Using Technology to improve writing class
Web Resources and Strategies for Teaching 6 Traits of Writing
for Elementary TeachersThis presentation will focus on Writing
topics pertinent to all Writing teachers and will include resources
for the 6 Traits of WritingPresenter: Katie
[email protected] should we care about
technology in Writing class?Our students come to class more
equipped than ever before to work with technology in the classroom
and there are tremendous resources available to teachers in the
area of Language Arts.
Examples of technology to be discussed-websites-blogs-apps-sites
and other applications that allow students to record
presentations/speaking-Podcasts to save for students to view on
their own time as a resource-Document cameras-online penpals as
authentic writing-Track Changes in MS Word6 Traits of
WritingIdeas-the piece is focused and conveys the message clearly
to an audienceWord Choice-the author uses good words, strong verbs
and adjectives etc.Organization-the writing is organized into
paragraphs and follows the form correctlyVoice-the piece sounds
like the writerSentence Fluency-sentences that begin with a variety
of words and are different lengthsConventions-the nuts and bolts;
grammar, punctuation and spellingExamples of Great
WebsitesWritingfix.com
http://www.english-online.org.uk/games/grofdoom/advisory.htm
(great game that requires grammar skill and thinking)
Brainpop.com
http://www.readwritethink.org/
http://www.safeshare.tv/
http://www.safeshare.tv/w/RjXVfBDYEZ
Blog options-Does your school website have a blog component?
SchoolPointe
does.http://www.fortthomas.kyschools.us/olc/teacher.aspx?s=125
Other blogs: kidblog.orgEdmodo.com (kind of a Facebook meets
Blackboard)
AppsI found the following app for my iPhone 4 and think its
pretty decent for voice to textI use it for a student that has
great ideas but cant get them on paper although it does not put in
punctuation so he has to spend more time editing to get his
sentences set up the way he wants them toDragon Dictation-green
with white lettering-Dragon
Pic of Apps
Apps contdIdioms app-English Idioms Illustrated-by Robot
Media-Free app but only gives the first 23 free and then you can
buy the rest for a few dollars; App looks like a blue box with an
abstract face using as eyesIve shared this app with some students
that are trying to spice up their writing and they found it
usefulGrammaropolisSites and other apps that allow for
recording/speakingVocaroo.com- allows you to record and save a copy
of the recording on your webpageYou can also record on your
SmartBoard with the record feature-it only records what is said and
what happens on the screen, my students think it looks like an
alien drawing on the board when they see itVoki.com-type in text
and it will project the words for students to hear (great for lost
voice)
PodcastsPodcasts are a great way to record information for
students to view later. Ive done many podcasts on difficult math
topics so they can watch at home, hear my voice and the vocabulary
I use in class and see how to solve a problem. Im beginning to use
this in my language arts class and will make some grammar reviews
along with project information. Research shows students will tune
you out after about 3 minutes so keep it short!Link to my
webpage
11Podcast Example
Audio Clip from Book Project Podcast on my WebpageClick at the
bottom of the screen to access the play button
Document CamerasDid you know you can record on your document
camera? Its easy to do and it will record what is on your projector
screen. This is another great way to record things for students to
view later if you post to your webpage.
Also, saving examples of student work (such as writing pieces)
to show what to do or not to do and let the students mark on it. In
order to mark on it, you must save the file and open it in the
SmartSoftware and then its ready to be written upon .Online
penpalsEpals.comhttp://monsterexchange.org/Great examples---show
Jerri Paynes room and what they didFor Monsterexchange the students
draw and then give directions to a new class on how to draw the
monster that they created. Its all about giving clear directions.
At the end, students share the original monsters. This was done
with a 2nd grade class but I can see that my 5th graders would
enjoy it too.Track ChangesWithin Microsoft WordStudents can e-mail
you a document and you open it and click Review and Track Changes.
You can then click New Comment and the student will see it when you
send it back. When they submit it again, you will see the changes
that they made so you can verify whether they made the changes that
you suggested.Websites with great 6 Traits
Resourceshttp://www.kimskorner4teachertalk.com/writing/sixtrait/menu.htmhttp://so024.k12.sd.us/6%20+%201%20traits.htmhttp://msjacoby.com/6traits.htmlwww.ttms.org/PDFs/05%20Writers%20Workshop%20v001%20(Full).pdfhttp://www.literatelearner.com/6traits/page_template6t.php?f=mainhttp://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/writing/index.asp?topic=persuasive
Sites
Contdhttp://www.bcschools.net/bcps/Curriculum/ENGLISH%20LANGUAGE%20ARTS/ela/Content%20Curriculum/Writing/Traits%20of%20Writing/JanChappuis_minilesson_conv.pdf(good
Conventions
activities)http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=activities+for+6+traits+of+writing&source=web&cd=7&ved=0CEAQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ksde.org%2FLinkClick.aspx%3Ffileticket%3DZKfUhJ19l-4%253D%26tabid%3D145%26mid%3D8025%26forcedownload%3Dtrue&ei=1uSTUIW2C8L00gHjyoDoAQ&usg=AFQjCNGoOtHcN-x-OjOGRRm9c6RSBpLPIAhttp://www.educatorstechnology.com/2012/11/5-excellent-web-toos-for-creative.html?m=1(fantastic
writing prompts)educationnorthwest.orgBooks that focus on Writing
and the 6 TraitsGoing Deep with 6 Trait Writing Revisers
Toolbox-Barry LaneNonfiction Writing lessonsCASL-great
resourceRazzle, Dazzle Writing
Example from Going Deep Book
Rubric from Going Deep Book and WritingFix website
Community of Editors (from Going Deep)
From Revisers Toolbox
My research on Revising and EditingExtensive research over the
summer for my graduate classes taught me that students need
modeling again and again. They also learn best by looking at
writing and a model that needs to be improved rather than one thats
nearly perfect.Students need to connect with their audience and
prompt. If they havent connected with them, their writing wont be
great.Students learn best by being given feedback that centers
around not just what to fix but also that focuses on skills that
they want to improve upon.Students that do not have great
problem-solving skills will not easily revise. Those students that
know how to think critically of their own or others work will be
better revisers.Students need to find ownership in their writing.
If teachers only demonstrate surface-level changes (grammar,
punctuation, spelling etc) then thats all students will do. If
teachers model thinking and questioning the placement of sections
etc, students will start to look at their piece as a whole instead
of surface-level changes.How to incorporate the Traits into Writing
ClassThere are many ways to incorporate the Traits. One of the
authors of a fantastic website (Corbett Harrisons Always Write)
says that he does a Trait a month beginning with Ideas in August
then moving to Word Choice etc. If students arent ready, he doesnt
go on. Im guessing he does 5-10 specific Traits lessons a month on
that Trait.Another idea is to teach a Traits lesson or two for each
major writing piece. This year I am doing that for my Rank 1 work.
With the personal narrative in October, I taught each lesson once
and added an extra Word Choice lesson in. I did the same thing for
my On Demand work in December and January.Still another strategy
would be to introduce each Trait in September and then add only
those lessons that are needed (based upon student writing samples)
for each of the genres covered. educationnorthwest.org
ConventionsOne of the best ideas Ive found for Conventions work
(which is an area of weakness for my school and district) is to do
a Classroom of Editors. Each child gets to show their specialty
within editing by signing up for a category (spelling, commas,
grammar etc) and then students meet with different children over
the course of editing to get their piece read by a collection of
experts.
Ways to improve revising and editing in your classroomMany
things that you are probably already doing such as reading student
work ahead of time to see what skills and sub-skills are needed and
by whom. Then pulling just those students (or everyone if its the
majority of the class) to introduce or revisit a lesson and
topic.Pulling students in small groups, then talk to one or two at
a time about what theyre excited about and what they want to
improve upon in their writing piece. You are trying to improve the
writer, not just the writing!Having conferences where everyone else
(or at least a small group of children) can hear is valuable. They
will learn from overhearing your conversation.Student goals: let
students write goals for themselves for a unit of writing, the
semester or the whole year. Students often have a good sense of
their strengths and weaknesses and this is a great way for them to
take ownership of their learning! (show the writing example of
this!!!!!)Discuss the learning targets during conferences with
studentsModel, model, model! Write up some so-so writing pieces for
them to mark up. They will love it!Ways to improve Revising and
Editing ContdHave students look at published work and discuss how
it could have been made better by revising and/or editing. Its
amazing the mistakes you can find!Revising for a specific skill or
Trait. Some of the great work (especially on writingfix.com) works
with a mentor text which could be a picture book, part of a novel
etc that asks the children to do something while they listen to it
and that leads to a discussion of a Trait. When children understand
that Traits are good things that should be in writing, they can
work to being better at doing that Trait. Such joy when they
do!Traits Strategies List- this is my most prized project this
year!Have students mark in the margins of someone elses (or their
own) work what Traits the piece is strong and/or weak in. When
students see what Trait to focus on, they can look at their list of
strategies or ask someone else and they know what to focus on.Have
students look for 2 Ps and 1 Q when they do a peer review (2 bits
of praise and a question); this really seems to work well!
Thanks for attending my workshop! I hope you learned something
from the information I shared.
Please fill out an evaluation so I can see what you liked and
didnt.