POST SEMINAR WRITING: IT’S TIME FOR PRODUCTS & AUDIENCES THAT DEVELOP INFORMATIONAL AND PERSUASIVE GENRES (K-6) JENNIFER R. MANGRUM, PHD. UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT GREENSBORO

PAIDEIA SEMINAR PROCESS First, reading activities ask students to observe and analyze the seminar text. Then, the teacher offers instruction on strategies for effective communication, and participants set speaking and listening goals. During the seminar, the teacher’s questions provoke more complex thinking and articulate self-expression. After the seminar, participants assess their progress toward speaking and listening goals. Finally, writing assignments develop ideas that students began to explore during seminar, requiring more thorough analysis and clearer expression.

READING AND WRITING GENRE WITH PURPOSE IN K-8 CLASSROOMS (NELL K. DUKE, SAMANTHA CAUGHLAN, MARY M. JUZWIK, AND NICOLE M. MARTIN) “A pressurized atmosphere surrounding standards and testing has led teachers to feel they don’t have time to plant their reading and writing instruction in a rich bed of purpose. Too often, students read a text because they are assigned to do so, not because they want, or even understand, what the text has to offer. Students write in a genre because it is assigned, not because they want to accomplish what the genre is well suited to do. Yet theory, research and professional wisdom…all suggest that students learn better and more deeply when their learning is contextualized and genuinely motivated. The experience of teaching is also improved when the context of our teaching is more interesting and our students are more engaged. (pg. 2)

READING AND WRITING GENRE WITH PURPOSE IN K-8 CLASSROOMS (NELL K. DUKE, SAMANTHA CAUGHLAN, MARY M. JUZWIK, AND NICOLE M. MARTIN) Common Core State Standards In the area of writing, three of the ten college-and-career- readiness anchor standards focus specifically on genre: 1.Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts, using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. 2.Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. 3.Write narratives to develop real or imagined experiences or events using effective technique, well-chosen details, and well-structured event sequences. (CCSS Initiative 2010a, p18)

READING AND WRITING GENRE WITH PURPOSE IN K-8 CLASSROOMS (NELL K. DUKE, SAMANTHA CAUGHLAN, MARY M. JUZWIK, AND NICOLE M. MARTIN) Is not… Asking students to pretend that their school is considering uniforms and then write an “essay”… Is… Finding real issues facing the school, community, or world in which students write in a REAL persuasive genre…

SAMPLE LIST OF INFORMATIONAL OR PERSUASIVE TEXT TYPES/GENRES/PRODUCTS Letters Newspaper Blog Speech Newsletter Book Magazine Dialogue Case Study Critique Evaluation Announcement Proclamation Memoir Resolution Transcript Website Rationale Petition Handout

SAMPLE AUDIENCES Non-profits Organizations Museums Universities Bookstores Judicial figures Local heroes News organizations Landmarks Veterans Zoos Magazines Libraries Websites

THE PAIDEIA SEMINAR PLAN Let’s look at the example Paideia seminar plan in your packet, “The Little Red Hen”. First, read it over independently imagining a 1 st, 2 nd or 3 rd grade class using this at the beginning of the school year in social studies as the class begins to develop their classroom community including both personal expectations as well as group expectations. Feel free to write on it or interact with the plan. What did you notice about the plan in terms of WRITING?

DID YOU NOTICE… Pre-Seminar Content assignment aligns with writing purpose? Inspectional and analytical reads? (More than one reading) Questions explore the ideas embedded in the text and that are relevant to the writing task? The product is an “ad”?(Could be a number of genres; class website- who we are, school announcement- what we are looking for in classmates, proclamation to the principal as he/she places students, resolution for students…) Multiple steps in the writing process?

WORKSHOP TIME! We will work collaboratively in small groups. You will get a Paideia Seminar plan for elementary social studies created by students in my UNCG MAT program. 1.Look over the plan and the accompanying text. 2.As a group, brainstorm possible written products that are persuasive or informational. For each possible product, who might be an audience for that writing? (Audiences can receive the writing OR they could be experts who could give feedback on the writing or content.) 3.Record your ideas and someone in the group be prepared to share with all of us. 4.If time allows, consider what pre-seminar activities would support this writing as well as seminar questions.

WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE… Students write more deeply and richly when it is part of: Their content (Science and Social Studies are ripe!) They first participate in democratic, thoughtful dialogue (Paideia Seminar) They care about the task and/or audience When teachers are explicit about the “how to…” When teachers give feedback that advances their writing skills Reading and Writing Genre with Purpose is for teachers who want to know more about HOW to teach different genres. That creating a community that fosters risk taking and ambiguity builds critical thinking skills. THAT TEACHING IS AN ART! DON’T LET ANYONE TELL YOU DIFFERENTLY.

STUDENTS IN NUKURU, AFRICA READING BOOKS FROM THE UNCG YOUNG WRITERS CAMP