The Writing Revolution in Elementary Grades

Presentation

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Social Studies

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5th Grade

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Practice Problem

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Easy

Brian Healey

Used 8+ times

FREE Resource

24 Slides • 4 Questions

The Writing Revolution

Brian Healey, Secondary Social Studies Instructional Coach
bhealey@cdschools.org

In the Elementary Classroom

Agenda:

Introduction
"WHY" of writing instruction
6 Principles of the Writing Revolution (4)
"How" can I use this in my classroom
Resource Share

Open Ended

Take 2 minutes and type 2-3 things that make teaching writing challenging in your classroom.

Type response here

“... The problem is that American schools haven’t been teaching students how to write. Teachers have assigned writing, but they haven’t explicitly taught it in careful sequence and logical steps, beginning at the sentence level” (Hochman and Wexler 2).

The WHY of Explicit Writing Instruction in Your Classroom

“...“But writing is the hardest thing we ask students to do, and the evidence is clear that very few students become good writers on their own” (Hochman and Wexler 2).

The WHY of Explicit Writing Instruction in Your Classroom

Writing Instruction is Reciprocal with Reading Comprehension Abilities

"As students learn to employ more complex sentences in their oral and written language, their ability to make sense of what they read increases, too."
- Timothy Shanahan

Students need explicit instruction in writing, beginning in the elementary school (continuing into secondary)

Sentences are the building blocks of all writing

The content of the curriculum drives the rigor of the writing activities.

Grammar is best taught in the context of student writing.

6 Principles of The Writing Revolution (4)

#1

#2

#3

#4

The Sentence Level: The Basic Building Blocks of Writing

Why Sentence-Level Work?

“Sentence-level work is the engine that will propel your students from writing the way they speak to using the structures of written language. Once they begin to construct more sophisticated sentences, they’ll enhance not only their writing skills but also their reading comprehension” (Hochman & Wexler 24).

A writer who can't compose a decent sentence most likely will not produce a decent essay - or even a paragraph.

Why Sentence level work?

Change This: "The Union army won."

To This: “In April 1865, the Union Army, a well-trained and well-equipped force, won a decisive battle against the Confederates at the Battle of Appomattox Court House.”

(Hochman & Wexler 24).

The Sentence Level: Unscrambling Scrambled Sentences

“Students enjoy rearranging jumbled sequences of words into correctly punctuated and capitalized sentences. At the same time, they’re developing and honing their grasp of the concept of a complete sentence, learning correct word order, and reinforcing their knowledge of the rules of punctuation and capitalization” (Hochman & Wexler 24).

Example: apples Tim oranges bought and bananas

Solution: Tim bought apples, oranges, and bananas.

Open Ended

Unscramble the Following Sentence:

their maximize writing embedded should students as practicing on possible to writing topics as benefits the content skills soon of students instruction start

Type response here