MCPSS K-12 Writing Guide 8/3/2015 1 MCPSS Writing Program (K-12) Our goal is for our students to become college- and career-ready writers by exposing every student (K-12) to positive writing experiences that are varied in task, purpose, and audience, and that increase in complexity and range with each grade level. According to the Alabama State Department of Education, in order to be ready for the future, students must “have the flexibility, concentration, and fluency to produce a high-quality, first draft text under a deadline and the capacity to revisit and make improvements to a piece of writing over multiple drafts when circumstances encourage or require it” (69). Writing is a key component of the English Language Arts curriculum. The anchor standards represent core skills that will not change as the students advance; rather, the level at which students perform these skills will increase in complexity as they move from one grade to the next. The MCPSS Writing Program is designed to support the College- and Career-Ready (CCR) Anchor Standards for Writing. 2013 College- and Career-Ready Anchor Standards for Writing Text Types and Purposes 1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. 2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. 3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, well- chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. Production and Distribution of Writing 4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. 5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach. 6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others. Research to Build and Present Knowledge 7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation. 8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism. 9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research. Range of Writing 10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences. (Alabama State Department 10)
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MCPSS K-12 Writing Guide 8/3/2015 1
MCPSS Writing Program (K-12)
Our goal is for our students to become college- and career-ready writers by exposing every student (K-12) to
positive writing experiences that are varied in task, purpose, and audience, and that increase in complexity
and range with each grade level. According to the Alabama State Department of Education, in order to be
ready for the future, students must “have the flexibility, concentration, and fluency to produce a high-quality,
first draft text under a deadline and the capacity to revisit and make improvements to a piece of writing over
multiple drafts when circumstances encourage or require it” (69).
Writing is a key component of the English Language Arts curriculum. The anchor standards represent core
skills that will not change as the students advance; rather, the level at which students perform these skills will
increase in complexity as they move from one grade to the next. The MCPSS Writing Program is designed
to support the College- and Career-Ready (CCR) Anchor Standards for Writing.
2013 College- and Career-Ready Anchor Standards for Writing
Text Types and Purposes
1. Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and
relevant and sufficient evidence.
2. Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and
accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
3. Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective techniques, well-
chosen details, and well-structured event sequences.
Production and Distribution of Writing
4. Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to
task, purpose, and audience.
5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new
approach.
6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate
with others.
Research to Build and Present Knowledge
7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects based on focused questions, demonstrating
understanding of the subject under investigation.
8. Gather relevant information from multiple print and digital sources, assess the credibility and accuracy
of each source, and integrate the information while avoiding plagiarism.
9. Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.
Range of Writing
10. Write routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time
frames a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of tasks, purposes, and audiences.
(Alabama State Department 10)
MCPSS K-12 Writing Guide 8/3/2015 2
The MCPSS curriculum includes a writing program designed to help students
become college- and career-ready. In order for the writing program to succeed,
teachers must
- Provide effective instruction
Teaching students to write well is a complex task. Researchers cannot identify one single approach to
writing instruction that is effective with every learner because of the diverse backgrounds and learning styles
of students, who respond differently to various approaches. Writing education is not a singular, linear
process.
Writing instruction should be holistic, authentic, and varied. In order for writing instruction to be authentic,
teachers must discuss the process in real-world terms and create assignments that are connected with
students’ life experiences. Teachers must provide adequate time for writing projects, and evaluate them
through multiple assessment criteria. Writing assignments require a wide variety of skills. Students need to
write as individuals and in collaborative groups. They need to write with pencils and paper, and also with the
latest technological tools. They need to write in diverse genres and disciplines, and for different audiences
and purposes.
Effective instruction must follow a consistent and rigorous path. The success of the writing program depends
upon our level of fidelity as educators to speak a common language, nurture process-learning, and set high
expectations with clear indicators to measure progress.
Teachers should follow these guidelines in order to provide effective instruction:
Plan
• Create writing assignments that meet the CCRS objectives
• Create writing assignments that emphasize an integrated model of literacy
• Create writing assignments that require students to interpret and analyze
• Create writing assignments that offer students choices
• Create writing assignments that vary in length and complexity
• Create writing assignments that require students to write for a variety of situations
and audiences
• Create writing assignments that foster collaborative writing processes.
• Create multiple writing exercises, including small ones, throughout each week to
encourage the habit of writing
Teach (I Do)
• Model the writing process (including pre-writing, writing, revising, and editing)
using the think-aloud method to demonstrate the processes involved in writing
• Provide students with example of good writing from established authors, teachers,
and peers
• Note the features of various genres and present genre-specific strategies
• Use writing notebooks (Grades 2-9) as tools, rather than as requirements to fulfill
• Embed research and media skills throughout lessons, rather than as isolated
activities
MCPSS K-12 Writing Guide 8/3/2015 3
• Scaffold writing instruction to maximize students’ learning
• Use inquiry-based learning to establish relevance and relationships in the classroom
setting
• Connect writing assignments to literature
• Connect writing assignments to students’ experiences
• Provide instruction in ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and
conventions so students realize the importance of language in various contexts
• Use the common language of writing throughout all grade-levels
Teach (We Do)
• Provide ample in-class opportunities for writing, including timed writing
assignments
• Require students to write extensively so they can be comfortable writing in a variety
of situations and for a variety of audiences
• Incorporate peer-editing
• Conduct writing conferences with individual students
• Offer ongoing coaching and feedback
• Regularly invite students to state their opinions
• Give students practice in stating their opinions and backing them with reasons
Assess (You Do)
• Use formative assessment strategies to give students feedback on developing drafts
• Employ multiple measures, including portfolios, to provide summative assessments
• Discuss the evolution of a composition with students after their work is published to
allow students to see writing as a whole process
• Maintain student writing folders containing students’ published compositions as well
as works in progress
<blog.ecu.edu>
MCPSS K-12 Writing Guide 8/3/2015 4
- Build a positive classroom community
The teacher must create an atmosphere that is conducive to writing. Building in classroom
routines, developing norms of behavior, and creating a sense of purpose are ways to foster a
classroom environment where productive learning can take place. Classroom management
plays an important role in preparing students to be respectfully engaged as they participate in
a variety of productive writing activities.
Teachers must develop consistent daily routines for writing. Classroom logistics should
provide a framework that allows students to effectively move both physically and mentally
in and out of collaborative and individual work. Teachers know that “community
encourages rich learning because of the interactions among many individuals, not the
limited, two-way exchange of ideas or information that is often the case when students fail to
form a community” (Dean and Warren 50). Writing effectively in a community requires
“meaningful interaction and deepened understandings” (Dean and Warren 50).
A positive writing environment allows multiple pathways of communication and effective
collaboration between students and teachers as the instructional activities require various
levels of partnership, cooperation, and teamwork. The responsibilities of students in the
learning process as both individuals and members of the class are reinforced daily.
In Teaching Middle School Writers, Laura Robb suggests that “when teachers create a
hopeful, trusting writing environment that shows students the teacher is their advocate and
mentor, then students’ self-confidence and willingness to take risks as writers increase”
(106). This confidence thrives in a nurturing, supportive, and engaging environment.
Students need to feel safe to share and contribute to the instructional tasks at hand.
Writing is a tool that can lead students to become life-long learners. Since our purpose for
writing is to learn, writing should not be used as punishment. The National Council of
Teachers of English (NCTE) suggests that using copy-work, sentence repetition, etc. as a
form of punishment, “distorts the principles and defeats the purposes of instruction in this
important life skill and causes students to dislike an activity necessary to their intellectual
development and career success.” Students need to enjoy writing and see it as a positive,
worthwhile, and enjoyable activity.
<cfchildren.org>
MCPSS K-12 Writing Guide 8/3/2015 5
- Teach writing as a process
Writing is a process. Teachers should emphasize this and model the process for students. The writing
process guides students through the steps for producing a finished piece of writing and should entail the
recursive phrases of pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing. When students internalize this
process approach, they are prepared to produce logical, well-written documents that convey appropriate
messages for specific audiences in personal, academic, and professional contexts.
Once a student internalizes this process, he can use it to write effectively for a variety of purposes in all kinds
of situations. Regardless of the time-frame of an assignment, all of the stages in the writing process should
be addressed. In a timed writing, students should go through all of the steps even though they may be
condensed.
<blogs.montclair.edu>
Pre-writing – Planning and gathering ideas; there are many techniques that can be used in this stage
of the process, such as free-writing, brainstorming, listing, mapping, etc.
• Consider the audience and purpose of the work
• Choose a topic
• Gather ideas
• Organize ideas
Drafting – Get ideas down on paper
• Use notes from pre-writing
• Do not worry about errors
Revising – The first stage of editing involves making changes to improve the organization, sentence
fluency, and word choice of the work
• Add details and insert new ideas
• Delete ideas that destroy unity (off-topic)
• Re-arrange elements to make them more effective
MCPSS K-12 Writing Guide 8/3/2015 6
• Consider word choice and select words with the maximum impact
Editing – The final stage of editing involves careful proof-reading for proper use of conventions
• Check for grammatical errors
• Check for syntax errors, including punctuation
• Check for capitalization errors
• Check for spelling errors
Publishing and Presenting –
• Choose a format and check it carefully
• Create a final draft
• Add visuals if the format requires them
• Share with the appropriate audience
<teachersparadise.com>
MCPSS K-12 Writing Guide 8/3/2015 7
- Teach the modes of writing
Expository (or Informational) Writing
Definition: According to Perdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL), expository essays require
students “to investigate an idea, evaluate evidence, expound on the idea, and set forth an argument
concerning that idea in a clear and concise manner.” Writers may use comparison and contrast,
definitions, examples, the analysis of cause and effect, etc. to accomplish the task.
Characteristics: Informational or explanatory writing “conveys information accurately. Writings that
exemplify this text type include summaries and instructions. The purpose of informative or
explanatory writing is to increase knowledge, explain a procedure, or explore a concept in depth”
(Writing Text Types).
OWL says that a good expository essay has
• A clear, concise, and defined thesis statement that occurs in the first paragraph of the essay
• Clear and logical transitions between the introduction, body, and conclusion
• Body paragraphs that include evidential support
• Evidential support (whether factual, logical, statistical, or anecdotal)
• A bit of creativity
• A conclusion that does not simply restate the thesis, but readdresses it in light of the
evidence provided
<mpmsschoolsupplies.com>
MCPSS K-12 Writing Guide 8/3/2015 8
Narrative Writing
Definition: Narrative writing tells a story. Narratives are often fiction, based on imaginary events.
However, they may tell a non-fiction story, as in the case of memoir, biography, or auto-biography.
A narrative may be written to entertain, instruct, or inform. (Writing Text Types).
Characteristics: Because a narrative tells a story, it has a narrator, plot, setting, structure, characters,
and usually a theme, regardless of whether it is fiction or non-fiction or some combination of the
two. Narratives frequently use dialogue. A good narrative should engage the reader and make him
want to know what happens next. The sequence of a narrative should give the reader a sense of
resolution, or if not the author should have a purpose for leaving issues unresolved.
According to OWL, a narrative should include all the parts of a story
have a purpose
be written from a clear point of view
use clear and concise language, and the language should fit the setting and characters
use pronouns consistent with the narrative point of view
have an organizational structure that is established at the start of the work