Writing Across the Curriculum inservice. 2012.

1. READING and WRITING:
It’s Not Just for English
Class Anymore!
(OR…Painless strategies for incorporating
even MORE reading and writing into your
already jam-packed class periods!)
Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum
TCISD Inservice August 2012
Presented by TCHS Instructional Team

2. Start-Up Write
 Fold in hamburger style the
index card you received as
you entered. Number the 4
sections (2 on each side).
Then in Section 1 address
the following prompt:
In your own words, define
the meaning and purpose of
Writing Across the
Curriculum?

3. WAC: Pedagogy
 Research
– Students who regularly
read, write, and make
oral presentations in ALL
classes (in addition to
their English/Language
Arts classes) have higher
than average test scores.
– Reading and writing skills
must be practiced in
every class students
attend.

4. WAC: Ideals
 “WAC programs are defined in part by their intended outcomes—
helping students to become critical thinkers and problem-solvers as
well as developing their communication skills” (McLeod 150).
 They are designed to help teachers move from that “sage on the
stage” ideology to facilitators of “active student engagement”:
– Reading and writing are active learning processes that require critical
thinking by the student. The teacher moves away from the forefront,
creating a more student-centered classroom.
– Reading and writing are meaning-making processes that support ALL
disciplines.

5. Why Write Across the Curriculum?
 Reason #1: Written output is a great way to assess
student knowledge.
 Reason #2: Writing is the essential skill students
need as they enter adult life.
 Reason #3: Helping students learn to express
themselves with confidence in all subject areas can
contribute to improvements in behavior and self-
esteem.
 Reason #4: Students who write clearly, think clearly.
And students who think clearly have a better chance
of navigating their way through the obstacles of
adolescence.
 Reason #5: Writing is power.

6. WAC:
3 LEVELS OF WRITING

7. WAC LEVEL 1: “Writing to Learn”
 Themost common (and easiest to
incorporate!) type of classroom writing.
– Students work out their understanding of ideas by
putting thoughts down on paper without worrying
about conventions.
– The train of thought should not be interrupted by
worries over spelling, grammar, etc.

8. WAC LEVEL 1: “Writing to Learn”
 Uses of Level 1 Writing:
– Organize thoughts
– Help with memory
– Figure things out
– Keep track of information
– Brainstorm ideas
 Should be used DAILY as a learning tool to increase
critical thinking skills.
 SHOULD NEVER BE GRADED FOR ANYTHING
MORE THAN PARTICIPATION/COMPLETION
(Good news for YOU, my busy teacher friends. )

9. STOP-n-WRITE
 Work with other
teachers in your
content area to
BRAINSTORM a LIST
of possible examples of
Level 1 writing you
could use in your
classroom. Write these
in section 2 of your
index card.

10. WAC: Level One Examples
 Notes about reading
 Lecture/class notes
 Lists (like the one you just made)
 Questions from homework or other reading
 Prewriting or brainstorming ideas for a longer work
 Free writing
 Mind maps, clusters, diagrams, or outlines to
organize ideas
 ALL journal writing

11. WAC LEVEL 2: “Writing to
Demonstrate Knowledge”
 Level 2 writing is used to inform others what a
student knows about a given topic.
 Level 2 writing is usually read by at least one other
person.
 Level 2 writing should stand on its own, so some
attention to writing conventions is required.
 Level 2 writing should be more organized so it
appeals to a wider audience.
 Level 2 writing need not occur more than a few times
per week. Once a week is common.
 LOTS OF LEVEL 1 WRITING PRACTICE WILL
MAKE LEVEL 2 WRITING BETTER! 

12. WAC: Level Two Examples
 Short-answer test
questions
 Rough drafts of essays
or other projects
 Homework
assignments
 Summaries
 Reaction/response
paragraphs

13. STOP-n-WRITE
 Work with other
teachers in your
content area to
BRAINSTORM a LIST
of possible examples of
Level 2 writing you
could use in your
classroom. Write these
in section 3 of your
index card.

14. WAC Level 3: “Writing to
Demonstrate Knowledge”
 Probably used ONCE every 6 weeks due to the time
involved
 Specific AUDIENCE should be determined
 Involves ALL stages of the writing process, including:
– Multiple drafts
– Peer review
– Revision
– Editing
– Publication
 Requires grading with a RUBRIC that students are
familiar with and you have discussed together.

15. Not that I foresee this as a
problem, but…
 Do NOT assign Level 3 writing
TOO OFTEN! Research shows
that overuse of Level 3 writing
decreases benefits such as
discovery, comprehension,
creativity, and critical thinking…
as well as fluency and
correctness.
 This means that you should
TALK TO EACH OTHER! If
most eleventh grade students
are working on research
projects in U.S. History, it is
probably NOT a good time for
English III teachers to assign
one, too—(UNLESS you
collaborate, which then
becomes a FABULOUS idea!)

16. PUTTING IT ALL
TOGETHER
Making WAC
work in YOUR
subject area

17. EXIT TICKETS
(ONE OF MY ALL-TIME FAVORITES!)
 "Exit tickets are one of the best teaching strategies
I've ever seen for getting students to immediately
focus on the essential core content of lessons. They
are particularly effective because they are designed
to not only require the student to concentrate on the
essential elements of a lesson, but then the students
communicate succinctly using organized writing
strategies.”
 Bret Harrison (2004), in Northern Nevada Writing Project's
Writing Across the Curriculum Guide

18. EXIT TICKETS AND OTHER FABULOUS
IDEAS TO GET YOU STARTED
WRITE DOWN THIS WEB ADDRESS IN SECTION 4 OF YOUR INDEX
CARD:
http://writingfix.com/WAC/exit_tickets.htm
Check this website frequently, and be sure to friend WritingFix.com on
Facebook !

19. What do you do with writing once you
get it?
 RESPOND: To give informal reactions to text
 ASSESS: To see how a student’s (or a
class’s) body of work lines up with district or
state objectives
 EVALUATE: To compare work with some
sort of marker, benchmark, or standard
 GRADE: To condense all data into one
symbol

20. False Premises About Evaluation
(a.k.a. “The Good News”)
 Instructors should write lots of feedback in
the margins and between the lines.
 Instructors should know and use many
specific grammatical rules and terms if they
want to comment effectively.
 The most effective responses to student
writing are instructor-written comments on
the final copy. (Joyce MacAllister, “Responding to Student Writing”)
 Every piece of writing needs to be graded.

21. Tips for Assessing Writing
 Always tie the writing assignment to specific
pedagogical goals.
 Give written assignments that include your
criteria for grading to make your expectations
clear.
 Weight your grading criteria to reflect your
course priorities.
 For Level 3 assignments, require more than
one draft and give “process” grades along
the way.

22. Tips for Assessing Writing
 Make good student papers available to
illustrate features of strong work.
 Set ground rules for yourself and stick to
them, and clearly convey to students what
they can and cannot expect from you in
terms of your response.
 Develop BRIEF,SIMPLE response rubrics—
short lists of elements that you can check off.
 Use evaluation options: choice depends on
type, complexity, and purpose of assignment.

23. Some Quick and Easy Evaluation
Options
 Credit/No credit
 Read and share with
class
 Accept/Revise/Reject
 Holistic scoring
 Analytic scoring
– Checklists
– Rubrics

24. Rules for Holistic Scoring
One score that considers all criteria at the same time:
1. Read quickly; score immediately.
2. Don’t reread.
3. Read the entire paper without marking on it.
4. Read for what has been done well, not poorly.
5. Take everything into account at once: content, organization,
grammar, style, etc.
6. Rank papers against others in the group.
*Holistic scoring is what you should use MOST FREQUENTLY! It
is great for both Levels 1 and 2 writing and will allow you to
assign LOTS of writing with very little effort on your part.

25. RUBRICS: WHY USE THEM?
 They save you time and prevent you from having to
repeat yourself.
 They make grading more efficient.
 They make grading more consistent.
 They help students understand what you expect and
how to respond to the assignment.
 They help YOU more easily assess group learning.
*Providing a rubric is absolutely essential when
assigning Level 3 writing projects!

26. How to Create an Effective Rubric
 STEP ONE: Identify the criteria.
– What are the learning outcomes/objectives?
 STEP TWO: Give the criteria weight.
– What should count the most?
 No more than 10 ranked items
 Use specific, descriptive criteria.
 STEP THREE: Describe the levels of success.
– Numerical scales
– Descriptors
 STEP FOUR: Create the grid.
 STEP FIVE: Distribute and DISCUSS!

27. SAMPLE WRITING RUBRIC
Weak Satisfactory Strong
Insights and ideas that
are appropriate to
assignment
Address of target
audience
Choices and use of
evidence
Logic of organization and
use of prescribed
formats
Integration of source
materials
Grammar and mechanics
Comments
Final Grade

28. SAMPLE WRITING RUBRIC
1 = not present, 2 = needs extensive revision,
3 = satisfactory, 4 = strong, 5 = outstanding
1 2 3 4 5
Insights and ideas
Address of target audience
Organization and use of prescribed formats
Integration of source materials
Grammar and mechanics
Comments/Final Grade

29. FINAL THOUGHTS…
Tips, Hints, and Goals
specifically designed for
TCISD teachers

30. Be aware of the types of writing your
students will be required to demonstrate on
the STAAR test/EOC:
 SEVENTH GRADE THEREFORE…
– Personal Narrative Any time you can
– Expository present questions or
 ENGLISH I assignments that
require these types of
– Literary verbal or written
– Expository responses, you are
 ENGLISH II doing your students a
– Expository HUGE FAVOR!
– Persuasive
 ENGLISH III
– Persuasive
– Analytic

31. WRITING GENRES
 PERSONAL NARRATIVE
– Write about a time you…
 EXPOSITORY (EXPOSE the main idea…)
– Describe the steps in a process…
– Explain the sequence of events…
– Cause and effect…
– Comparison/contrast…
 LITERARY
– Write a story about…
– Present a scenario in which…
 PERSUASIVE
– Tell me your opinion and use logic and facts to convince me you’re right…
 ANALYTIC
– Why did . . . changes occur?
– Can you compare your . . . with that presented in . . .?
– Can you explain what must have happened when . . .?
– How is . . . similar to . . .?
– What are some of the problems of . . .?
– Can you distinguish between . . .?
– What were some of the motives behind . . .?

32. WAC GOALS FOR THIS YEAR:
 LEVEL 1 WRITING:
– 3 to 5 times per week
 LEVEL 2 WRITING:
– 1 or 2 times per week
 LEVEL 3 WRITING:
– 1 per six weeks
 LABEL IT IN YOUR
LESSON PLANS BY
LEVEL!

33. AND REMEMBER…
 START SMALL when incorporating writing…both in
scope and value. This will help students (and YOU)
build confidence and begin to see writing as less of a
chore—and maybe even FUN (maybe?!).
 MAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF!
– LOTS of credit/no credit and holistic scoring
– LOTS of “bonus points” and “extra credit” writing
– LOTS of process grades
 USE AVAILABLE RESOURCES!
– Internet
– Department chairs
– Specialists

34. The End…
HAVE A GREAT YEAR!
I know you
have the
“write” stuff!