1. Strategic Writing Across the Curriculum in Grades 7-12
Christine LaRocco
International Center for Leadership in Education

2. National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges
Survey says:
People who cannot write and communicate clearly will not be hired, and if already working, are unlikely to last long enough to be considered for promotion.
Two-thirds of salaried employees in large American companies have some writing responsibility.
More than 40 percent of large corporations remediate salaried employees with writing deficiencies.

3. Survey of 400 business leaders:
72 percent responded that high school graduate entry-level workers are deficient in the basics of writing.

4. New Resource Kit: Strategic Writing Across the Curriculum in Grades 7-12
I. Strategic Writing in All Classes
Chapter 1 Why Write in All Classes?
Chapter 2 What Is Writing to Learn?
Chapter 3 Rigorous and Relevant Writing
Chapter 4 Technical and Business Writing in the Classroom

5. II. Writing in the Content Areas
Chapter 5 Writing in Language Arts
Chapter 6 Writing in Math and Science
Chapter 7 Writing in Social Studies, Career/Tech. Ed

6. III. Strategies for Projects /Presentations
Chapter 8 Technology Applications in Writing and Research
Chapter 9 The Role of Writing in Project-Based Learning
Chapter 10 Writing for Presentations

7. IV. Writing Assessment
Chapter 11 Assessing Writing Across the Curriculum
Chapter 12 Tips for State Writing Examinations

8. Appendices Technical Writing Packet
Reading Strategies that Promote Writing
Successful School-Wide Programs
Workplace Document Examples

9. Writing Across the Curriculum:
Two Parts
In every class, students should be involved in
writing to learn
learning to write.

10. Writing for Learning is
Different from Writing to Demonstrate Learning

11. Writing to Learn Different from traditional writing
Different goals
No polished finished product
Focused on higher order thinking, analyzing and summarizing.
Writing to Learn helps build relationships,
the third “R” between students and teacher.

12. Writing to Learn Journals and Learning Logs Lab Logs and Notebooks
Quick Writes
Short Narratives
Summaries
Dialogues

13. Learning to Write Essays Opinion editorials
Technical writing: proposals, observation reports, incident reports, product descriptions, process explanations….
Lab reports
Journalistic writing
Writing for presentations

14. Peter Elbow Students need “low stakes” writing to learn the content.
“The goal isn't so much good writing as coming to learn, understand, remember and figure out what you don't yet know.”
Elbow, P. (1994). Writing for learning--not just for demonstrating learning. University of Massachusetts, Amherst, 1-4.

15. Writing in response to course content helps students:
Think independently
Develop insight
Explore thoughts and feelings
Develop intellectual courage
Reason logically
Follow the thread of the lesson in their minds
Visualize a concept and make it more concrete by writing down their thoughts

16. Writing to Learn
Only in schools where writing is a school-wide program and is pursued daily will students have multiple and adequate opportunities to become proficient writers and thinkers.

17. Research on Writing to Learn
Student achievement on state assessments, exit exams, and other measurements greatly improves.
Students demonstrate growth in core academic learning and stretch learning.
North Central Regional Educational Laboratory

18. Most surprising:
Student comfort level in school increases, and students become more encouraged and optimistic about their future.

19. Examples of Writing to Learn
Journals and Learning Logs
Quick Writes
Narratives
Summaries
Dialogues
Reader’s Logs
Double Entry Journals

20. Math Prompts: Content and process
Describe square root.
Describe the difference between parallel and perpendicular.
Tell everything you know about prime numbers
Describe the difference between area and perimeter.
Write a word problem that involves measuring square feet.
Describe the key idea of today’s lesson.

21. General Science Writing Prompts
Describe something you have done that involved science concepts.
What scientific concepts regarding the weather do you wonder about?
What is the greatest scientific discovery in the world, and why?
What scientific invention would you like to make that would help the most people?

22. Social Studies Prompts:
Why is it important that people have choices?
What does interdependence mean among the peoples of the world?
From what countries did people come to the U.S. during the 1800s?
What is your definition of justice?
What human rights should all people have?
If you could start a non-profit foundation to make a difference, what issues would you support?

23. Language Arts Prompts
What is the author saying about society in general?
What does the title of the reading imply?
How would I feel in this situation?
What different effects do fiction and non-fiction have on me?
How does this topic apply to my world?

24. Double Entry Journal Prompts
comparisons to information learned earlier
associations with information from other courses
Related personal experience
effects of this information when applied in the world outside the classroom

25. Responding to Writing to Learn
Collect after several entries
Check for Student Understanding
Chance to “Listen” to Students
Chance to “Connect” by Responding
Judge Whether Lesson Needs Re-teaching
Skim – Write Quick Note of Encouragement

26. Responding to Learning Log Entries:
“I remember when I felt that way about math.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll go over it again.”
“You missed a step right here.”
! 4 ☺ P

27. Learning to Write Rough draft, editing, final copy
Introduction, body, conclusion

28. Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs
From 4th Grade on, students write too many reports…
Reports are written at the comprehension level of Bloom’s Taxonomy….

29. Not So Many Reports…
So we must find other “products” that incorporate analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and higher order thinking skills.

31. Look Outside the Schools
What kinds of writing occur after academia?
Hint:
Not comprehension level reports

32. Technical Writing Examples
Field Test Report
Incident report
Set of Instructions
Mechanism Description
Observation Report
Process Explanation
Product Comparison
Progress Report
Proposal, Action Plan

33. What schools teach: Purposes for Writing:
Display mastery of knowledge, skills, format
Types of Writing: reports, essays, book reports, poetry, narratives research papers, letters

34. What the workplace requires:
Purposes for Writing:
Inform, persuade, clarify, soften the blow, explain, direct others, recommend, sell
Types of Writing:
Brochures, letters, memos, proposals, surveys, ads, instructions, planning documents, messages, recommendations, personnel evaluations, news releases, etc.

35. Audience and Content are different:
Teacher, test grader
Content:
Teachers assign the topics
Reveal all the information researched
Audience:
People with differing knowledge, needs, motivations, and uses for the information. Supervisors, clients, co-workers, general public
Content:
Undefined or ill-defined problems (open-ended, relevant, “messy”)
Tell what the reader needs to know.

36. Four writing skills for transition from academia to workplace:
Writers need to complete whole, complex projects, the final product representing only one part of the whole.
Writers need to use collaboration as a resource, with individuals and with groups, to solve problems.

37. Writers need to adapt both text products and production processes for specific audiences and purposes.
Writers need to understand electronic tools and their role in shaping communication and social responsibility.

38. To simulate workplace writing, include:
Research on audience
Collaboration on design and content
Attention to budget and time constraints

39. 4. Quality controls in editing: workplace writing must be 100% accurate.
5. Production of a visually informative, marketable text using available technology.
Fennick, Peters, and Guyon. “Solving Problems in 21st Century
Academic and Workplace Writing.” English Journal, March 1993.

40. Assignment: Social Studies
Students research recent magazine and newspaper articles on immigration to the United States.
Investigate the steps immigrants must take to become US citizens.
Write a report on the naturalization process. (research paper)
What must a person do to become a U. S. citizen? (essay question)

41. Take It Further: Add Technical Writing
Design a brochure for distribution to local immigrants outlining the steps they must take to become a citizen.
Translate the brochure into the appropriate languages.
Write an action plan for a half-day workshop about changes in the immigration regulations.

42. Technical Writing Examples
Field Test Report
Incident report
Set of Instructions
Mechanism Description
Observation Report
Process Explanation
Product Comparison
Progress Report
Proposal, Action Plan

43. Academic Workplace Writing
Descriptive Writing Job Description
Incident Report
Resume
Process Explanation
Narrative Writing Observation Report Progress Report
Cause & Effect Product Field Test Report

44. Academic Workplace Analysis Performance Evaluation Feasibility Report
Comparison/ Product Comparison
Contrast Feasibility Report
Persuasive Essay Proposal
Action Plan

45. Advantages of Technical Writing
Prescriptive Writing—there’s a “recipe”
Must Apply the Highest Standards— Business English
Shorter—Easier to Grade

46. Technical Writing
Only two grades:
“A”
“NY” (not yet)

47. Analyze: Identify the Audience
Who is the audience?
What does the audience already know?
What background do they have? Education, culture, experience?
What must this person do, once he/she receives the information?

48. Project Based Learning:
Add Technical Writing at
Each Phase

49. At the Start: Formal Proposal Estimated Budget Timeline
Overall Concept
Estimated Budget
Timeline
Estimated Date of Completion
Sketches

50. Work in Progress: Progress Report outlining: Original Goals
Attained Goals
Remaining Goals
Projected Completion Date (adjusted)

51. After the Project: Process explanation Product Description
Set of Detailed Technical Instructions

52. Take Assignments One Step Further
Typical Assignment:
Students research recent magazine and newspaper articles on immigration to the United States.
Investigate the steps immigrants must take to become US citizens.
Write a report on the naturalization process. (research paper)
What must a person do to become a U. S. citizen? (essay question)

53. Take It Further: Add Technical Writing
Design a brochure for distribution to local immigrants outlining the steps they must take to become a citizen.
Translate the brochure into the appropriate languages.
Write an action plan for a half-day workshop about changes in the immigration regulations.

54. Designing a D-Quadrant lesson
Example: Biology or Health Class
Students have completed a unit on the Auditory System.

56. Role, Audience, Format, Topic
Assign students a real-world role.
Workplace, Citizen in Community
Give them a problem (or topic) to tackle.
Determine the audience.
What will the product (format) be?

57. Biology– Auditory System
Role:
You are a health care intern for a pediatrician who works with young families.

58. Topic:
Because so many children contract ear infections, the doctor wants you to develop a handout to explain the problem, the cause, the typical location of the infection, treatment options, and prevention.

59. Topic: Ear infection, auditory system, treatment options, prevention.
RAFT
Role: Health care intern
Audience: Parents of young children
Format: Brochure or flyer
Topic: Ear infection, auditory system, treatment options, prevention.

60. Why Brochures? Calls for higher order thinking
Students work in groups.
Nobody works too hard.
Each learner is assigned a panel.
6 panels students (Cover--together)
Learners must condense what they know.

61. Integrated Lesson: High School in Indiana
English Class Wrote the Brochure Text
Spanish II Translated the Brochures
Technology Designed the Brochures

66. Ideas for Complex Tasks
Create a city-wide program and write an action plan for...
Design a brochure
Design a performance review form
Develop a proposal
Write a letter of recommendation
Design and conduct a survey
Prepare a multimedia presentation
Write an observation report
Write customer service guidelines
Conduct interviews of community leaders and write a...
Write a feature article for the local paper
Design a newsletter

67. Incident Reports Used by:
Insurance companies, sheriffs’ offices, schools, businesses.
Why so serious?
Legal document, used in court

68. Incident Reports Obtain an authentic incident report:
Phone the Public Information Officer in the Sheriff’s Department.
Explain how you will use it.

69. State Writing Exams
How does technical writing help students prepare for the state writing exams?

70. Oregon Topic: Your friend has very poor eating habits.
Convince your friend that a nutritious diet is important.
Same thinking skill as:
Persuasive Proposal

71. Delaware Same skills in a: Topic: Product Description
Technical Definition
Process Explanation
Operation Manual
Persuasive Proposal
Topic:
For a museum contest, write an essay identifying the invention you consider most notable and how it has impacted the world positively or negatively.

72. Georgia
Topic:
Write an persuasive editorial that presents alternative solutions for reducing the amount of solid waste in your school environment.
Persuasive Proposal
Marketing Advertisement
Observation Report
Feasibility Report
Training Materials

73. Lesson Plan: Magazines
Ask students to bring hobby magazines
(or teacher provides them)
Find and share articles that are examples of a product description, a process explanation, instructions, persuasive piece, product comparison, etc.

74. 2008 Model Schools Conference
Christine LaRocco