1. www.collinsed.com COLLINS WRITING PROGRAM Ideas for Today and Tomorrow

2. Supporting the Collins Writing Program Basics of the program What to look for What to ask www.collinsed.com

3. Collins Writing: Improving Student Performance Blends best practices into a unified, flexible approach Focuses on thinking skills Stresses both teaching and using writing—with a strategic focus Engages students and increases productivity

5. What Makes a Difference in Effective Writing Instruction? Frequency... of writing experiences Focus... of instruction Feedback... on strategic goals

6. Type One Writing Open-ended quick-write—no “correct” answer Fluency and getting ideas on paper Quick and flexible Sentences, questions, stream of consciousness Consistent format—label and skip lines Easily assessed www.collinsed.com

7. Type Two Writing Quick-write with a “right answer”—a quiz Fluency and formative assessment Flexible, use any time Consistent format—label and skip lines Usually has a number in the prompt Simple, informal assessment www.collinsed.com

8. Type Three Writing A composition with specific criteria Substantive content and meets up to three specific standards called focus correction areas (FCAs). Create a draft, read it out loud, and review for criteria One, self-edited draft Assessed on focus correction areas www.collinsed.com

9. #6 3 clus cmplet santinsis 3 math trms November 12, 1999 My Mistery Number My mistery number is a 2 didigit numbe. it is X an ernenamber. tharis an 8 in the one’s plas. X the sum of my to number’sad upt o 12. X w at number am i ?

11. Four Categories of FCAs The content category is the what of the writing The organization category is the order of the writing The convention category has to do with the appearance of the writing. The style category is the personality of the writing. www.collinsed.com

12. Tuition Break I began saving for my two son’s college education 18 years ago through U.G.M.A. accounts, whose funds revert to the beneficiary at 21. My older son attends a state school and could have $100,000 remaining when he graduates. My younger son will likely go to a private school and perhaps grad school and could deplete his account. May I ask my older son to share his remaining money with his brother? “ The Ethicist” by Randy Cohen in the New York Times Magazine, March 9, 2008 www.collinsed.com

13. Three Step Editing Process Step One: Teacher leads class through evaluation of first paper Step Two: Pairs of students evaluate a second paper Step Three: Individual students evaluate third paper. www.collinsed.com

14. Type Four Writing A revised composition that has multiple criteria Read aloud by the author (self-edited) Read aloud by another (peer-edited) Usually two drafts Assessed on focus correction areas Most effective and efficient of all of the types at improving writing skills. www.collinsed.com

15. Type Five Writing Writing of publishable quality Self- and peer-edit Teacher conference and edit Usually requires multiple drafts No FCAs—everything counts Considered a major project because of the amount of time and effort required www.collinsed.com

16. Collins Education Services Twenty Years of Success Professional development focused on best practices and teacher efficiency Graduate-level courses, workshops, and institutes In-class modeling Grade and team consultations Program planning

17. Criteria for Type Five The writing will be: Read by critical readers outside the classroom Produced by students who are sufficiently motivated and skilled at multiple drafts Created under favorable conditions; enough time for self and peer review, with oral reading, teacher feedback, and multiple revisions www.collinsed.com

18. Seven Element Assignments Element 1. A general summary of the assignment Element 2. A statement of the writer’s purpose – to inform, entertain, persuade. Element 3. The writer’s role – who the writer is writing as. Element 4. A description of the audience for the work www.collinsed.com

19. Seven Element Assignments Element 5. The form or type of writing – essay, friendly letter, dialogue, etc. Element 6. How the work will be evaluated – the focus correction areas (FCAs) Element 7. The procedure – steps the writer should follow www.collinsed.com

20. Four Essential Assignments The Ten Percent Summary Telling the main points of a non-fiction article Vocabulary Cards Using cards to master technical vocabulary Similar but Different Comparing and contrasting when differences are subtle Short Persuasive Essay Taking a stand on an issue

21. Student Achievement Douglas Reeves’ 101 Questions & Answers About Standards, Assessments, and Accountability describes his research of 90/90/90 schools. “They shared a laser-like focus on student achievement, an issue that dominated every faculty meeting, staff development presentation, and even the casual discussions among teachers and administrators.” www.collinsed.com

22. Student Achievement Douglas Reeves’ 101 Questions & Answers About Standards, Assessments, and Accountability describes his research of 90/90/90 schools. “These schools emphasized student writing, with weekly writing assessments and a common scoring guide, or rubric, to provide clear feedback on student performance. ” www.collinsed.com

23. Student Achievement Douglas Reeves’ 101 Questions & Answers About Standards, Assessments, and Accountability describes his research of 90/90/90 schools. “The teachers routinely collaborated on scoring, so that they were able to give consistent feedback to the students. Students were afforded multiple opportunities to succeed on assignments. www.collinsed.com

24. Teaching FCAs Step One―Focus Teaching Step Two―Focus Practice Step Three―Focus Assigning Step Four―Focus Correcting www.collinsed.com

25. Seven Highly Recommended Assignments “ Who Am I?” An autobiographical sketch about a classmate Class Log Creating a description of class for an absent student Create A Test Creating a test for the unit your class has just studied www.collinsed.com

26. Seven Highly Recommended Assignments Study Guide Predicting, explaining, and answering essay questions End of Unit Reflection Writing a letter to future student describing how to do well in class It’s a Must! Thoughtful recommendations about the important aspects of this class Letter to Next Year’s Teacher Reflecting on what you have learned

27. Maturity of the Writer As described by Hersey and Blanchard in Management of Organizational Behavior, maturity has three components: 1. Experience with the specific task 2. Willingness to take responsibility 3. Achievement motivation www.collinsed.com

29. Type One Writing Prompts For Activating Prior Knowledge: In eight* lines or more, write the things you know or questions you have about ____________. For Reflecting About Learning: Think about and write down two* “hard questions” about ____________. www.collinsed.com

30. Type One Writing Prompts For Predicting: Before we (go on this field trip, conduct this experiment, study this unit), write eight* lines about some of the things you hope to find out. For Making Connections: How is ____________ (this type of problem, concept) similar to ________ (another type of problem, concept)? Fill seven* lines or more. www.collinsed.com

31. Type Two Writing Prompts Remembering ― recalling information: List five* facts about __________. Understanding ― explaining ideas or concepts: Summarize the three* most important points from our class yesterday (or today’s class or last night’s reading) www.collinsed.com

32. Type Two Writing Prompts Applying ― using information in another familiar situation: What two* strategies that we have talked about might you use to (solve, connect, repair, etc.) the following? Analyzing ― breaking information into parts to explore relationships: Describe two* ways ______ and ______ are similar and two* ways they are different. www.collinsed.com

33. Type Two Writing Prompts Evaluating ― justifying a decision, checking, critiquing, judging: Give two*reasons why this cannot be a correct answer for this question. Explain. Creating ― generating new ideas, products, or ways of viewing things: If the answer is ________, write two* questions that would go with that answer. www.collinsed.com