Because Writing MattersIntroduction and Chapter 1

Why is Writing Sometimes the Silent “R”?

• Does writing matter? If so, why do you think that is?

• From NCLB to CCSS• Writing directly related to learning• Writing helps meet students’ needs in the

information age• Writing helps them become informed and

active citizens in the 21st century

Why Writing Matters• Assumptions about the uses and importance

of writing have changed over time.• Need for freshman writing courses dates back

to 1874 when Harvard began requiring a written entrance exam and students failed it.

• Arthur Applebee: 19th C. writing instruction “focused on penmanship and little else” and occurred in later grades after reading mastered.

History of Writing Instruction, cont.

• By 1975, educators and policymakers began defining literacy needs.

• Newsweek finding that “Johnny [couldn’t] read” prompted a “boom in university-level remedial courses and programs to address the deficient literacy skills of entering freshmen.

• The article also prompted the creation of the National Writing Project.

Why is writing to challenging

to teach and learn?• As Mike Rose suggests, “the stakes for

learning to write have changed.” • Good writing definitions and requirements

evolved as society grew more democratic.• Not enough to sign a name. Must

demonstrate “critical literacy.”• Literacy not just for the elite but for all (for

success in academy, workplace, and global economy).

Purpose of the book:• Make the case that writing is a complex activity

—more than just a skill or talent, it is a means of inquiry and expression for learning

• Examine current trends, best practices, research, and issues in the teaching of writing.

• Offer practical solutions and models for school administrators and policymakers involved in planning, implementing, and assessing a writing program (for professional development, too)

Core Questions: What do you think?

• Why does writing matter?• What does research say about the teaching of writing?• What do we mean by writing processes?• What does an effective writing classroom look like?• How can writing develop critical thinking?• How does writing fit into learning across disciplines?• What kind of professional development works?• What does a school-wide writing program look like?• What are fair ways to assess writing?

National Writing Project

• Began in 1974 as a professional development institute for 25 teachers at Ucal, Berkeley

• Now has more than 200 sites across US, D.C., Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands

• Serves more than 100,000 educators a year• Only national program that focuses on writing

as a means to improve learning in America’s schools.

• Fosters university-school collaboration.

The Neglected “R”• William Zinsser: “The new information age, for

all its high-tech gadgetry, if finally writing-based.”

• Writing needs to be connected to the kinds of writing tasks they will have to perform well in high school and beyond.

• Composition pedagogy remains a neglected area of study

• Best way to teach reading has overshadowed the role of writing in developing literacy.

Research-Based Approaches

• Proof that students need to write more across all content areas and that schools need to expand their writing curricula to involve students in a range of writing tasks from NAEP, NCTE, AASA, and NWP.

• Will the ELA Common Core Standards promote these needs?

Chapter 1, Improving Student Writing: Challenges and

Expectations• Writing is complex, and so is writing

instruction.• Writing is challenging because of uncertainty

embedded in the process of doing it. • The more complex the subject or task, the

more disorderly and unpredictable the journey.

• E.B. White: “The best writing is rewriting.”

How to write well?• Be both a writer and a reader of our

own work.• Approach writing as recursive—writers

shuffle through phases of planning, reflection, drafting, and revision, but not in a linear fashion. (What is your own writing process like?)

• Grasp the occasion: purpose, audience…

The challenge of teaching writing

• How do we create a classroom or school where increasingly complex writing tasks can be learned by all students?

• Learn in school as practiced out of school: have a reason to write, an intended audience, and control of subject and form.

• Allow students to approach their writing through a recursive process.

• Move away from traditional approaches to assessing writing.

• Do we think all students can learn to read and write?

How Educators see the Challenge

• 1. Students need to write more in all subjects:• Students in grades 4,8, and 12 who said

they wrote long answers weekly scored higher on the NAEP Reading Report Card than those who said they never or hardly ever did so.

• Learning to write requires frequent supportive practice.

How Educators See the Challenge, cont.

• 2. Students Have Diverse Abilities and Instructional Needs• We all (as do students) have strengths

and weaknesses as writers (what are yours?)

• “Schools not only need to have students writer more; they must also give students a rich and diverse array of writing experiences.”

How Educators…• 3. Students Must Master Diverse

Writing Tasks to Develop Competence• Write for varied purposes and

audiences• Begin in early grades with drawing,

talking, developmental spelling, and picture stories.

• Build to summaries, lab reports, book reviews, essay tests, and more extended writing tasks.

How Educators…• 4. Students Face Ongoing Challenges in

Learning to Write• Writing is something writers are always

learning to do.

• The number of mechanical errors and defects increases as writing tasks become more difficult (Mina Shaughnessy)

• Mike Rose: Error marks the place where education begins.”

How Educators…• 5. Teachers need to Build Common

Expectations for Good Writing• The task of defining proficiency and making

explicit expectations for good writing has to be addressed across all grade levels, content areas, and genres (not just in English language arts classes).

• Principal Crystal England: “Every teacher who interacts with children has a responsibility for the student’s development in writing as it applies to their subject area.”

How Educators…• 6. Schools Need to Develop Fair and Authentic

Writing Assessments (Will CCSS Help here?)• 7. Educators Need Multiple Strategies for

Teaching Writing:• Draw from both a focus on formal and external

aspects of writing (grammar/usage…) and a focus on meaning, ideas, expression, and writing processes.

• 8. Schools Need to Offer Professional Development in Teaching Writing to All Faculty

What the Public Has to Say About Writing

• Reading, math, and writing top lists of necessary skills.

• Writing should be taught at a young age and throughout disciplines.

• Writing well will help students’ performance in all subject areas.

• Writing is a “threshold skill” for employment and promotion.

Everyone can Learn to Write

• Peter Elbow: • Anyone can produce a lot of writing with

pleasure and satisfaction without too much struggle.

• Anyone can figure out what he or she really means and finally get it clear on paper.

• Anyone can write things that others will want to read.

• Teachers can empower students to become better writers.

Discussion Questions• In Because Writing Matters, Crystal England is quoted as

saying, "Every teacher who interacts with children has a responsibility for the student's development in writing as it applies to their subject area." What does this mean to a primary teacher? Grade 5? Grade 8? High school science classroom? How does it apply to a parent, or does it?

• How do reading skills reinforce writing skills, and vice versa?• After reading Chapter One and reflecting on all that is

expected and required of a good writing teacher, do you feel that your school offers enough professional development in the teaching of writing for your teachers? Why or why not? If it should be changed, what do you suggest?