Coach's Corner

I want to be as supportive as possible. I'm hoping this newsletter will be full of useful and timely resources and strategies to support you in your work! Let me know what you think!

Be warned that once you start Episode 1, the students will want Episode 2!

This website, Colorin Colorado, has extensive writing resources and articles on how to teach writing and reading for English Language Learners. Here is an excerpt from a more in-depth article on writing instruction. Please visit the website for more information. This is their version of Writing Workshop. - Dawn

A major step in implementing strong writing instruction is establishing routines for (a) daily writing instruction, (b) covering the whole writing curriculum, and (c) examining the valued qualities of good writing. A typical writing lesson will have at least four parts:

• Mini-lesson (15 minutes)

  Teacher-directed lesson on writing skills, composition strategies, and crafting elements (e.g., writing quality traits, character development, dialogue, leads for exposition, literary devices), which are demonstrated and practiced through direct modeling of teacher's writing or others' work (e.g., shared writing, literature, student papers); initially, mini-lessons will need to focus on establishing routines and expectations;

• Check-in (5 minutes)

  Students indicate where they are in the writing process (i.e., planning, drafting, revising, editing, publishing). The teacher asks students to identify how they plan to use what was taught during the mini-lesson in their writing activities for that day;

• Independent Writing and Conferring (30 minutes)

  Students are expected to be writing or revising/editing, consulting with a peer, and/or conferencing with the teacher during this time;

• Sharing (10 minutes)

  Students identify how they used what was taught during the mini-lesson in their own writing and what challenges arose. The teacher may discuss impressions from conferring with students; students share their writing (it does not have to be a complete paper and may, in fact, only be initial ideas for writing) with the group or a partner, while others provide praise and constructive feedback. Students discuss next steps in the writing assignment; and

• Publishing Celebration (occasionally)

  Students need a variety of outlets for their writing to make it purposeful and enjoyable, such as a class anthology of stories or poems, a grade-level newspaper or school magazine, a public reading in or out of school, a Web site for student writing, a pen pal, the library, and dramatizations.

The first meeting, date TBD, will be on how to get started with the Google Certified Educator process. All levels welcome!

• Testing Window: October 17th-October 21st
  
• Recommended Scoring Window: October 24th-October 28th
  
• Illuminate Deadline: November 4th

There are Pre-assessments along with multiple resources for Informative/Explanatory writing on Haiku. You can find them by clicking on the link or going to your Saddleport and following these steps:

Saddle port > Instruction tab > Elementary Instruction Icon >

ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE OF THE SCREEN CLICK

Where to Focus > CCSS Writing > Informative/Explanatory

SVUSD has adopted Digital Standards K-12 for two main reasons:
1. We want to ensure our students are college and career ready. They will have competitive and appropriate technology skills upon graduation.
2. We want to help our teachers know what to expect and do at each grade level when it comes to integrating technology into classroom activities.

K-5 Digital Standards PDF

6-12 Digital Standards PDF

Email: hat@svusd.org
Location: Olivewood Elementary School, Dune Mear Road, Lake Forest, CA, United States
Phone: 310-592-7495
Twitter: @dawnedtech