2011 Southern Nevada Writing Project Summer Institute

Day Fifteen Agenda 1.Scribe Report 2.Ticket out the Door Review 3.Writing Marathon Sharing 4.Teaching Demonstration: Milly Joyner 5.Five Lenses Demo Debrief 6.LUNCH – Response Groups 7.Writing / Work Time 8.Whole Group Writing Share 9.Ticket out the Door

2011 Southern Nevada Writing Project Summer Institute

Teaching the Art of Inquiry: The Reading/Writing Connection Milly Joyner Southern Nevada Writing Project Summer Institute 2011

My Dilemma How can I teach my students to ask meaningful questions in response to challenging texts to improve analytical writing?

Why Inquiry? Student-centered Increases engagement through choice, ownership, time and support Transfers responsibility for learning from teacher to student Promotes life-long learning Depth vs. breadth Requires and develops critical thinking Creates community Promotes authentic learning

There is more than one way to connect to literature: Think Alouds Envisionment Building Expanding the Canon: 4 ways of responding to literature Visual Representations “Of all qualities, questioning is fundamental to being human. It is how we dispel confusion, probe into new areas, strengthen our abilities to analyze and deduce. It is how we learn about other people and deepen friendships.”~ Ellin Oliver Keene

Connections: Like Kurt, I realize annotating a text to improve writing isn’t working. Like Amanda, I want students to deepen understanding through personal connections. Like Nicole K., I recognize that students need more choice to engage in reading. Like Amy, I want my students to experience affective growth by connecting through reading and writing. Like Kara, I want my students to be willing to risk using learned knowledge to strengthen writing. Like Nayelee, I recognize there is a gap between what I expect and what students understand. Like David, I didn’t offer enough “cake” to Students make meaningful connections.

Teaching Types of Questions Big Idea: Who are the victims of war? Directions: 1.Read “Ambush” by Tim O’Brien. You should annotate as you go. 2.After reading, write a factual, an inductive, and an analytical question on the reading. 3.Provide textual support. 4.Write a response for why that information is important to the story. 5.Discuss questions and responses to analytical questions in small groups. 6.Select the best analytical question in the group. 7.Share question and observations with whole group.

Connection to Writing Based on your interaction with the text and small and whole group discussions, write a paragraph in which you explain your understanding of the big idea (Who are the victims of war?) contained in the excerpt. You should synthesize textual support, as well as your peers’ and your own ideas.

Where do we go from here? Graphic organizers to guide thinking Writing for understanding Journaling Reflection Small and whole group discussion Identification of “urgent question” Conferencing Research Essay Performance Assessment

Questions for Reflection How might you adapt this lesson in your own classroom? How might you assess the learning? What challenges do you expect to encounter? What does inquiry look like for the ELL student?

2011 Southern Nevada Writing Project Summer Institute

Ticket out the Door: 1.What suggestions/comments do you have about the Writing Marathon? 2.For what do you still need more work time? 3.Burning questions or concerns?