Utah State Office of
Education
Reading Teacher Endorsement
Course Framework
Writing Instruction
Syllabus Framework
Purpose
Participants will investigate the nature of
writing as well as the history of writing instruction and its theoretical/
research base in order to better understand instructional strategies for
teaching composition to students in today=s classroom. Methodology, including writers= workshop (mini-lessons,
conferencing, editing, and publishing) and writing on-demand, will be examined.
In order to help teachers assist students in developing writing fluency in
various genres, participants will engage in the actual writing of texts and
conferencing with peers. In addition, participants will investigate the
assessment of student writing, as well as the teaching of the writer=s tools--spelling and
vocabulary development.
Course Objectives (IRA/NCATE Standards
in Parentheses)
After completing this course, participants
will be able to:
metacognitive components of
writing? How can Writing Across the Curriculum programs be implemented and
assessed?
2 . Explain the history
of and research base for writing instruction.
3. Describe the
components of the writing process.
4.
Identify the stages of writing
development and explain how the understanding of writing stages assists in
making instructional decisions.
5. Develop
procedural, skill, and craft mini-lessons based on student needs. (IRA Standard
9.2)
6.
Develop
a word study program that supports students= spelling and word identification development.
7.
Guide
students= writing development in a
variety of genres including narrative and exposition. (IRA Standard 9.1)
8. Implement
appropriate uses of writing-to-learn in the content areas.
9.
Assess
students= written products,
development and instructional needs. Assessment techniques may include holistic
scoring, rubrics and checklists, primary trait scoring, and six-trait
analytical scoring, such as Six Traits Scoring Protocol. (IRA Standard
9.3).
Course Topics
The nature of writing-- the cognitve and
social processes associated with writing
The history and research base of writing
instruction
Supportive classroom environments for
writing
Traditional and current models of writing
instruction
Stages of writing development
Components of the writing process--
prewriting, drafting, conferring, revising, editing, publishing
Writing-to-learn in the content areas
Writing on-demand
Exploration of various genres through actual
writing, peer conferencing, and publishing in a class anthology
The reading/writing connection
Mechanics
Spelling/Vocabulary
Assessment of student writing development
Suggested Readings/Handbooks and
Texts:
Flood, J.; Lapp, D.; Squire, J. R. ; &
Jensen, J. M. (Eds.) (2003). Handbook of Research on Teaching the English
Language Arts.
(2nd Ed.) Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers. (Chapters 70:
Writing; 71: Children=s Writing: Research and
Practice; 75: The Conventions of Writing; 54: Grammars and Literacy Learning;
55: Spelling; 56: Research on Vocabulary Instruction: Voltaire Redux; 23: The
Development of the Young Child and the Emergence of Literacy)
Hillocks Jr., G. (1986). Research on
Written Composition: New Directions for Teaching. NCRE/ERIC. (Chapters 1:
Research on the Composing Process and 4: Modes of Instruction)
Tobin, L. & Newkirk, T. (Eds.) (1994). Taking
Stock: The Writing Process Movement in the 90s. Portsmouth, NH:
Boynton/Cook Publishers Heinemann. (Introduction: How the Writing Process Was
Born--And Other Conversion Narratives)
Villanueva, V. (Ed.) (1997). Cross-Talk
in Comp Theory: A Reader. NCTE. (Section 1: The AGiven@ in Our Conversations: The Writing Process; Section
3: A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing and Cognitive Development and the
Basic Writer)
Articles:
Ashcraft, M. H. (1995).
Comprehension: Language and
semantics together. In M. H.
Ashcraft, Human Memory and Cognition (2nd Ed.) (pp. 415-447). New York:
Harper Collins.
Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (1987). The Psychology of Written Composition, Chapter 1: Two models of composing processes (pp.
3-30). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associate.
Fitzgerald, J. (1992). Variant
views about good thinking during composing: Focus on revision.
In M. Pressley, K. R. Harris, & J. T. Guthrie (Eds.), Promoting
Academic Competence and Literacy in School (pp. 337-357). New York:
Academic Press.
Fitzgerald, J., & Shanahan, T. (2000). Reading and writing relations and their development. Educational Psychologist, 35, 39-50.
Flower, L. (1994).
Metacognition: A strategic
response to thinking. In L. Flower,
The Construction of Negotiated Meaning (pp. 223-262. Southern Illinois University Press.
Hayes, J. R. (1996). A new
framework for understanding cognition and affect in writing. In C. M. Levy & S. Ransdell (Eds.),
The Science of Writing: Theory,
Methods, Individual Differences, and Applications (pp. 1-27). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associate.
Kellogg, R. T. (1994). An analysis of meaning-making. In R. T. Kellogg, The Psychology of
Writing
(pp. 25-46). New York: Oxford University Press.
Kellogg, R. T. (1994). Homo
symbolificus. In R. T. Kellogg, The
Psychology of Writing
(pp. 3-24). New York: Oxford University Press.
Klein, P. D. (1999).
Reopening inquiry into cognitive processes in writing-to-learn. Educational Psychology Review, 11, 203-270.
McLeod, S. (2001). The
pedagogy of writing across the curriculum. In G. Tate, A. Rupiper, & K. Schick (Eds.), A Guide
to Composition Pedagogies (pp. 149-164).
New York: Oxford.
Nystrand, M. (1982). The
structure of textual space. In M.
Nystrand (Ed.),
What Writers Know: The Language,
Process, and Structure of Written Discourse (pp. 75-86). New York:
Academic Press.
Nystrand, M. (1989). A
social-interactive model of writing.
Written Communication, 6, 66-85.
Schultz, K., & Fecho, B. (2000). Society's child:
Social context and writing development. Educational Psychologist, 35, 51-62.
Townsend, M. A. (2001). Writing
intensive courses and WAC. In S.
H. McLeod, E. Miraglia, M. Soven, and C. Thaiss (Eds.), WAC for the New
Millennium: Strategies for
Continuing Writing-Across-the-Curriculum Programs (pp. 233-257).
Walvoord, B. E. (1997). From
conduit to customer: The role of
WAC faculty in WAC assessment. In
K. B. Yancey, & B. Huot (Eds.), Assessing Writing Across the
Curriculum: Diverse Approaches and
Practices
(pp. 15-36). Greenwich, CT: Ablex.
Other Resources:
Beach, R. & Bridwell, L. (1984). (Eds.) New
Directions in Composition Research. NY: Guilford Press.
North, S. M. (1987). The Making of
Knowledge in Composition: Portrait of an Emerging Field. Boyton/Cook Publishers.
Mosenthal, P.; Tamer, L. & Walmsley, S.
A. (1983) (Eds.) Research on Writing: Principles and Methods. NY: Longman.
Teacher Resources:
Writing Development
McCarrier, A, Pinnell, G.S., & Fountas,
I. (1999). Interactive Writing: How Language and Literacy Come Together, K-2. Portsmouth, N.H.:
Heinemann.
Preece, A. & Cowden, D. (1993). Young
Writers in the Making: Sharing the Process with Parents. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Writing Process
Atwell, N. (1998). In the Middle: New
Understandings about Writing, Reading, and Learning. (2nd Ed.). Portsmouth,
N.H.: Heinemann.
Avery, C. (2002). And with a Light Touch:
Learning about Reading, Writing, and Teaching First Graders. (2nd Ed.). Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann.
Calkins, L.M. (1994). The Art of Teaching
Writing.
Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann.
Fisher, B. & Cordeiro, P. (1995).
Thinking and Learning Together: Curriculum and Community in a Primary Classroom. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Hindley, J. (1996). In the Company of
Children.
York, Maine: Stenhouse.
Olson, C. B. (1996). Practical Ideas for Teaching Writing as
a Process at Elementary and Middle School Levels or a companion book,
Practical Ideas for Teaching Writing as a Process at High School and College
Levels.
Sacramento: California Department of Education.
Strong, W. (2001). Coaching Writing. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Writing Workshop
Atwell, N. (2002). Lessons That Change
Writers.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Anderson, C. (2000). How's It Going? A
Practical Guide to Conferring with Student Writers. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Fletcher, R. & Portalupi, J. (1998). Craft
Lessons: Teaching Writing K-8. Stenhouse.
Fletcher, R. & Portalupi, J. (2001). The
Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Graves, D. (1994). A Fresh Look at
Writing.
Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann.
Lane. B. (1993). After the End: Teaching
and Learning Creative Revision.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Portalupi, J. & Fletcher, R. (2001). Nonfiction
Craft Lessons: Teaching Information Writing K-8. Portland, Maine:
Stenhouse.
Ray, K.W. (1999). Wondrous Words. Urbana, ILL: NCTE.
Ray, K.W. (2001). The Writing Workshop:
Working Through the Hard Parts (And They=re All Hard Parts). Urbana, IL: NCTE.
Solley, B. A. (2000). Ed. Writers'
Workshop: Reflections of Elementary and Middle School Teachers. Boston, MA: Allyn and
Bacon.
Wendt, I. (1985). Starting
with Little Things. Eugene: Oregon Arts Foundation.
Spelling
Bear, D.; Invernizzi, M.; Templeton, S.
& Johnston, F. (2000). Words Their Way: Word Study, Vocabulary and
Spelling Instruction.
(2nd Ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill.
Bolton, F. & Snowball, D. (1993). Ideas
for Spelling.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Bolton, F. & Snowball, D. (1993). Teaching
Spelling: A Practical Resource Guide. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Ganske, K. (2000). Word Journeys. Guilford Press.
Snowball, D. & Bolton, F. (2000). Spelling
K-8: Planning and Teaching. York, Maine: Stenhouse.
Grammar Instruction
Noden, H. R. (1999). Image Grammar: Using
Grammatical Structures to Teach Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Weaver, C. (1996). Teaching Grammar in
Context.
Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Heinemann.
Weaver, C. (Ed.) (1998). Lessons to Share
on Teaching Grammar in Context. Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook Heinemann.
Vocabulary
Allen, J. (1999). Words, Words, Words:
Teaching Vocabulary in Grades 4-12. York, Maine: Stenhouse.
Bear, D.; Invernizzi, M.; Templeton, S.
& Johnston, F. (2000). Words Their Way: Word Study, Vocabulary and
Spelling Instruction.
(2nd Ed.). Columbus, OH: Merrill.
Assessment
Rhodes, L. K. & Shanklin, N. (1993). Windows
into Literacy: Assessing Learners K-8. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Rhodes, L. K. (Ed.) (1993). Literacy
Assessment: A Handbook of Instruments. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Spandel, V. (2001). (3rd Ed.) Creating
Writers Through 6-Trait Writing Assessments and Instruction. NY: Longman.
_Course Activities:
_$ Read selections from Hillocks, Tobin and
Villanueva . Then in a small group, develop a timeline which explains the
evolution of the research in writing instruction and determine an effective
strategy for indicating the connections of current practices to their research
base.
$ In order to fully understand the Aprocess@ of writing and to
empathize with student writers, engage in weekly writing experiences and peer
conferencing in order to prepare a piece for formal publication in a class
anthology.
_$ Select one teacher resource text from a group
(i.e. The Art of Teaching Writing, ...And With a Light Touch, In the Company of
Children, In
the Middle,
Thinking and Learning Together) and engage in a literature circle experience. At
the end of the discussions, the literature circle teams present the salient
points from their various books to the rest of the class.
$ Conduct an action research project by
either developing and implementing a spelling program, a vocabulary program, or
a writers= workshop based on class
readings and discussions. Keep careful field notes of the experience (i.e. in a
writers= workshop
implementation--list of mini-lessons implemented with lesson plans, the
explanation for the mini-lesson selected) and collect student artifacts. Write
an evaluation of the entire experience and submit all the above as a final
product.
$ Select a topic on writing that is of
interest and of relevance to the seminar; find an article or chapter, empirical
or theoretical, about 20 pages in length that provides a good presentation of
the topic; and distribute copies of the article to the class. Plan to lead a
discussion of the topic during a class period. In this discussion, present the contents of the article to
the class using whatever methods deemed appropriate and effective. The purpose of the presentation is to
engage students in a discussion of the content and the issues surrounding the
content. Be prepared to discuss
what was new, what was interesting, agreements/disagreements, and how it
relates to other things read or discussed. About 45 minutes will be reserved for each
presentation.
_$ Collect samples of student writing and analyze
using the Six Traits Scoring Protocol. Follow each scored paper with a
reflection on the instruction indicated by the data from the six-trait scoring.
How can you help each writer improve?_