, rereading
and revising draft
•
Teacher talks aloud about topics such as
appropriate writing mode - narrative, expository,
persuasive (story, menu, letter, poem, etc.);
spacing needs (K-2); organizational patterns and
transition words; writer’s craft lessons such as
persuasive details of statistics and expert opinion;
effective repetition
•
Teacher points out skills such as spelling
conventions, punctuation needs, vocabulary
choices, sentence structures, revision techniques
2.
SHARED WRITING
•
Teacher and class compose aloud, collaboratively
•
Both negotiate topics, purposes, and word choice
with each other
•
Teacher acts as scribe and encourages all
?
students to participate
?
•
Teacher provides explicit questioning and
directions, encouraging high-level thinking on
focus, support, organization, language use/
conventions, writer’s craft
3.
GUIDED WRITING
•
Core of the program – whole class, small group,
or individualized
•
Student writes and teacher guides
•
Explicit teaching in form of mini-lessons for
reinforcement of skills depicted in shared writing
or for introduction of new writer’s craft lessons
•
Rubric development and review conferences take
place along with peer response and sharing
JANUAR
Y 18, 2005
3
Proven Instructional Practices for High-Quality Writing
•
Writing may be responses to literature; responses
to world or school events; relating of information/
reports; description of classroom experiences;
personal reflections; writing to learn in content
areas
•
Writing activities are embedded in ongoing
content or literature study on a daily basis
4.
INDEPENDENT WRITING
•
Students work alone, using their current
knowledge of writing process, often choosing
own topics
•
Occurs daily in writer’s workshop format
•
Teacher and student monitor through daily log
journals, conferences, teacher feedback
Indicators of a Balanced Writing
Workshop
How do these four components look in the classroom?
What are the indicators of a balanced writing workshop?
Classroom seating arrangements and materials may differ
depending on the grade level and abilities of the writers.
However, the following major indicators will most likely
be present.
•
Reading-writing connection - tying together
books being read aloud and/or studied in class to
writing lessons and research reports/projects
•
Meaningful print-rich environment – using labels,
posters, captions where they catch student’s
attention
and
serve a purpose for writing; literacy
centers at K-5 such as post offce, supermarket,
bookstore, offce, kitchen; real-world assignments
and articles of interest posted for middle/high
students
•
Teacher modeling – regularly demonstrating
(modeling aloud) the drafting of narratives, leads,
poetry, punctuation conventions, along with
writing in response to reading assignments
•
Real purposes and audiences – providing K-12
students time to write each day about topics they
have knowledge of and care about, using rubrics
which describe levels of achievement
•
Writer’s craft – specifcally teaching the
techniques of writing such as the importance of
audience, the use of dialogue, connotative and
sensory language, parallel sentence structures
•
Writing in various modes/genres – producing
picture books, recipes, brochures, essays, social
studies reports, movie reviews, web site reviews,
letters to the editor, book reviews, memoirs
•
Emphasis on revision – revising pieces
thoughtfully over time—not a new piece of
writing each day (much writing will not leave
draft form)
•
Conference/assessment notes – keeping a log or
portfolio on each student’s writing progress
•
Spelling and vocabulary – connecting both to
writing, reading and language use
•
Sentence structure and conventions – practicing
in context, using mini-lessons, not isolated skills
sheets.
Suggestions to Improve FCAT
Writing Scores
Judith
Langer
(2000)
found
that
“in
schools
that
beat
the
odds,
test
preparation
has
been
integrated
into
the
class
time,
as
part
of
the
ongoing
English
language
arts
learning goals.” In high-achieving schools, teachers teach
writing as a literacy skill for life-long learning, not merely
for
passing
a
test.
In
the
spring
of
2000
The
Florida
Department of Education convened a writing task force
to
review
grades
4,
8,
and
10
FCAT
writing
data
from
1993 to 2000. The results of this research were published
in
Lessons Learned: FCAT, Sunshine State Standards and
Instructional
Implications
Data
through
2000
(2002).
Along
with
providing
statewide
trends
in
student
achievement,
this
document
provided
fve
instructional
strategies
for
improving
writing.
The
Lessons
Learned
research,
reflecting
Langer’s
earlier
research
fndings,
emphasized
that
“including
these
basic
instructional
activities
in
the
daily
curriculum
[would]
provide
writing
practice…and
enable
students
to
understand
the
standards
being
applied,
meet
those
standards,
and
improve
the
overall
quality
of
their
writing.”
These
fve
strategies
are
bulleted
next,
followed
by
four
other
strategies
based
on
the
best
practices
discussed
in
this
document.
•
Teach writing as a process, stressing the revision and
editing stages. Multiple revisions of one essay or
story may be more helpful than writing several essays
or stories without revision.
JANUAR
Y 18, 2005
4
Proven Instructional Practices for High-Quality Writing
•
Require students to read and interpret a prompt
independently, to organize their thoughts and plan
their writing, and to write an elaborated (well-
detailed and thorough) response.
•
Share examples of student writing from each of the
score points, and ask students to give suggestions for
improving the essay.
•
Use the Florida rubric to score student writing, and
rewrite the rubric in student-friendly language.
•
Provide oral and written feedback to students,
emphasizing all four elements of writing: focus,
organization, support, and control of conventions.
•
Use mini-lessons to emphasize the writer’s craft
such as leads and conclusions; showing, not telling;
anecdotal details; audience awareness; sentence
combining.
•
Score some drafts only on the particular craft
element being studied, not every aspect of the paper.
•
Emphasize that high-quality writing has a clear focus,
extensive elaboration of detail, a mature command of
language, and appropriate sentence variety.
•
Provide time periodically before the actual FCAT
writing assessment to rehearse “test conditions” and
discuss student reflections of the experience.
Caveats Regarding Two Teaching
Practices
Described
below
are
two
practices
that
have
not
produced
quality
writing
for
the
majority
of
Florida’s
students.
Teaching
formulaic
writing
is the
frst area of
concern.
Barry
Lane
states
in
his
book
After
the
End
(1993)
that
“writers don’t need to be given formulas; they need to be
shown possibilities.” Too often, formulaic writing leads to
mediocre,
dull
writing
where
student
engagement
with
the
text
is
absent.
In
the
latest
edition
of
Inside
Out
,
Dan Kirby asserts “when developing writers are required
to focus on forms, they learn to plug lifeless words and
mundane ideas into the formula…” (Kirby et al., 2004).
It
is
not
that
most
Florida
students
who
use
a
form
cannot write; it is that they cannot write at the level that
today’s
businesses
and
colleges
expect.
Writing
which
is
purposeful,
reflects
insight
into
the
writing
situation,
and
demonstrates
a
mature
command
of
language
are
rubric
descriptors
of
high-quality
writing.
Teachers
are
encouraged to recognize the limitations of
presenting
and accepting as correct one organizational plan over
all others.
While a formula may be useful for beginning
or novice writers who need scaffolding in organizational
techniques
and
in
the
crafting
of
elaboration,
it
should
not
be
an
outcome
expectation
for
student
writers
at
any
grade
level.
The
results
of
a
research
study
from
the
University
of
Delaware (Albertson,
2003)
indicated
a lower frequency of 5-paragraph essays at higher score
points
on
a
holistic
rubric.
The
researcher
concluded
“that
learning
to
use
a
range
of
available
organization
and
development
strategies
may
be
more
worthwhile
[than formulas], at least for the purpose of passing high
stakes writing assessments.”
Learning
and
practicing
an
array
of
organizational
writing
patterns
also
encourages
higher
order
thinking.
Teachers
who
teach
a
menu
of
organizational
patterns,
along with each pattern’s linking expressions and signal
words, implicitly help students make sense of the ideas
they
want
to
express
(Billmeyer
et
al.,
1998).
Among
these
patterns
are
chronological
order,
comparison-
contrast,
description,
concept/defnition,
and
process/
cause-effect.
Creative,
thoughtful
modes
of
writing
may
be
developed
through
the
use
of
these
patterns
–
modes
such
as
the
personal
essay,
research
report,
autobiography,
feature
news
article
or
editorial,
as
well
as, the short story or poem.
Rote memorization
of an essay component, for example,
an
introduction
or
lead
paragraph,
is
a
disturbing
practice observed during the handscoring of recent FCAT
Writing essays. Providing models of sentence styles and
techniques
by
excellent
writers
for
student
imitation
is
considered
a
best
practice
(Killgallon,
1998;
Noden,
1999).
However,
some
students
have
been
encouraged
to
memorize
another
writer’s
work,
such
as
a
lead
paragraph,
and
use
it
in
their
FCAT
Writing
responses.
This
practice
infringes
upon
the
student’s
ownership
of
the
writing.
In
effect,
it
is
not
the
student’s
original
writing,
an
explicit
requirement
of
FCAT
Writing,
and
may
be
considered
a
violation
of
test
administration
rules.
JANUAR
Y 18, 2005
5
Proven Instructional Practices for High-Quality Writing
Final Comments
?
The National Commission on Writing recently published
a
second
report
Writing:
A
Ticket
to
Work…Or
a
Ticket
Out
(2004),
highlighting
the
results
of
a
survey
of
major
American
corporations
regarding
written
communication.
Respondents
rated
accuracy,
clarity,
conventions,
and
conciseness
as
extremely
important
characteristics
of
effective
written
communication.
These
corporate
leaders’
responses
reiterated
the
focus
of
the
Commission’s
original
report:
clear
writing
and
clear
thinking
go
hand
in
hand—each
is
dependent
on
the other.
Resources
Video Series on Writing Instruction
The Annenberg/CPG Channel is a free satellite channel
for schools. Videos also are streamed on demand at
http://www.learner.org/
. Two new video series are
excellent:
Developing Writers: a Workshop for High
School Teachers
(2004); and
Write in the Middle: a
Workshop for Middle School Teachers
(2004).
Professional Books and Articles
Bomer, R. (1995).
Time for Meaning: Crafting Literate
Lives in Middle & High School.
Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Fletcher, R. & Portalupi, J. (2001).
Nonfiction Craft
Lessons.
York, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.
NCTE’s Assembly for the Teaching of Grammar. (2004).
NCTE Guideline: Some Questions and Answers about
Grammar.
Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of
English.
National Writing Project
Information on the fve writing professional
development sites at the University of Central
Florida, University of South Florida, Florida Gulf
Coast University, Florida State University, and Nova
Southeastern University may be accessed at
http://www.writingproject.org
.
NCTE Writing Initiative
NCTE’s Writing Initiative to support best practices in
the teaching of writing across all disciplines may be
References
?
Allen, J. & Gonzalez, K. (1998).
There’s Room for Me Here:
Literacy Workshop in the Middle School.
York, MA: Stenhouse
Publishers.
Billmeyer,
R.,
Barton,
M.,
McREL (2002).
Teaching
Reading
in the Content Areas: If Not Me, Then Who?
2
nd ed. Aurora,
CO: McREL
Lane,
B.
(1993).
After
THE
END:
Teaching
and
Learning
Creative Revision.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Langer,
J.
(2002).
Effective
Literacy
Instruction:
Building
Successful Reading and Writing Programs.
Urbana, IL: National
Council of Teachers of English.
Langer,
J.
A.,
with
Close,
E.
Angelis,
J.
&
Preller,
P. (2000).
Guidelines for Teaching Middle and High School Students to
Read and Write Well.
Albany, NY: National Research Center
on English Learning & achievement.
Florida
Department
of
Education. (2002).
Lessons
Learned—
FCAT, Sunshine State Standards and Instructional Implication
.
Tallahassee, FL: Florida Department of Education.
Kentucky Educational Television. (2004).
Write in the Middle:
An eight-part professional development video.
Lexington, KY:
Author
Kilgallon,
D. (1998).
Sentence
Composing
for
High
School.
Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Publishers.
Kirby, D., Kirby, D. L. & Liner, T. (2004).
Inside Out: Strategies
for Teaching Writng.
3d. ed. Portsmouth, NH: Heineman.
Freeman,
M.
(1995).
Building
A
Writing
Community:
A
Practical Guide.
Gainesville, FL: Maupin House Publishing.
Fountas,
I.
&
Pinnell
G.
S.
(2001).
Guiding
Readers
and
Writers: Grades 3-6.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
National
Commission
on
Writing
in
America’s
Schools
and
Colleges. (2003).
The
Neglected
“R”:
the
need
for
a
writing
revolution.
New York: College Board.
National
Commission
on
Writing
in
America’s
Schools
and
Colleges. (2004).
Writing: A Ticket to Work… Or a Ticket Out:
A Survey of Business Leaders.
New York: College Board.
Noden,
H.
R.
(1999).
Image
Grammar:
Using
Grammatical
Structures to Teach Writing.
Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook
Publishers.
Routman,
R.
(2000).
CONVERSATIONS:
Strategies
for
Teaching,
Learning,
and
Evaluating.
Portsmouth,
NH:
Heinemann.
//
///
.
JANUARY 18, 2005
accessed at
http:www.ncte.orgprogwriting
