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2024 Writing Tenets-Appendix B and Bibliography .docxThe KSDE Writing Tenets
The KSDE Writing Tenets
The following document includes 7 tenets for teachers and districts to use and follow for writing instruction throughout all curriculums and all grade levels. Writing should be explicitly taught in all grade levels and incorporated through all curriculums. Please read and review the Writing Tenets when developing writing instruction for all grade levels.
Monthly Writing Tip
Monthly Writing Tip
Looking for a daily writing activity that scaffolds claim, reason, and evidence? Debate Team Carousel is an interactive strategy created by Pérsida and William Himmele that gets every student engaged with multiple perspectives. Students rotate through prompts in teams, practicing critical thinking, collaboration, and respectful argumentation.
I’ve used this strategy in my AP Language and Composition class, my 8th grade ELA classroom, and have seen it work effectively in elementary settings as an introduction to argument writing. Its flexibility allows you to use it to introduce a new topic or as a culminating activity. And remember—text complexity is what drives rigor!
Objective: This strategy allows students to see various aspects of an issue and consider what the opposing and supporting arguments for a position might be. Students debate a position from various viewpoints as prompted on a graphic organizer.
Procedure:
Create a prompt that requires students to use their judgement and the content presented to take a position.
Pass out a carousel graphic organizer to each student. Ask them to record their judgment and a rationale for what they believe in the first box.
Students pass their papers to the right, read, and add rationale that supports their peer's judgment, even if they don't agree.
Students pass their papers to the right again, read what is in both of their peers' boxes, and add an opposing rationale, whether they agree or not.
Students pass their papers to the right a final time and add their own opinion, supporting it with their rationale in the final box.
Students return the papers back to their original owners.
Ask volunteers to share with the class some of the arguments for and against from their carousel graphic organizers.
Click on the sharable docs to access an elementary or a secondary templates and directions.
Resources You Can Use Right Now!
What Works In Grammar Instruction by Deborah Dean
"People who understand language can make things happen. That is the point of grammar/language teaching. Not definitions. Not terminology. Language."
This book is a friendly and practical guide for teaching English grammar in the context of real, lived language. Veteran teacher educator Deborah Dean addresses the realities and challenges of grammar instruction with practical examples and her straightforward approach uncomplicates the task of teaching grammar in context, allowing her—and us—to share the excitement and wonder to be found in the study of language.
The Writing Revolution is as much a method of teaching content as it is a method of teaching writing. There’s no separate writing block and no separate writing curriculum. Instead, teachers of all subjects adapt TWR strategies and activities to their preexisting curriculum and weave them into their content instruction.
TWR breaks the writing process down into manageable chunks and then has students practice the chunks they need, repeatedly, while also learning content.
In July 2024 a second edition, The Writing Revolution 2.0, was published. by Judith C. Hochman and Natalie Wexler. Both of these books can be purchased through The Writing Revolution Website.
CLICK HERE to listen to the Science of Reading: The Podcast with Judith Hochman
There are several links to his online resources. Here are just a few:
Download the FREE PDF explaining the Four Moves
Is it a struggle to help students find accurate or credible information online? Do you need an accurate, easy method to help guide student research? Or looking for a source to teach students how to become smart digital consumers?
Mike Caulfield is a digital literacy expert known for developing the SIFT method, a simple yet effective approach to evaluating online information. SIFT stands for Stop, Investigate the source, Find better coverage, and Trace claims to their original context. This method helps researchers, students, and everyday internet users quickly determine the reliability of information they encounter online. Unlike traditional fact-checking methods that require deep analysis, SIFT focuses on quick, strategic moves to assess credibility before investing too much time in misleading or false content. By following these four steps, users can navigate the vast amount of information on the internet with greater confidence and accuracy.
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