Murray Gadd: Writing Workshop 7.06.2016

Presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1VF-IbFwdT-xtSMxeMyWo41ZcqybdEu76QF44f5TmBUw/edit#slide=id.p3

SESSION ONE: KEY INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Murray showed an image of a family silhouetted at sunset on a beach.
We used this visual image to write individually and then in small groups

This is collaborative, very inclusive, great for reluctant writers, and a good way to begin an inquiry or topic study e.g. The Rocky Shore.

Step one: individual picture prompted writing
Show 4-5 picture prompts, so each child writes a:
1. Factual sentence
2. Descriptive sentence
3. Thought sentence

My version:
A girl swims under-water.
Water sweeps aside as her arms push forward; water is a cape and in it she
flies.
"I am," she thinks, "and I am free."

Step two: group writing
Children form groups, according to which image they chose. They work collaboratively, putting the sentences together to make a short piece of writing.
They glue the sentences onto a background, and decorate in line with the theme of the writing. 

What literacy skills would be involved in writing a text like ours?

LITERACY SKILLS…..

Writing: Literacy Progressions After 1 Year

* convey simple ideas, responses, opinions, or questions

* reread what they have written, as they write, to maintain meaning

* respond to feedback by making changes such as adding or deleting details...

Reading: Literacy Progressions After 1 Year

* decoding unfamiliar words

* applying their knowledge of vocabulary in order to understand words as they decode them and to make meaning at the sentence and whole-text level

* understanding the meaning of basic punctuation features (for example, full stops, speech marks, and exclamation marks).

What instructional strategies would be needed to teach a lesson like this?

* Engages and motivates

* Sets expectations and goals
* Demonstrates or models, perhaps using think alouds
* Questions and prompts;
* Explains
* Gives feedback

* Differentiates for diverse student strengths, needs and interests

____________________________

SESSION TWO: WORKING EFFECTIVELY WITH STRUGGLING OR RELUCTANT WRITERS

From 2014 results, four groups of students appear to dominate the ‘struggling or reluctant cohort’.  They are:
- Year 5-8 students
- Boys: There is a 15.7% achievement gap between boys and girls.
- Students who are not NZE: 10-20% achievement gap between NZE and Maori & Pasifika.
- English language learners

Why?
* Overwhelmed by physical demands e.g. handwriting strength or cognitive tasks e.g. spelling strategies; selecting a topic for writing
* Not engaged in the topic for writing; confidence; not seeing themselves as a writer
* Unsure of what is expected
* Not scaffolded/supported
* Lack of positive role modelling of writers around them
* Demands / interest in other curricular areas; sport; ICT etc

Murray's PhD, 'What is critical in the effective teaching of year 5-8 writing?'
found that learner gains was most closely associated with high teacher proficiency at 1. Learning Tasks and 2. Direct Instruction.
Decreasing achievement gap was most closely linked to teacher proficiency at:
3. Self-regulation; 4.Responding to Students & 5. Organisation & management

1. Learning Tasks
* Offering Learning tasks which students regarded them as purposeful and meaningful
* Learning tasks where teachers involved students in the construction of the learning task e.g. 'What have we done recently that we want to share?' 'Who might like to know about this?'

2. Direct Instruction
* Direct instruction included emonstrating/explaining clearly what students are to do, learn and achieve in a lesson

* Some teachers used ‘active demonstrating’ (writing with students) and ‘receptive demonstrating’ (sharing others’ writing with students)

* Question students about their writing during all stages of the process, using highly 'cognitive questions’ (‘how?’ and ‘why?’ questions)

e.g. Why did the author use these words? How do these words make you feel?

3. Self-Regulation

Gave time and opportunities for their students to write on self-selected topics.
* Encouraged their students to write outside writing instructional time.
* Provided opportunities for students to work collaboratively.
* Encouraged their students to take responsibility for seeking support.

What writing tasks are most engaging for reluctant writers?

- creating story books for other students, especially younger students
- caption writing for ‘real life’ digital images
- Power Point presentations of research topics with key points noted
- writing & recording digitally rap songs, short scenes, jokes, jingles & ads
- drama or role play that leads to writing

- it’s all about quantity not quality
How do we help our students see themselves as able writers?

Avoid students seeing (and being put off!) writing as being:

- all about spelling, punctuation and handwriting

- about quantity not quality

- all about planning, revising and editing

HOW DO WE EXTEND OUR MORE ABLE WRITERS?

Provide opportunities, stimulus & encouragement for students to:

- write more diversely, both inside and outside the classroom.
- write for authentic & purposeful reasons, eg. a book for peers; school blogs; writing competitions.

- make reading-writing links: including ascertaining what other writers do to be effective, e.g. add details, use structure, vocabulary, language features.

- share and discuss their writing with others (teachers; peers in class; peers across school). They will need the ‘language of writing’ to do this.  
- discuss what writing must include e.g. ‘what works?’ and ‘what next?’ Students must be challenged to justify and explain their writing choices.
- set goals for themselves & self-monitor progress over short-term & long-term.  This might include keeping a portfolio of work to show progress.
- explore favourite topics using diverse text types, and to

- navigate diverse examples of exemplary texts written by other students, e.g. national writing exemplars.

SESSION 3:

WRITING CONVERSATIONS WITH STUDENTS

This is cement that holds any teacher-student meeting about writing together.

Conversations include:

* are teacher-student or student-student; generally about student-generated texts. Conversations usually aim to make the writer more effective and proficient (formative conversations).

* are held at any stage of the writing process, e.g. to help a student

-  plan their writing better;
-  begin more effectively;
-  sustain and conclude a text more effectively;
-  revise a text proficiently;
-  attend satisfactorily to surface feature errors;
-  publish more effectively.

* will always involve feedback.

* can be undertaken at the group or individual level – depending on how much experience the writers have had discussing writing.

* timetabled or informal as the need arises, e.g., junior writing programme:

 

Writing conversations have some specific organisational features. These include:

1. Student/s read their writing to you.
2. Begin with a general discussion on the effectiveness of the text (including a personal reaction. Be enthusiastic for the students).
3. Discuss specific achievements that the student/s are making or have made. These should relate to any goals that have been set.

4. Make any prompts that you think necessary toward meeting set goals.
5. Do any incidental teaching that you feel is necessary along the way, e.g. explicit teaching of letter-sound relationships or spelling patterns.
6. If you are helping the student/s to get the text ready for presentation (publication), it is ok to make changes to the text if necessary (after they have had a go!).

7. Set ‘next step goals’ together and discuss how these might be achieved. This could be, "this is great...keep doing more of (paragraphing; trying to spell new words etc)"

8. Possibly: assist student/s to select words for their individual spelling lists.

My questions:

How do I help/scaffold NE students to set next step goals, especilly those who have only just begin to understand what good writers do?

Ideas: Would a language for writing help them with this?

Using modelled examples; noticing good features/next steps with chln.

Use 'think alouds' or modelling intially?

Asking students to share and feedback on each others' writing?

* Can I find opportunities to watch how other teachers give feedback? Can I ask others to observe and give feedback on my writing conversations with students?

* Can I make my writing converations more positive for NE students?

* How can I scaffold students into having their own writing conversations