Improving Writing Test Scores, Part III

The third part of this test-prep trilogy involves working with the individual student. Granted, most of what you realistically can do will be done as a school or class, but there are some practical ways to work one-on-one as well.

Once again, we'll cover a number of "best practices" and then focus on the one we feel is most effective and most practical.

With Each Student…

1. Help each student set up a personal writing portfolio. This will allow students to keep a running record of their writing progress throughout the school year. Write Source Online lets students keep an ePortfolio so they can reflect their work and share it with teachers and peers if they like.
   
2. Ask students to keep track of the writing skills they need to work on, and provide opportunities for them to improve these specific skills. Send students to our Student Activities for lots of grammar and writing exercises.
3. Encourage students to keep a regular writing schedule outside of class. This can be a daily freewriting, a journal entry, or any other type of writing they may enjoy. Students can use our templates to help organize their work as they write independently.
4. Make sure each student understands the language of the rubrics you use in the classroom and those that will be used to measure student success on the writing test. Take a look at our collection of rubrics that cover each form of writing by clicking on the "Rubrics" tab here. (If need be, rewrite the rubrics or take time to explain each one clearly.)
5. Teach each student to read and interpret writing prompts and to monitor his or her response to these prompts. (Remind students to keep their main point in mind as they write their responses.) For prompts, scroll down to the Ideas sections of the "Writing" tab here.
6. Wherever possible, provide students with access to computers for their writing activities. Studies have shown that this will help students (especially struggling writers) improve both their fluency and their overall effectiveness as writers, often quite dramatically.
7. Parental involvement in schools has long been recognized as a major contributor to student success. Consider incorporating a program such as "Write with Me Tonight," where parents write with their students one night a week. Parents can also help prepare students for test situations when they are asked to do so. Direct parents to our Tools, where they will find mini-lessons, tutorials, and activities covering all the forms of writing.
8. Review student responses to sample writing prompts on a one-to-one basis whenever possible. Doing so will certainly help each student gain confidence and lessen his or her test anxiety.
9. Provide both oral and written feedback to student writing. Frequent feedback is still the best form of differentiated instruction when it comes to writing skills.

Providing Feedback to Student Writing…

As you can see, there are a good number of things you can do to help individual students prepare for their writing tests. The strategy we have chosen to focus on in this post is providing feedback. We'll look at how best to provide feedback that will help students with their overall writing skills, including the skills they need to be successful on writing tests.

1. Provide positive feedback on all classroom writing activities so that students can benefit from the constructive criticism of their writing and that of their classmates.
2. Give written comments that focus on the criteria valued most in test situations: organization, support, and clarity.
3. Provide one-to-one feedback in a conference setting whenever possible, so you have each student's undivided attention. During each conference, you can decide together which specific skill or writing techniques the student should try next.
4. Offer opportunities for collaborative writing and regular peer evaluation. To ensure that each peer conference is productive, have students follow the guidelines listed in Write Source—take a look at the Grade 6 guidelines as seen in the Online Edition:
   
5. Set up a "Buddy" program with older students in the school, if possible. For many students, this can be a turning point in both their attitude toward writing and their overall achievement.
6. Have students conference at home with a parent, grandparent, or other family member. You might prepare a checklist that students can take home to help family members respond in a constructive way.
7. Encourage students to exchange their writings with students from other schools via forms of new media. Students can then exchange suggestions on how to improve one another's work. (Clearly, this needs to be set up by the teacher so that all school and district guidelines are met.)

We hope these suggestions prove helpful. Preparing students for any kind of test is challenging, preparing them for a writing test may be the most challenging of all.

We wish you the best of luck. Let us know what works for you, and we'll share your successes with teachers everywhere.

—Pat Sebranek

Improving Writing Test Scores, Part II

In our last post, we talked about using "writing to learn" throughout the school to help improve student writing scores. In this post, we want to look at what you can do in your classroom on a regular basis to further improve student writing skills and test scores.

We'll begin with a brief overview that lists some of the "best practices" for improving test scores. Most will improve all types of writing and will most certainly contribute to improving test scores as well. Then we'll look more closely at one of these practices, which you can incorporate into your classroom immediately.

In Each Classroom…

1. Use writing to learn and freewriting activities on a daily basis. (As Dr. Douglas B. Reeves*, founder of the Leadership and Learning Center, explains in Holistic Accountability, "When students write more frequently, their ability to think, reason, analyze, communicate, and perform on tests will improve." For Dr. Reeves' take on Write Source, see the video below.)
2. Use mini-lessons to teach specific concepts for which the class has shown a need, such as sentence combining and usage issues.
3. Share samples of student writing, and ask your class what they liked about each; then ask them to give suggestions for improving the writing. (You can even share some of your own writing.)
4. Provide meaningful writing activities by promoting student choice and ownership, as well as encouraging students to write for real audiences.
5. Help students understand how thinking and writing work together and encourage higher-level thinking as part of the writing process.
6. Make new-media writing part of your composition program.
7. Take a proactive approach to test taking by preparing students both academically and emotionally. Rehearse test conditions, explain the test format, and offer possible writing prompts.

A Proactive Approach to Test Taking

Let's focus on what a proactive approach to test taking entails. First, there is no question that students will benefit from well-planned instruction on how to prepare for and take writing tests. But it's worth remembering that teaching to the test can be overdone and, at times, counterproductive.

Students need to feel comfortable as they prepare to take the test. And the best way to gain this comfort is to talk about the test in a positive way throughout the school year. Here are some strategies you can use.

• Prepare your students mentally and emotionally for the test.

1. Let students know early in the year when they will be taking the writing test and what the test will actually look like.
2. Assure students that if they try their best throughout the year to improve as writers, they will do just fine on the test.
3. Frame the test as one part of the students' complete collection of work samples and accomplishments as writers.
4. A week or so before the test, remind students of the test and that you feel they are well prepared.
5. Provide opportunities for students to practice writing to test prompts throughout the school year and especially as the test date draws near.

• Prepare your students to respond confidently to the writing prompts.

1. Teach students to read the overall directions and the specific prompts carefully, paying special attention to key words.
2. Encourage students to think before they write, using prewriting tools such as outlines and lists to organize their thoughts.
3. Make sure students know how to initiate a piece of writing by using strong openings that restate the prompt and clearly express the main point of their writing.
4. Encourage students to use specific examples and reasons to support their main point.
5. Provide students with an array of organizational patterns, along with the linking expressions or transitional words they can use with each pattern.
6. Expose students to strong and weak conclusions, and give them strategies for writing effective conclusions themselves.

I hope you find these suggestions helpful. You may not be able to implement all of these strategies in your classroom, but there will most likely be some that will fit both your needs and your schedule.

In the next post, we will discuss what can be done on a one-on-one basis to help those who need a little more of your time to prepare for the writing test.

Good luck!

— Pat Sebranek

Improving Writing Test Scores, Part I

Nothing causes more concern among educators today than the issue of mandated assessment tests. Teachers everywhere are asking, “What can I do to help my students perform better on their state or district tests—without taking valuable time from our other studies?”

There is no one, simple answer to this question. But there are several things any teacher can do that will, in fact, better prepare their students for the “big day.” We will share some of the latest best practices with you in the next three postings. We've gathered our recommendations from a variety of sources, including our own years in the classroom.

In the first posting, we'll talk about what can be done schoolwide to improve student performance. In the second posting, we'll talk about what you can do for your students in the classroom on a day-to-day basis. And in our final posting, we'll discuss things you can do for each of your students when working with them individually.

In the case of your schoolwide effort, it's vital that all teachers, administrators, and support staff are on the same page. This is not always easy, so we've chosen to focus on one particular practice—writing to learn—that has a proven track record and can be incorporated into all subject areas with reasonable time and effort.

Using “Writing to Learn” to Improve Performance on Writing Tests

What exactly is “writing to learn”?

Writing to learn is a method of learning that helps students get more out of their course materials with short and ungraded activities. Their purpose is to allow students and teachers to assess—on a moment's notice—what students have learned. It is a method that can be used in all subjects at all ages.

What is the purpose of writing to learn?

The main purpose of writing to learn activities is to improve thinking and learning. Better writing is actually a by-product, but one that serves students well on writing tests. Using these activities allows all students to respond, including those who are reluctant to answer out loud.

What are the advantages of writing to learn?

Writing to learn provides students with an efficient way to learn in all their classes. It causes students to personalize learning so that they understand better and remember longer. Teachers using writing to learn will see learning, thinking, and writing improve among their students. They will also notice improved communication, rapport, and motivation, as students become more actively involved in the learning process.

Which writing to learn activities are good to begin with?

There are a wide variety of activities available, but the most commonly used ones include admit slips, stop 'n' write, and exit slips.

Admit slips:

Admit slips are brief pieces of writing that can be collected as “admission” to class. Admit slips can be a summary of last night's reading, questions about class material, requests for teachers to review a particular point, or anything else students may have on their minds. The teacher can read several aloud (without naming the writer), to help students focus on the day's lesson.

Stop 'n' Write:

At any point during the class, students can be asked to stop and write. They can be asked to summarize their understanding of the topic, to question anything they don't understand, or to predict what they think will happen next. The length of the response can be anywhere from a single, concise sentence to a paragraph or two. That will depend upon the lesson and how much time you have available.

Exit slips:

At the end of class, students can be asked to write a short piece in which they summarize, evaluate, or question something about the day's lesson. Students then turn in their exit slips before leaving the classroom. Teachers use the exit slips to assess students' learning or the success of a lesson.

How do I get others to try writing to learn?

Good question. First, get comfortable with these activities yourself. Once you feel comfortable, share with your colleagues the successes you've experienced in your classroom. You may choose to start with just one activity. It's also a good idea to save some of your student samples to give others an idea of what this type of writing actually looks like.

For more writing to learn resources, including sample work, instructional strategies, rubrics, and handouts, please visit the Leadership and Learning Center.

That's it. Good luck, and let us know how writing to learn works in your classroom. We'd love to hear from you!

— Pat Sebranek

Editing Checklists

As you know, many students need all the help they can get with grammar, especially when it comes to editing and proofreading their writing. One aid that you may already use is a checklist of the basic conventions that students should consider when editing.

Such a checklist is included at all levels in Write Source in the form of a series of questions: Do I use end punctuation after all my sentences? Do I start all my sentences with capital letters? Do my subjects and verbs agree in number? And so on. You can also have students develop personalized checklists that include features that habitually challenge them. Here are two additional editing checklists to consider:

Checking for Standard English

Some of your students may, at times, struggle with Standard English. A checklist identifying the basic differences between Standard English (SE) and other common dialects (OCD) would be of great help to these students when they are editing. As you can see in the following graphic, there really aren't that many features to consider.

Checking for Common Errors

Students in the upper grades will benefit from a common errors checklist. This type of checklist identifies the errors most often made in student essays (other than spelling). A study by Robert J. Connors and Andrea A. Lunsford provides a reliable resource to use for this purpose, because it is based on the error-analysis of 3,000 student essays. The "Errors to Watch For" checklist in Write Source Grades 11 and 12 (shown below in the Write Source Online Grade 12 Student Edition) is based on this study.

Of course, checklists are helpful only when students use them. To that end, many teachers have students attach a "Tasks to Do" sheet to their writing, and students must have each task "signed off' before they can submit their work as ready for publication. One such task would include using an editing checklist.

If you have other ideas for editing, we would love to hear about them. And if you have any questions about our suggestions, please feel free to contact us.

Dave Kemper

Grammar Instruction:
A Proactive Approach

Taking a proactive approach to grammar instruction will help your students deal with the challenges of the language. Being proactive, however, doesn't mean providing endless skills worksheets that drill students in advance of their writing. (Study after study shows that this approach doesn't work.) What we have in mind is far more meaningful and enjoyable. Plus, it is research based.

We recommend that you provide students with opportunities to manipulate sentence parts. More specifically, we encourage you to have students practice sentence combining, expanding, and modeling. Activities like these will help students understand the structure of the language and apply the rules of punctuation, usage, and grammar.

Sentence Combining

Study after study has shown that sentence combining is the best manipulative activity to implement at all grade levels. Essentially, sentence combining is making smoother, more detailed sentences out of a series of shorter ones. Combining can be as simple as moving a key word from one sentence to another. Or it can be more challenging, such as forming longer complex sentences out of series of shorter ones.

• Simple combining: Marley often slaps his tail against the door. His tail is strong. Marley often slaps his strong tail against the door.
• More challenging combining: Marley lunged at the platter of hog dogs. He loves people food. Marley, who loves people food, lunged at the platter of hot dogs.

Sentence Expanding

Skilled writers have a special ability to expand basic ideas with engaging details—modifying words, phrases, and clauses. You can help students better understand well-made sentences by having them practice sentence expanding. The procedure is simple: Provide students with basic ideas and ask them to expand the ideas with various modifiers. This activity works especially well with grades 6–12. Here is an example.

• Basic idea: Larisa was studying at the kitchen table.
• Basic idea with expanded details: Larisa was studying at the kitchen table, completely focused, intent on acing tomorrow's Spanish quiz.

Sentence Modeling

Students can learn a lot about syntax and grammar by writing sentences modeled after those written by their favorite authors. The goal is for the student to imitate the sentence, part for part, using their own ideas. This activity is appropriate for grades 6–12, but works especially well with grades 9-12. Here is an example.

• Well-made sentence: "He has a thin face with sharp features and a couple of eyes burning with truth oil."—Tom Wolfe
• Student sentence: He has an athletic body with lean contours and a couple of arms bulging with weight-room dedication.

You'll be glad to know that Write Source provides opportunities to practice all three of these activities. Think of them as starting points for a study of well-made sentences, and add to them throughout the year. The more your students practice manipulating sentences, the better users of the language they will become. Among the skills they will practice are the following: forming compound and complex sentences, knowing when and where commas are needed in such sentences, using parallel structures, and checking for subject-verb agreement.

Please feel free to contact us about any of the information in this posting. We would love to hear from you.

Dave Kemper

Grammar in Two Ways

A primary concern in the minds of all language arts instructors is the teaching of grammar. Instructors want to know what skills to address, when to address them, and what instructional approaches to employ. Well, Constance Weaver, a well-respected authority on grammar and the teaching of writing, provides a basic framework that (1) makes a great deal of sense to us and (2) takes much of the mystery out of grammar instruction. Weaver thinks of grammar in two ways: grammar to enrich writing and grammar to enhance writing.

• Grammar to enrich writing focuses on language skills and strategies that are employed during the development of writing, such as incorporating effective detail; producing fluent, orderly sentences; writing with style; and so on.
• Grammar to enhance writing attends to editing writing after it has been developed to make sure that the text adheres to the standards of the language.

When you think of grammar in these two ways, you can't help but address language and grammar skills in context, as students are developing their writing. Study after study has shown that teaching grammar in context is, by far, the best approach, because context facilitates deeper engagement.

Weaver's analysis of a common standardized test—the ACT—shows that nearly half of the test questions address grammar skills that enrich writing (organization, style, etc.). The other half address grammar to enhance writing. So even in terms of test preparation, it is critical to approach grammar as she suggests.

You'll be happy to know that Write Source thoroughly covers grammar in both ways. Students practice enriching strategies such as writing with detail and writing with voice during the development of their writing in each unit. Then they practice enhancing skills at the end of the process when they edit their work for correctness before publishing it. In other words, students are immersed in the language in a pedagogically sound manner.

To learn more about grammar instruction, we recommend that you refer to Constance Weaver's book The Grammar Plan Book (Heinemann, 2007). And please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have about grammar instruction.

Dave Kemper

Helping Parents Respond to Their
Children's Writing

How do we educators help parents help their children complete their writing assignments? In my November 1 post, "Helping Parents Help with Homework," I explained how informing parents about the writing process enables them to understand our assignments and to help their children complete the work.

Another strategy is to explain to parents what traits of writing their children should focus on during each step in the writing process, and how to respond to the writing at each step. To that end, we could distribute (or post on the class's website) instructions that describe the traits and list relevant responses. Here's an example:

Responding Early in the Writing Process

While prewriting, writing, and revising, students need to focus on developing their ideas, organization, and voice. To help your child do that, you might read her or his writing, and then respond with questions and comments like those that follow.

Responses that help a writer develop her or his ideas:

• What is the main idea that you want to communicate?
• These points … seem to develop your main idea. Is that right?
• These details … help me understand your main point, but how does this sentence … develop that point?
• Your writing left me thinking about … Is that what you intended?

Responses that help a writer organize those ideas:

• The opening paragraph got my attention by …
• This sentence seems to state your focus. Is that your intent?
• This sentence forecasts where your writing is headed. Is that correct?
• These middle paragraphs develop points raised in your introduction, but why is the first point addressed last?
• Would a transition here show how this paragraph expands on the previous one?

Responses that help a writer fine-tune the voice or tone of the writing:

• These opening sentences show that you care about your topic.
• What does this phrase mean, and will your readers understand it?
• You say that the argument you oppose is "stupid." How could you use objective language to show its weaknesses?
• Does this sentence sound more formal than the others? Why?
• Your closing tells readers what they must do. Will they find that tone convincing or bossy?

Responding Later in the Writing Process

While editing and proofreading, students need to focus on word choice, sentence fluency, and correctness. To help your child focus on these traits, you might respond with questions or comments like these:

Responses that help a writer select clear, precise words:

• The verbs in these sentences clearly show what is happening.
• This noun has two modifiers. Could you avoid both by using a more precise noun?
• Have you over-used any words or phrases?
• What does this term mean? Should you define it or replace it?

Responses that help a writer craft clear, smooth sentences:

• The opening sentence is a clear, strong statement.
• I like how this short sentence makes me stop and think about …
• These three sentences seem disconnected. What transitions might you add to show that the sentences describe steps in the same process?
• Would combining these short sentences create an interesting rhythm?
• These four sentences begin with the same phrase. Does that repetition strengthen or weaken your idea? Why?

Responses that help a writer find and correct errors:

• Is "He got to do that" correct grammar?
• Do all proper nouns and sentences begin with a capital letter?
• Are all the words (especially these names) spelled correctly?
• Does each sentence end with appropriate punctuation?
• Are quotations and titles punctuated correctly?

Please feel welcome to revise the list above, and to share it with parents so they can help their children complete your writing assignments. Finally, to find more tips on this topic, look for these subjects in the indexes of the Write Source textbooks: "Peer editing," "Editing checklist," and "Writing process."

Wishing you well,

Verne Meyer

Across the Writing Spectrum

"The universe of discourse is broad indeed and ranges from utilitarian and scientific uses of language to the most artful and playful literature. Likewise, it extends from public communication to private self-communication. Students need to learn how to compose and comprehend the spectrum."
— James Moffett

In my last post, I discussed fluency as an important skill for student writers to practice. Students also need to experiment with different forms of writing. I'm not talking about paragraphs, essays, reports, and stories as such. What I have in mind is more thoughtful and wide-ranging: a sequence of forms extending from "utilitarian" to "artful" and from private to public. The brainchild of such a sequence, known as the universe of discourse, is James Moffett.

Moffett's sequence covers most types of writing done in our world, and it is arranged, in very general terms, from writing that is immediate and personal to writing that becomes progressively more remote and reflective. Here is a general overview of this sequence as present in Moffett's book :

Writing in Our World

• Taking Down
  • Journals and diaries
• Looking Back (Recollection)
  • Personal narratives
  • Phase autobiographies
  • Memoir writing
  • Personal profiles
• Looking Into (Investigating)
  • Reporting
  • Family anecdotes
  • Phase biographies
  • Profiles of businesses
  • Research articles
• Thinking Up (Imagination)
  • Dreams
  • Jokes
  • Poems
  • Stories
  • Plays
• Thinking Over (Reflection)
  • Dialogues of ideas
  • Statements through stories
  • Newspaper writing
    • Reviews
    • Editorials
    • Columns
  • Essays
    • Personal essays
    • Topic essays

We (the Write Source authors) have found Moffett's universe of discourse extremely thoughtful and logical and have used it in our own classrooms. The sequence also served as a general guide to help us develop the Write Source series. The series covers many of the forms in the universe of discourse, if not at every grade level, then within grade sets, such as upper elementary (grades 3-5), middle school (grades 6-8), and high school (grades 9-12). And at each grade level, the forms of writing are generally arranged from those that are most accessible to those that become progressively more reflective and public.

As you implement writing using our series, you can, of course, simply follow the sequence that we have provided for you, knowing that it was shaped with Moffett's thoughtful approach in mind. Or if you operate your classroom as a writing workshop, you could encourage students to experiment with a number of the forms, starting with the more personal ones. Then again, you may decide to focus a great deal of attention on one or two categories, depending on your district's goals for the year. The choice is yours. Just know that the universe of discourse serves as an excellent writing framework that can be applied in many different ways, for many different purposes.

Dave Kemper

Thinking and Writing in Your Classroom

As all teachers know, writing is really thinking. The two go hand in hand. Even if students don't see the connection, they can't write a single word without thinking consciously—or subconsciously—about what that word will be. This is why it's important to take time with students to talk about the thinking-writing connection. One way you can do this is to introduce students to the six levels of thinking commonly referred to as "Bloom's Taxonomy"— click here for a concise, printable chart of these six levels with tips and questions for each.

After providing each student with a copy, you can point out how each level in the chart is more complex than the previous one. You can then discuss why each level is important in the thinking-writing process.

For example, when students first begin to write, they will need to recall everything they can about the topic: jotting down the main points and listing personal memories. Then, they will need to explain what they have learned about this topic: giving examples and specific details. They need to apply or use what they have learned: selecting the most important details to illustrate a point or solve a problem. Next, they need to carefully analyze what they've written: making connections and comparisons. As they near the end of their writing and thinking, they should stop to evaluate what they've done so far: judging what works and what doesn't work. And, finally, students should try to create something worthwhile: molding their ideas together in new and creative ways before signing off on what they've written.

Finally, go over the "Tips" and "Questions" listed for each level, and show how each will help students improve their thinking and writing skills. As teachers, we need to remind students that they must practice their thinking skills. (See "Tips.") Students also need to know that thinking is not driven by answers but by questions. We need to stimulate thinking by asking higher-level questions ourselves and encouraging students to do the same. Our goal is for students to become better thinkers and writers, and they can do that by asking the right questions. (See "Questions.")

Good luck!

Pat Sebranek

Helping Parents Help with Homework

In WRITING: Teachers and Students at Work, Donald Graves observes, "Most parents … were taught in their early school years that errors in writing were close to original sin. Eradicate errors and the writer would be a little closer to heaven" (314).

Last week, while grandson-sitting with Ezra, grade five, and Elijah and Jack, grade two, I thought about Graves' point. Ezra's teacher had assigned her students to write a "sloppy copy" (rough draft) of a report on an author of their choice. Ezra had decided to write about Gary Paulson and had completed the prewriting activities.

However, as Ezra sat at the kitchen table drafting, I sat nearby asking myself how we educators might help parents understand our writing assignments so they can best help their children accomplish the tasks. For example, when crafting a homework assignment that requires drafting, how can we remind students to focus on getting their ideas on paper, integrating needed details, and shaping a beginning, middle, and ending? At the same time, how can we help some parents understand that focusing on errors at this stage in the writing process actually impedes—versus enhances—their children's efforts?

One approach that we might take is distributing (or posting online) a description of the writing process like the one below. Then in our homework assignments, we can specify what steps in the process we are assigning, and what tips the parents might offer their children as they work through these steps.

Description of the Writing Process

The writing process that we use in our class includes the following five steps: prewriting, writing, revising, editing, and publishing. It's important to note, however, that even though a writer sometimes moves through the steps in the order that they are shown below, at other times she or he might get stuck and repeat one or more steps before moving on.

• Prewriting: The first step in the writing process involves selecting a specific topic, gathering details about it, identifying what will be the main idea or thesis, and organizing those details into a writing plan, possibly by using an outline or graphic organizer.
• Writing: During this step, the writer uses the prewriting plan as a guide, but focuses on getting her or his ideas on paper, developing the main idea, inserting needed details, and shaping a beginning, middle and ending. The writer postpones polishing passages and correcting mechanical errors until later in the process.
• Revising: During revising, the writer reviews the draft for these traits of good writing: strong ideas, logical organization, appropriate voice, effective word choice, and sentence fluency. After deciding what changes to make, she or he deletes, moves, adds to, and sometimes thoroughly rewrites major parts of the text.
• Editing: Next the writer edits the revised text for the conventions of punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and grammar. She or he then proofreads the corrected copy and asks a peer editor to do the same. The writer then makes whatever additional changes are needed, prepares a final copy, and proofreads once again.
• Publishing: Finally, the writer publishes the work by preparing a final copy and sharing it with friends, classmates, and family; or by placing the work in a writing folder or posting it on the class's Web site.

As you develop your own description of the writing process, feel welcome to use the text above and to make any changes that will enable your students' parents to help them complete your writing assignments. Remember, for every unit, the Write Source Program describes all steps in the writing process and offers related instructions regarding the Six Traits.

As always, please contact us with any questions or comments by using the "Ask the Authors" button at the top of the page.

Wishing you well,

Verne Meyer

Practicing Writing Fluency

"Fluency is the first consideration. It is the basis for all that follows."
— Dan Kirby, co-author of Inside Out

Practicing fluency is a key component when it comes to helping students develop their writing abilities. I define writing fluency as, "the process of feeling at ease with putting words on paper, either by keyboarding or by writing longhand." Once students have the physical part of writing under control, so much about the writing process becomes easier for them to understand and master. Luckily, building fluency is an easy strategy for you to implement and an easy one for your students to practice. All it really takes is a few minutes at the beginning of each class period. Here is how I had my students work on their fluency:

The Procedure

1. Set aside 5-10 minutes for students to write every other day at the beginning of the class period.
2. Have students do their writing in a special section of their class notebooks or in a special file if they are using a computer.
3. Have them write about a topic of their own choosing or offer a few starting points (or writing prompts, e.g. a photograph or a quotation). Students shouldn't, however, write about subjects that are too personal, because there will be some sharing involved.
4. Once students start writing, they shouldn't stop until the time is up. (You should time them.) If they draw a momentary blank, they should write "I'm drawing a blank" until something comes to mind, even if it is a different topic. The point is to keep writing.
5. On the off days, students should exchange their writing. Partners should count the number of words in the writing and record that number at the top of the page. Also instruct the readers to underline one or two ideas that they like in the writing.
6. If time permits, ask for one or two volunteers to read the entry out loud if they really like it. (I never had a writer who didn't want to hear his or her work read out loud by someone else.)
7. Continue with this practice as long as you feel it is productive. And be sure to adapt it along the way to meet the needs of your students and the nature of your classroom.

The Pay Off

Students will…

• become more fluent. (I had a few middle-school students who built their writing fluency up to 700 words during 10-minute writings.)
• begin to feel part of a writing community, where sharing is standard procedure.
• gain more confidence in their abilities as writers.
• generate potential writing ideas that they can explore in structured writing assignments.
• master a valuable strategy that they can use at the beginning of writing projects. (Almost all writings units in Write Source recommend nonstop freewriting at the beginning of the project.)

Practicing writing fluency became a valuable part of my middle school classroom. If you decide to incorporate it into your curriculum, please share your experiences with me. Also contact me along the way with any questions that you may have.

Good luck,

Dave Kemper

Student Writing Survey

One of the things I found especially helpful at the beginning of each school year was a "Student Writing Survey." It gave the students and me an opportunity to think about—and talk about—their personal writing habits.

You can begin by handing out the surveys and directing the students to read each statement carefully and answer each one honestly. When you go over the checklists in class, read the statements one by one and ask students to offer their responses. You might simply ask, "How many of you answered "Yes" or "Sometimes" to statement number 1?"

You can then ask a follow-up question such as, "Why do you think a statement about reading is on a writing checklist?" As you go down the checklist, ask similar follow-up questions for each statement.

When you have finished the discussion, you can ask students to turn in their surveys with or without their names on them.

Using a personal writing survey of this sort will fulfill two objectives: It will give students an opportunity to explore their personal writing habits, and it will broaden their sense of what they need to do in the year ahead to become better writers.

In addition, I suggest that you modify all statements as needed to fit your students' specific ages and needs (download an editable Word document of our survey). And, finally, please share your thoughts with us regarding the survey, especially any modifications you may have made.

Good luck!

Pat Sebranek

Meet the Authors – Verne Meyer

Welcome to a new school year! I'm Verne Meyer, one of the Write Source authors, and I wish you the best in your efforts to make this year a great learning experience for your students. As you begin, please know that we are committed to helping you succeed. To that end, each month the Authors' Corner will offer tips to enhance your writing and language instruction. Working together, we can help your students accomplish great things.

Meet the Authors – Dave Kemper

Hello, I'm Dave Kemper, another of the Write Source authors, and I, too, want to welcome you to the new school year. We are extremely excited that you will be using the Write Source materials in your classroom. For the Author's Corner, we have planned a number of interesting posts. The first few, of course, will help with your beginning-of-the-year planning. As the year progresses, please make use of our "Ask the Authors" form/button so we know how we're doing. We'd love to hear from you.

Meet the Authors – Patrick Sebranek

I'm Pat Sebranek, the third member of the Write Source author team. Like Dave and Verne, I am happy to be able to share with you (and your students) what worked well for me when I taught writing, speaking, and thinking skills here in Wisconsin. I was very fortunate to have a wonderful mentor teacher, and I hope now I can pass along some helpful tips and techniques as well. As Dave mentioned, the authors have assembled an extensive list of topics we plan to cover throughout the school year. Here are just a few you'll see posted in the weeks and months ahead.

• A Closer Look at the Traits of Writing
• The Importance of Revising
• Helping Students Overcome Writer's Block
• The Importance of Practicing Writing Fluency
• Boosting the Confidence of Struggling Writers
• Using Graphic Organizers to Guide Student Writing