RR - Content Area Writing discussion

Hey Keonna! Hope your reading is going well. I think you're still taking the steps to become a part of this group, but I wanted to go ahead and post to see if we can connect on this site! I will send you my summary/thoughts on the "writing to learn" section of our book. I'm interested to hear what you have to say about it and what you have to share about the "Public Writing" section.

We are officially connected. Thus far, I have read some very interesting philosophies concerning writing in other subject areas. This book may help Laura Lee too in her attempt to increase literacy on her campus. One history teacher, from the book, requires her students to write ten three-page papers. She said all historians must document their research in some written form. I will post more later.

Hey Keonna - I'm so frustrated - I just typed 5 or 6 paragraphs and they were all delted! ugh!!!!!!!! So, here we go again...I'll recap everything I just typed. Have I mentioned that I'm frustrated? :)

So, for the Writing to Learn section, I like how the authors categorized the various strategies. There are 15 strategies in all, some that we are already familiar with, others not so much, but they are categorized by their uses in the classroom. With the two categories, "Quick Writes" and "Going Deeper," teachers can easily organize which strategies are best for the intended purpose in the classroom.

I am also enjoying the book because it seems like my research for CTWP is morphing more into the why behind using writing across content areas. I know this book will come into play as I continue my research.

Another aspect of the book that I've noticed and like is the authors' voice. When reading, you can tell that the authors have been in the classroom just like us. It's nice because they are talking on a teacher's level, not just talking at teachers without really having the experience or having used these strategies themselves. Plus, so many books like these that are intended for teachers can be so dry and boring! In my opinion, since the authors have broken up the information into concise sections, the flow of the writing is easier to read and is cohesively structured.


I'm looking forward to hearing from you about the book! I hope you're feeling better - so sorry about all of your dental pain. I hope your root canal goes well :)

Faced with too many standards to teach, some teachers actually shy away from leading a full writing workshop. However, many teachers have discovered how beneficial and complex the teaching can be with the use of writing. One history teacher set her workshop like this: What could have led to the state of affairs? Place? What type of issue of issue is this? What is its general scope? Brainstorm/hypothesize and think deeper Check in with teacher, then go research.

This reminds of the research we're doing. There are more constraints in a school classroom but the teacher's role is a facilitator. The key components in any classroom workshop are: Building engagement, choice, individual goal setting, students working independently in the classroom, brief, focused teaching, modeling, teacher-student conferences and observations, conference records, writing folders, and sharing the results.

Many teaches feel insecure because he/she may not feel up to par as writer his or herself. The goal is not to assumme the English teacher's role but to be able to help the student understand and articulate this understanding through written and oral communication. This is a lot to digest at one time. I am going to try to post on a daily basis.

Great info Keonna - I like the key components for the classroom that you summarized. I'll post more, too. I've been thinking that for our book review/presentation, maybe we could make some kind of handout that summarizes our writing approaches/strategies...OR maybe we could do a jigsaw activity where we partner everyone up and give them time to learn about their strategy and then one or two of those groups could reteach for the class? We could model one first and then let them go? Is that too much like a demonstration?