Self-Regulated Strategy Development School Committee Meeting Millbury Street Elementary School March 24, 2014

Background Scheduled to co-teach together for ELA this year Saw a need to pursue professional development in the area of writing – decided to attend a two day workshop offered by Hill for Literacy over the summer Excited to try what we learned in our class and to share it with other fifth grade teachers

What is it? Self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) is an extensively validated approach to writing instruction (including sentence construction, planning and revising, and genre element knowledge) and self-regulation strategies for writing (including goal setting, self- instruction, self-assessment, self-monitoring, and self- reinforcement). SRSD is a research and evidence-based strategy – it is not a “program;” it can be used with existing programs or as a stand-alone tool. SRSD is appropriate for use in grades 2 through high school, and designed for students in both general education, and special education.

Self-Regulated Strategy Development SRSD was developed to address students’ difficulty with the writing process AND their attitudes and beliefs about writing, motivation, and self-efficacy. The SRSD approach explicitly teaches strategies for specific writing genres (narrative, opinion/persuasive, informative/report writing), as well as general writing strategies (word choice, interesting openings).

Connections to the Common Core Text Types and Purposes: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1 Write opinion pieces on topics or texts, supporting a point of view with reasons and information. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1.A Introduce a topic or text clearly, state an opinion, and create an organizational structure in which ideas are logically grouped to support the writer's purpose. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1.B Provide logically ordered reasons that are supported by facts and details. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1.C Link opinion and reasons using words, phrases, and clauses (e.g., consequently, specifically). CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.1.D Provide a concluding statement or section related to the opinion presented.

Connections to the Common Core Production and Distribution of Writing: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.4 Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development and organization are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade- specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1-3 above.) CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.5.5 With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

Components of SRSD Mnemonics (STOP & DARE; REVISE, FLAIR) Graphic organizers Modeling, exemplars Positive self-talk statements Rubrics (including extension) Color-coding (reasons and support) Mini-lessons (topic paragraph, reasons, concluding paragraph) Transition words and thought stems Guided partner practice, sharing/feedback Self-scoring Teacher scoring/conferencing Goal setting Charting progress Engaging and varied writing prompts Revising and editing checklists

STOP Planning Strategy S = Suspend judgment T = Take a side O = Organize ideas P = Plan more as you write

DARE Planning Strategy D = Develop your topic sentence A = Add supporting ideas R = Reject arguments for the other side E = End with a conclusion

More Mnemonics

Positive Self-Talk Statements

Positive Self-Talk Statements

Rubrics

Graphic Organizer

Thought Stems Thought stems are used to extend and develop the arguments or reasons in the persuasive essay. Examples of Thought Stems What I mean by this is… Another way to say this is… This connects to my argument because… The reason for this is that… To put it another way… This shows that… This is important because… For example…

Student Samples – Before SRSD

Student Samples – Before SRSD (color-coded)

Student Samples – Before SRSD (color-coded)

Student Samples - Introductory Paragraphs after Mini-Lesson

Sample Student Essay after All Mini-Lessons in SRSD

Sample Student Essay, continued

Self-Monitoring Progress Student Sample – Self-Monitoring Progress

(Scores out of a possible 15 points) Persuasive Writing (Scores out of a possible 15 points)   PROMPT 1 PROMPT 2 PROMPT 3 PROMPT 4 Student 1 3 6 7 Student 2 5 15 Student 3 4 13 Student 4 1 12 14 Student 5 11 Student 6 Student 7 Student 8 2 Student 9 Student 10 10 Student 11 Student 12 9 Student 13 Student 14 Student 15 Student 16 Student 17 Student 18 Student 19 Student 20 Student 21 Student 22 Average 3.9 9.2 11.4 13.8 Median 9.5

Reflections Students seemed more motivated to write – even the reluctant and struggling writers. Because of the structure and rubrics, students knew exactly what was expected. Mini-lessons and follow-up partner practice was very valuable and allowed for a gradual release of responsibility. All students showed substantial growth from their first writing sample to their final prompt. We saw a transfer of strategies used for persuasive/opinion writing to informative writing.