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Frank Elementary students use their learning of the world around them to create products rooted in informational writing that are shared with an authentic audience.
Frank Elementary students use their learning of the world around them to create products rooted in informational writing that are shared with an authentic audience.
EL Core Practice 8 B states "Teachers plan products and performances for an audience beyond the classroom, giving students an authentic reason to care about quality." At Frank, we reflect upon the authenticity of a product and look for evidence of writing for an authentic audience through high quality work protocols. We look for original, creative thinking of students and products which have a purposeful audience outside the classroom. The percentages in the graph below represent the amount of final products with authenticity out of seven grade levels ( 4k - grade 5) from 2013 through 2018 school years.
The narratives below represent a progression of student growth in informational writing for authentic audiences over the past five years as evidenced by the authenticity of their final products. During the first couple of years there was only evidence from one grade for each year. As we continued our journey with EL, work for an authentic audience become a frequent and consistent practice. There was a steady increase in students creating complex informational writing pieces that contributed to a community beyond their classroom walls which grew to 86% in 2017-18 .
2013 - 2014
Notice how students connected academic standards to a real-world local issue. The work had a purpose with an audience beyond the classroom.
Grade 5 Students studied erosion and created brochures that gave a first hand account of the flood of 2013 that happened at Hawthorn Hollow, a nature sanctuary and arboretum, in Kenosha, WI. Students were able to see first hand the erosion and deposition that occurred due to the flood. They took pictures of it, wrote about it, and created a brochure for Hawthorn Hollow to use as a teaching tool for future students to learn about the flood of 2013. The students were able to connect what they were learning in science class to the broader concept of the impact a flood has on the entire ecosystem. Hawthorn Hollow volunteers currently use our brochures as a teaching tool when student groups visit.
2014 - 2015
The authentic product this year helped students connect to their local community. Notice how the work provided for families in need, many of which are families that attend our school.
Grade 1 Students studied how the food they ate made its way to their table. The final product was the creation of recipe cards which were sold. The money was donated to the Shalom Center, an organization which provides services including: a shelter, food pantry, and soup kitchen. The writing demonstrated connections to larger concepts especially when the recipes required mathematical thinking. This product connected student work to a local agency, which in turn helped provide for families in need.
2015 - 2016
Students had an audience in mind while creating their final products this year. This encouraged work that was meaningful to the students and was able to contribute to a larger community.
Grade 2 Students researched the plants on a prairie and created trading cards which represented the different kind of native plants that can be found there. They shared their trading cards with a local nature center to be used as an instructional tool when groups visit. They also compiled them into a book to be used in our school library.
Grade 3 Students studied the local Kenosha community and the history of our lighthouses. They chose people who made a difference in our community, researched what they did and wrote about them in a brochure. After they visited and studied about them, they drew detailed drawings of the lighthouses and used them as a cover for their brochure. They used technology to create an informational brochure, a real world format. They donated the brochures to the Kenosha History Center to be used as an informational tool for visitors who come to the Kenosha area. Visitors can learn about some of the members of our community who were instrumental in shaping Kenosha through the eyes of Frank students.
2016 - 2017
Notice how the students work this year uses formats and standards from the professional world. Students incorporated technology into their final products and shared their work with an audience beyond the classroom.
Grade 2 Students studied plants and animals on the prairie. It was evident that the writing had gone through multiple drafts. There was evidence of student voice and the writing was more complex than previous years. If you click through the slides, you will see the work from several different students. The book was given to the Frank library so our school community was able to access it.
Grade 4 Students created a true and false book about space. The writing had evidence of complexity through student use of higher-order thinking skills. It also had authentic personal voice and ideas rather than solely informational writing. The work from several different students is evidenced in the slides. The books were given to the Frank school library. The librarian uses them when students begin studying space to build curiosity and interest.
2017 - 2018
At the end of the 2016-17 school year we created a goal for our final products. It was as follows: Along with a model of the final product, we want all products to have a rubric which will address complexity, craftsmanship and authenticity of their product. Our teachers also complete a High Quality Work protocol after an expedition to give feedback to each other. Notice how student work demonstrates students original, creative thinking and their connection to local people and places. Our students are contributing to a larger community.
2017-18 Becoming the Best Me.mp44K Students in 4K created a safety, nutrition public service announcement to be shared with the school and future classes. Per grade level standard, students verbalized their original thinking which can be evidenced through the video.
K Students studied force and motion and created posters for the Kenosha Public Library with the knowledge that they gained throughout the expedition. These posters were displayed by the exhibits that center around force and motion. Their informational writing demonstrated original and creative thinking.
Grade 2 Students researched local businesses and discovered what each business did. They mapped out where the businesses were located and wrote descriptions of the products they carry and/or services they provide. They created their version of Yelp pages (professional format) and called it "Frelp" pages. These were bound together to create a booklet to be used for people who are new to our community.
Grade 3 Students did an in depth study of the native bullfrog. They transferred their knowledge of a bullfrog to a different kind of frog that they were interested in researching and writing about. They created postcards with scientific drawings and used informational writing similar to what could be seen at an exhibit in a museum or zoo. Along with their postcards, students did a verbal presentation on the frog they researched. Their frog postcards will be used at the Milwaukee Zoo in their reptile and amphibian exhibit.
Grade 4 Students created brochures which contained information about the Wisconsin dairy industry. They used persuasive writing about why someone should purchase products generated from Wisconsin dairy farms from their perspective. Many of them contained authentic reasons for purchasing products from local farmers and the community impact they can have through their purchases. The brochures were given out at the annual Dairy Breakfast which was held in June 2018. The dairy breakfast attracts thousands of visitors each year and the brochures our fourth graders created provided an important source of information for them. Student presentations of their writing could also be seen and heard through the use of a QR code.
Grade 5 After completing an in depth study on the garbage we produce as a school during a several week period, students created graphs to show the amount of garbage that was currently being sent to a landfill that could be recycled. Students analyzed the graphs and generated creative and innovative ways to deal with the issue. Letters were formulated which contained their original ideas, their reasoning behind the ideas, the logistics of how the study was done, and why recycling matters. The letters were sent to our Director of Facilities as well as to our District Superintendent for further review.
Our Growth: The students at Frank Elementary have increasingly created authentic products that showcase informational writing over the past five years of our EL journey. During our initial years of implementation of EL practices supporting the creation of high quality work, the school saw one or two classrooms of students begin to develop in quality work attributes. Over time our school began to increase its rigor, and focus on informational reading and writing. Students were held accountable to produce high quality work in authentic formats and for authentic audiences. At this point in our EL journey, every student at Frank Elementary school, from Pre-K to Fifth Grade, is in the process of developing and producing work that demonstrates EL attributes of high quality work.
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