Resources and tips for teaching writing
What's in this Writing Points ezine issue
Even if your kids are bright and read a lot, it's a good idea
to verbalize once or twice a year the changes that transition
words signal. Transitional words and expressions are not glue
dots between sentences. They are more like road signs showing
how what's ahead is different from what went before.
If your students don't recognize the difference in meaning between
and ..... but
in the same vein..... on the other hand
however ..... similarly
they will have difficulty reading or writing nonfiction material.
About every 20 years, English textbooks put on a drive to teach
the meanings of different transitional expressions. When they slack
off, students' reading comprehension slides.
Right now, I think we're in the downward part of the cycle. I spent
an hour with a very bright master's degree candidate earlier this
month who couldn't understand an assignment because she didn't realize
that the word but indicated that the words on either side
of it had contrasting meanings.
Composing at the keyboard is an essential 21st century skill.
I know some English teachers crab that timed writing is too hard
on kiddies' delicate psyches, but the truth is that those deal
little kiddies' psyches are in for a rude shock if their owners
can't write under pressure.
A way to get kids to develop keyboard composition speed is to use
a cool, free program called DrWicked.
Writers select how many words they plan to write in X minutes.
The time can be set for anything from 10 minutes to 2 hours. The
computer is a slave driver. If writers don't keep typing, get negative
reinforcement, which can be a message to get with the program,
an unpleasant sound, or having their work unwrite.
You could use this program as a freewriting activity to
get the creative juices going. However, I recommend it for two other
uses:
By the time students plan their writing thoroughly, they are heartily
sick of it. All their spontenaity is long gone. The only way to
regain spontenaity is by composing fast without reference
to one's notes.
Drwicked is not for editing, just for composing. Writers can copy
and paste their work into a word processing document for editing.
Having your kids use Drwicked will make it easier for kids to distinguish
between composition and the polishing tasks of revision and editing.
In his blog The New Progressive, teacher and blogger Peter
Gow of Dedham, Mass., had this to say about
standards and rubrics:
"I would liken the creation of rubrics and the enunciation
of the specific standards they have to embody to the setting out
of buoys in a harbor. Placing and dropping the markers may be
hard work once in a while, but once they are in the water, everybody
knows where to go."
I couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks, Peter.
One page posted since last month's Writing Points discusses
a simple trick to increase
fluency that doesn't require any writing talent.
Another two pages discuss collaborative writing activities that
can be done by pairs of students. Homeschool teachers may do it
with a student.
Peer review,
the more familiar of the two, is a done after students have composed
their essays. A less familiar oral
activity is used to get students started on an essay.
Please, note. If you have difficulty getting any of these links
to work, try copying it and pasting it in your browser. The links
are valid, but in some e-mail programs (my Yahoo mail, for example)
long links break apart. Putting the link into the browser address
box usually solves the problem.
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The next issue of this ezine will be emailed on January 15, 2009, no providence preventing.
Until then, enjoy your holidays, stay safe, and keep your pencil
sharp.
Linda
