Writing


 * WRITING**

**Writing Committee Documents**:

Power Standards - Writing

Recommendations for Further Action -

K-2 Writing Rubric

Writing Exit Skills - [|WritingExit Skills 08-09.pdf]

Modes of Writing - Projects for each grade level

[Handout: Soppada Proposal for Writing; Writing Memo to Bill Carozza, Michael Bessette, and Steve Chamberlin from Deidre Smith, Dot Helm, and Joan Follansbee dated Oct. 2, 2006] Action: This was an FYI for the Curriculum Council. The Leadership Team approved the formation of a Writing Committee.
 * November 2006 Curriculum Council Minutes **
 * Dot Helm and Deidre Smith presented their proposal to create a committee to review current practices in writing instruction and assessment in grades K-8.
 * Questions driving this request (as stated in Memo to building principles dated Oct. 2, 2006)
 * How much time are our students actually writing each day?
 * Are we teaching writing as a subject or within the context of another subject?
 * Is the faculty comfortable with teaching writing and with their own writing?
 * What is happening in each building that may be taking away from academic instruction time?
 * Do we need to make a commitment to more ongoing focused professional development around the writing process?
 * Are teachers using assessment results to make instructional decisions?

• Composed of two interest groups; one which wants to develop a written curriculum and the other which wants to talk about improving instruction • Each month the group is given a reading assignment to promote discussion about instruction; then discusses what are we doing/ not doing? to examine curriculum • Committee is mostly K-6 with Kelly Conley (Reading Specialist) and Mike Timm (English Dept.) representing HMHS • Elementary is adopting the four modes of writing used at High School and adding a fifth [|Writing Projects 2007]
 * November 2007 Curriculum Council Minutes **
 * Narrative
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Expository
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Persuasive
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Descriptive
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Creative (for elementary)

<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">• These modes will provide consistency as students advance through grade levels, but represent the bare minimum for writing expectations - they will ensure that every student has done one similar writing project per mode at every grade level. HMS has articulated what the projects are; what parts of the writing process are used; what write traits are used; MSS needs to do <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">• There is not agreement on how writing should be taught - It’s easy to model being a reader; not easy to model being a writer <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">• Writing needs to continue to be a priority <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">• Language Arts group working during Curriculum Day would like time (perhaps back to back Early Release Days) to finish the work <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">• Discussion about PD Days and Early Release Days ensued

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Update on Writing - Nancy Alibrandi • The September Early Release Day for the K-6 staff was focused on writing: <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">o Nancy Alibrandi and Deb Jones showed the work that had been done on entering writing curriculum into TechPaths. This included work from the district’s Curriculum Days around Enduring Understandings for Writing, Essential Questions, GLE’s, and was organized using the format from //Write Source// (the book given to classroom teachers to use as a resource for instruction as needed). <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif;">Writing Curriculum in TechPaths [Note: the Writing Exit Skills documents are more recent than these TechPaths documents].
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">October 2008 Curriculum Council Minutes **
 * [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/msexcel.png width="32" height="32" link="http://hsdcurriculumcouncil.wikispaces.com/file/view/Writing+-+Gr.+K.xls"]] [|Writing - Gr. K.xls]
 * [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/msword.png width="32" height="32" link="http://hsdcurriculumcouncil.wikispaces.com/file/view/Writing1.doc"]] [|Writing1.doc]
 * [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/msword.png width="32" height="32" link="http://hsdcurriculumcouncil.wikispaces.com/file/view/Writing2.doc"]] [|Writing2.doc]
 * [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/msword.png width="32" height="32" link="http://hsdcurriculumcouncil.wikispaces.com/file/view/Writing3.doc"]] [|Writing3.doc]
 * [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/msword.png width="32" height="32" link="http://hsdcurriculumcouncil.wikispaces.com/file/view/Writing4.doc"]] [|Writing4.doc]
 * [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/msword.png width="32" height="32" link="http://hsdcurriculumcouncil.wikispaces.com/file/view/Writing5.doc"]] [|Writing5.doc]
 * [[image:http://www.wikispaces.com/i/mime/32/application/msword.png width="32" height="32" link="http://hsdcurriculumcouncil.wikispaces.com/file/view/Writing6.doc"]] [|Writing6.doc]

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">o Grade level teams met to begin talking about exit level skills o Pat Heinz, Joan Follansbee, and Kathy Pepper shared some strategies/tips that have been successful in their classrooms - these were very well received by other staff members <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">• All grade levels K-6 have been meeting to determine approximately 20 exit skills for <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">writing for their grade; these will be e-mailed to Deidre Smith; vertical teams will continue the discussion around exit skills on the next Early Release Day October 28th; there are also plans to have more teachers share strategies/tips that have been successful in their classrooms

Writing Exit Skills - [|WritingExit Skills 08-09.pdf]


 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Val Aubry indicated that Stephanie Spadorcia from Lesley University will be the consultant to come in and work with staff on Writing Workshop. She will come this month to tour the schools and get acquainted with staff, and in the afternoon meet with the reading data team about students struggling with state assessments. The rest of Stephanie’s visits will be in the classroom modeling Writers Workshop - providing hands-on help.
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 90%;">Trish Underwood mentioned that tools were being developed at the High School around competencies and that the elementary level may want to parallel that with a similar format when they are working on exit skills

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Progress of Writing Committee - Deidre Smith • Writing was in YearFour(Train/Implement) of the Cycle of Curriculum Revision; Deidre said “Year of Implementation” is great - Professional Development for the year was focused on Writing - all Early Release Dayswere dedicated to it so a lot was accomplished; Deidre expressed concern over what happens in the next year of the cycle - how do you keep the momentum going when the focus shifts to another curriculum area? __Accomplishments:__
 * May 2009 Curriculum Council Minutes**
 * Professional Reading Club in the Summer; 20 people participated by reading either Ralph Fletcher’s //Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide// or Katie Wood Ray’s //The Writing Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts (and They’re All Hard Parts)//
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Maple Street had weekly grade level PLC (Professional Learning Communities) meeting where they shared web sites, writing prompts, lesson ideas
 * Twenty-five people participated in Tom Newkirk’s course “Boys, Literacy and Pop Culture”
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">A guidebook of expected Exit Skills for Grammar was developed (K-6 is done; needs to be reviewed with grades 7 & 8)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Question: What happens with students who don’t meet the exit skills? Currently, an in-house issue where teachers need to communicate this from year to year; might also recommend student for an extended skills program
 * Write Source K-8 Teacher’s Guide purchased for every classroom (committee would like to look into some of the other supplemental materials - weighing the costs/benefits; e.g. Big Books)
 * <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS',Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Committee has a To Do List - still need to work on writing workshop and spelling
 * [[file:Recommendations for Further Action.pdf]]