Writing to Learn

What is Writing to Learn?

Table 1:

Frayer Model of Writing to Learn

Why is Writing to Learn important?

Writing to learn helps students process ideas, discussions, and investigations. Writing to learn is practice and should not be judged for mastery, but can demonstrate a student's progress towards mastery. Because writing is a complex process, students should have multiple opportunities to record and test their thinking. A culture of writing (Table 2) is key to not only students' skills development, but student confidence. Social Studies is literacy and in order to take part in a Democracy, students need to practice writing their conclusions.

Table 2:

Ten Core Attributes of a Classroom Writing Program

Where is Writing to Learn?

Table 3:

Instructional Framework with Writing to Learn

PRacticing Writing to Learn

Considerations for Writing To Learn

Students need to write to improve their writing. Teachers should consider how to a) develop a culture of writing and b) scaffold writing across units and the year. Teachers need to strategically provide verbal and written feedback to help students reflect on how and why they're writing. The following tables show how to scaffold writing:

Table 4 shows how to scaffold questions and tasks to build knowledge over a unit. Writing to learn appears in the organizational tasks that help students make meaning of sources they read and discuss.
Table 5 shows the role that organizational tasks play in the thinking process. Writing to learn in organizational tasks helps students synthesize as they build towards addressing a formative performance task.
Table 6 shows specific performance tasks that can be writing to learn and demonstrations of writing. Descriptions, generalizations, explanations, and claims can all be formatively assigned to help students practice communicating written conclusions.
Table 7 shows the criteria that teachers and students can use to provide feedback to improve writing.

Before engaging in strategies the teacher should...

Establish high and clear expectations.
Cultivate a culture of inquiry where students can learn new words without judgment.
Plan deliberate ways in which writing exists in an inquiry lesson daily.
Build organizational tasks with clear language and expectations
Provide structured space for writing feedback as a discussion.
Use a rubric and the language of the rubric for feedback.
Plan for writing conferences (individual or group).
Prepare for next steps based on results of writing for future scaffolded instruction on writing.

Table 4:

Scaffolding of Skills for a Unit

Table 5:

Purpose of Organizational Task

Table 6:

Scaffolding of Types of Writing in Social Studies

Table 7:

Scaffolding of Criteria for Writing in Social Studies

Exercises to Practice Writing to Learn

JCPS Created Exercises

Choose an Organizational Task

Organizational Tasks help learners work together to extract evidence from sources to complete Formative Performance Tasks (FPTs). The role of an organizational task in a lesson is to help learners organize and think through evidence, develop knowledge and skills around the standards, practice thinking skills, and collaborate to answer the FPT. Be sure to incorporate language from the KAS for Social Studies.

Instructions:

First, choose an organizational task type that scaffolds learners to the FPT.
Second, choose questions to enrich the organizational task that help learners build knowledge, skills, and make connections to the world while giving them something to talk about.
- Source Analysis: See questions from Step 6
- Language of disciplinary and inquiry standards
- Historical Thinking Skills
- Students' lived experiences

Organizational Tasks:

Choose the formative performance task (FPT)

Formative Performance Tasks (FPTs) help learners communicate their conclusions to answer supporting questions. The role of a formative performance task in the lesson is to demonstrate and improve students’ thinking through writing and speaking. FPTs can be written or verbal.

Written Formative Performance Tasks

NOTE: We recommend students should receive feedback on their writing twice a week. These Formative Performance Tasks (FPTs) should help scaffold students to build written arguments for Summative Performance Tasks.

Instructions:

Choose one Formative Performance Task from the JCPS Rubric
- Description, Generalization, Explanation, Claim/Counterclaim
Choose a Formative Performance Task Stem
Choose one or more criteria for assessment from the JCPS Rubric | JCPS Rubric Poster
- Accurate, Clear, Evidenced, Reasoned