I'm back to share a quick update on a "webinar" (an online seminar) that I attended this week.
Many students struggle with writing in middle school. There is a lot to learn and very high expectations! The webinar I attended this week focused on how to facilitate writing in our students who may have a little difficulty. Here are some key points I'd like to share.
1. We can't expect our students to know how to be great writers without showing them what great writing looks like. Always start an assignment by providing examples of what the expected output is. By showing our students the process we go through when we write something, it gives them an example of what their own process will look like. This follows an "I do, we do, you do" scaffolding process.
2. There are 6 writing genres that our students will encounter.
3. The POWER model offers a step by step process for students to plan and write.
Using the steps of POWER gives students a clear and concise way to organize their writing process and can be used in students with a variety of writing difficulties including language learning disabilities, apraxia, specific learning disability, or language disorders.
We will be combining the Write POWER with some instruction and practice on sentence variation to make our writing diverse and interesting. Students working on this approach in speech will be compiling a portfolio of their writing for determining progress and goal setting. I hope to see lots of progress over the course of the year!
- Ms. Dettmer
Many students struggle with writing in middle school. There is a lot to learn and very high expectations! The webinar I attended this week focused on how to facilitate writing in our students who may have a little difficulty. Here are some key points I'd like to share.
1. We can't expect our students to know how to be great writers without showing them what great writing looks like. Always start an assignment by providing examples of what the expected output is. By showing our students the process we go through when we write something, it gives them an example of what their own process will look like. This follows an "I do, we do, you do" scaffolding process.
2. There are 6 writing genres that our students will encounter.
- Sequential (remembering and repeating given information)
- Descriptive (describing something in our own words)
- Comparative (showing how two or more items are alike and different)
- Cause/Effect (taking a situation apart to look for details that lead to an outcome)
- Problem/Solution ((identifying a problem and determining a solution)
- Persuasive (bringing together all arguments to defend a position)
3. The POWER model offers a step by step process for students to plan and write.
- P = Plan which graphic organizer you will use based on what kind of writing you need to do.
- O = Organize your thoughts into key words in your graphic organizer.
- W = Write sentences based on the key words you generated.
- E = Edit your sentences into a paragraph and determine if you need to make any changes.
- R = Rework your paragraph to correct any mistakes and rewrite your work.
Using the steps of POWER gives students a clear and concise way to organize their writing process and can be used in students with a variety of writing difficulties including language learning disabilities, apraxia, specific learning disability, or language disorders.
We will be combining the Write POWER with some instruction and practice on sentence variation to make our writing diverse and interesting. Students working on this approach in speech will be compiling a portfolio of their writing for determining progress and goal setting. I hope to see lots of progress over the course of the year!
- Ms. Dettmer