Transcription of How to Teach Writing - Elementary and Middle …
1 2015 All Rights Reserved 1 | Page Brought To You By: PLEASE VISIT: to find out how you can get all your students Writing amazing essays and reports QUICKLY & EASILY! Help others find this free eBook bookmark this, link to this, tweet this, favorite today! Pattern Based Writing : Beginner s guide to Teaching Writing 2015 All Rights Reserved 2 | Page Table of Contents Note: Please print the entire contents for easy reading. Section 1: Seeing the Big Picture The Underinflated Balloon Meeting Your Goals and Objectives What I Hope My Writing Instruction Adds Up To Bringing Something to the Table Big Picture Small Picture Section 2: Models and Insights for Teaching Writing Teaching Grammar vs.
2 Teaching Writing The Six Traits of Writing Overview of the Six Traits of Writing The Writing Process and Writer s Workshop Overview of Writer s Workshop Using the Writing Process in Writer s Workshop Lessons, Strategies, Tricks, Tips, Tools, and Techniques (The Small Picture) Endless Lists of Skills, Strategies, Techniques, and Rules Start with the End in Mind Student Writing Samples and Scoring Commentary Section 3: The Status of Student Writing Are You Happy with Your Students Writing and Writing Progress? Let s Face It The Writing Crisis Witnessing the Writing Crisis First Hand What is the Problem? Dressers vs. Chests Previewing Chapters: Seeing the Dresser Multi-Paragraph Writing The Neglected R Section 4: Creating a Writing Foundation: A Foundation That Can Be Built Upon Foundational Skills The Martial Arts and Writing Multiplication and Division Tables A Foundation A Writing Foundation Ideas, Organization, and Two Levels of Beginning, Middle , and Ending The I Get It Foundation Why This Foundation and Framework Works: Time Making Grammar Instruction and Isolated Skill Drills Work Pattern Based Writing : Beginner s guide to Teaching Writing 2015 All Rights Reserved 3 | Page A Foundation and Framework.
3 Ideas and Organization Organization: The Hardest and Most Important Trait Organizational Skills are Important in Writing , as Well as Across the Curriculum! Disorganized Boys Mass Idea Generation: Another Important Trait from the Six Traits of Writing Eight Qualities of an Excellent Prewriting System Section 5: Elementary and Middle School Writing : Standardized Tests, Essays, and What Kind of Writing Do Elementary and Middle School Students Do in School? Writing Assessments Two Kinds of Writing Assessments Modes of Writing Descriptions, Definitions, and Sample Writing Prompts What Exactly is an Essay? There are MANY Different Kinds of Essays Is an Essay a Story And Is a Story an Essay?
4 Writing Expectations: When Should Essay Writing be Taught and by What Grade Should it Be Mastered? Eleven Common Signs that Students Have Not Mastered Multi-Paragraph Essay Writing Section 6: Why Teaching Writing is Hard AND What Students Don t Get About Writing Why is Writing Hard to Teach ? Answer: They Just Don t Get It. Why Students Don t Get It: The Art of Writing Why Students Don t Get It: The Skill of Writing Maximum Activity for Maximum Students Why Students Don t Get It: Intuition in Writing Art, Skill, and Intuition: What This Means for Teaching Writing Boundaries: A Safe Area to Play Within Giving Feedback: Black, White, and Gray Areas The Timed Writing System Removing the Gray Section 7: Breaking Through to Writing Success Breakthrough: I Finally Get It Stringing Paragraphs Together New Ideas Do Teachers Get It?
5 Important State Writing Standards Explained in Easy English Section 8: Special Bonus Section The Student Notebook Organizational System The Student Notebook Organizational System: Supplies Needed The Student Notebook Organizational System: How to Label the Folders Pattern Based Writing : Beginner s guide to Teaching Writing 2015 All Rights Reserved 4 | Page Welcome to the Beginner s guide to Teaching Writing This guide focuses on teaching Writing in grades 2-6 and what should be considered remedial Writing in grades 7-9. To add some perspective to this, the California Fifth Grade Writing Strategies Standard is, Students write clear, coherent, and focused essays.
6 In other words, fifth graders are supposed to be able to take a position and defend it in a coherent and organized manner. While it is true that some students meet this standard, it is also true that many don t. I have taught Writing across quite a few grades and I have rarely come across a class in any grade that did not need a firm re-teaching of correct paragraph form, along with how to write natural introductions and conclusions. In case you didn t know, I have a Writing curriculum called Pattern Based Writing : quick & Easy Essay. It s a curriculum I developed almost by accident when little time was available and the students Writing was in a state of total chaos. It became extremely clear that the techniques worked because the students told me they worked.
7 They said, I can t even read what I was Writing before! Please note that even with my Writing program, teachers still need to bring something to the table. Put simply, teachers have to read student Writing and give feedback; and unfortunately, there is no simple answer key for a piece of Writing . In order to be effective, Writing teachers need a foundation to build upon, a framework to work within, and a methodology that gets results. This guide will provide insights to all of these. After reading this, please go to and explore what Pattern Based Writing : quick & Easy Essay has to offer. Let s begin! Pattern Based Writing : Beginner s guide to Teaching Writing 2015 All Rights Reserved 5 | Page Section 1: Seeing the Big Picture Pattern Based Writing : Beginner s guide to Teaching Writing 2015 All Rights Reserved 6 | Page The Underinflated Balloon Teaching Writing is a bit like squeezing an underinflated balloon.
8 When you squeeze one part of the balloon, it pops out somewhere else. Teaching Writing can seem a lot like that. Let s say you Teach commas or dialogue, the next thing you know you have commas and dialogue everywhere. You Teach students to combine sentences, and soon you have sentences that go on for half a page. Now you are telling students not to use so many commas. Now you are telling them to use dialogue sparingly. You explain to them that their long sentences are in fact run-on sentences. Students are confused. Your students thought commas, dialogue, and long sentences were good. They thought you liked them. They were just trying to make you happy. There are always two sides to the equation in teaching Writing .
9 We must keep both sides in balance. For every ying there is a yang; for every rule there is an exception. Express yourself and be creative, but please don t make any errors. It can seem that there are opposing and contradicting forces at work when teaching Writing . When you affect one side positively, you almost always affect the other side negatively. When that happens, you switch sides and address the other side. In short, you seesaw your way to Writing success. Here are just a few aspects of Writing instruction that seem at odds with each other: Content vs. Mechanics Product vs. Process Structure vs. Style Creative Writing vs. Academic Writing Writing knowledge vs. Writing skill Taking risks and growing vs.
10 Writing correctly In teaching Writing , there are many more of these seemingly opposing forces. Actually, it s not that these concepts work against each other; it s just that they seem to work against each other. We have all heard the old proverb, There is a time and a place for everything. In Writing , this is very true. Different techniques work in different and too much of a good is bad. Context is so important in Writing . Providing context is an ongoing process when teaching Writing . Pattern Based Writing : Beginner s guide to Teaching Writing 2015 All Rights Reserved 7 | Page Meeting Your Goals and Objectives Teachers usually know what they want to achieve with their Writing instruction.
