Support for Writing in the Curriculum with Handhelds

Support for Writing in the Curriculum with Handhelds
Some handheld applications for Writing to Learn	6+1 Trait Writing
Browse free Palm OS Handheld Applications	NWRELs information	Sample student writing about a science activity
Download InfraChat	Trait Definitions	Other student writing samples by grade level
Sample text for Frogs Sample text for Weather Sample text for Predator and Prey Sample text for Fishing	Ideas, the heart of the message; Organization, the internal structure of the piece; Voice, the personal tone and flavor of the author's message; Word Choice, the vocabulary a writer chooses to convey meaning; Sentence Fluency, the rhythm and flow of the language; Conventions, the mechanical correctness; Presentation, how the writing actually looks on the page.

Writing to Learn	What do we mean by writing to learn?
How do reading journals promote writing to understand?

Prompts for promoting understanding in reading journals

Sample content questions

What do you remember?
What did you hear?
What was the "talk" about?
Who is the focus of the reading?
What was the most important idea in the reading? What are the next important ideas?
What particularly striking example do you recall?
Who is the target audience for the selection?
What is the author's intention in this passage?

Interpretive questions

Why are certain details more memorable?
What connections can you make between X and Y?
How did you arrive at this conclusion?
Why is this conclusion significant?
How does this assignment touch you personally?
How does this assignment change your thinking on the idea?
How could you write about your new insight?
What other information might you need to pursue this topic?
How does this reading/writing/discussion/group work build on our earlier discussion of the larger concept of X?

Writing to Learn in Math

The use of writing to explain understanding and misunderstanding is useful for mathematics. Many high-stakes tests use extended response items for students to explain their thinking. Some examples of writing to learn teachers could use in mathematics could be:

Response journal entry:

I was surprised that I...
I learned that I
I discovered that I
Write a letter to a classmate that wasn't at school today to help them understand what we learned today...

Sample Student Response

Dear Classmate,
Today was not a good day to miss because we went over
Scientific Notation. Scientific notation is a system used that
makes very big #’s and very small #’s easyer (sic) to see and
write. For example, 72,000,000 = 7.2 x 107, because if you did
(this) out you would get 72,000,000. It’s just nicer. Make sure
you get to class next time.

example taken from Writing to Learn Mathematics by Bernadette Russell

Resources about Writing to Learn

Glencoe's Weekly Tips for using learning logs

Some examples for informal writing to learn from the Center for Instructional Innovation

Forty activities for writing in the classroom

Examples of student responses for writing to learn assignments.

Resources for three kinds of writing

Comaparison

Writing to Learn

Thinking:  
Often inductive;
conclusions discovered in the process
of writing;
might be creative, open-ended, and
discovery oriented

Stage of writing process: 
Emphasis on invention 
(rather than revision)

Audience:  
Self and trusted others

Style:
Personal language in social 
community

Purpose:
Might attempt to integrate for
oneself new and old understandings
(learning)

Might attempt to persuade oneself
of a position

Typical genres: 
Journals, personal letters, notes, 
rough drafts of formal papers

Learning to Write

Thinking: 
Often deductive;
conclusions understood at outset 
and then justified;
might be controlled, selective, and
analytic

Stage of writing process:  
Emphasis on revision 
(rather than invention)

Audience:  
Distant or unknown audience 

Style:
Formal language of academic or
"discourse" community

Purpose:
Might attempt to integrate for 
the public new and old understand-
ings (communication)

Having taken a position, might 
attempt to persuade others to take 
the same position

Typical genres:  
Essays, reports, business letters,
arguments, final draft of any paper

taken from Writing to Learn, Learning to Write by Mary Patton, University of Missouri-Columbia