Secondary ELA Newsletter
March 2019
Featured in This Month's Newsletter
- "If We Want our Students to Think, Then We Need Our Students to Write!" by Lauren Pantoja, Florida Literacy Coach of the Year
- FSA Writing Trends/Information from FLDOE
- Highlights from Learning Walks and District Walkthroughs
- Secondary ELA Curriculum Feedback Survey
- #PascoSpringReads
If you have information or a highlight you'd like me to share in an upcoming newsletter (or you're interested in being a guest columnist!), don't hesitate to reach out via email.
Lauren Pantoja, Florida Literacy Coach of the Year, Learning Design Coach for Pasco County Schools
Email: lpantoja@pasco.k12.fl.us
Twitter: @LaurenPantoja1
If We Want our Students to Think, Then We Need Our Students to Write!
by Lauren Pantoja
“It’s impossible to write without thinking!” Anyone who has known me professionally long enough has likely heard me at some point in conversations about literacy spout this adage. If we want our students to think independently, then the first step is to get them to put their thoughts on paper.
Recently, as I was scrolling through Twitter I saw a repost by Anclote Elementary Math Coach, Tracy Gillis, entitled, “A Front the Writing Discussion Template.” The author shared a template on which students write a response to a discussion question before they discuss it. During the discussion, students take notes and use the notes to revise and improve their original writing (Lemov, 2017). The discussion serves as a scaffold to the writing process. Students think, write, discuss and revise their writing. This simple process strengthens students’ thinking, speaking, writing, and confidence in their writing.
This strategy is similar to Marzano’s Record-Compare-Revise cycle, R-C-R, where students begin by recording their understanding of content in a summary. In the second phase of the R-C-R, students compare their writing with a peer looking for similarities or differences and clarifying points of confusion. In the third phase, students polish their drafts by revising their original writing to reflect any new understanding (Marzano, 2012). This Record-Compare-Revise cycle supports independent and critical thinking.
The beauty of writing is that it can take many forms. Focused Note-taking is an AVID strategy that supports note-taking as a process. Remember I said that it’s impossible to write without thinking. It IS possible to copy notes without thinking, and that is something we need to avoid because if students are not thinking, they are likely not learning. If we want our students to think, we need to instruct them on how to take notes that reflect what they are learning. The AVID Notetaking Process involves Creating Notes - selecting, paraphrasing, arranging information, Processing Notes - highlighting, adding information, deleting information, etc., Connecting Thinking - asking questions, identifying points of confusion, Summarizing and Reflecting on Learning - crafting a summary of the most important information, Applying Learning - using notes as a resource for assignments or activities (McKinney, et al., 2018, p. 98).
You should allow students to compare notes with partners throughout the note-taking process and make necessary adjustments (McKinney, et al., 2018). Students can discuss one another’s questions and wonderings to deepen their thinking about the notes they take (McKinney, et al., 2018). Focused Note-taking helps students organize and deepen their learning.
Most people would agree that writing is hard, but it is necessary. The more our students write, the better writers and thinkers they will become. If we can get our students to write and discuss their writing in every class, every day to initiate and clarify their thinking, then we will create generations of not just writers, but thinkers!
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Lemov, D. (2017, October 25). A front the writing discussion template (and the feedback we
got on it). [Web log post]. Retrieved February 24, 2019, from http://teachlikeachampion.com/blog/front-writing-discussion-template-feedback-got/
Marzano, R. Writing to Learn. Educational Leadership, vol. 69(5), 82-83 Feb. 2012.
McKinney, C., Glazebrook, B., Sanders, J., & Shapiro, D., J.D. (2018). AVID Writing for
Disciplinary Literacy: A Schoolwide Approach. San Diego, CA: AVID Press.
I shared this PowerPoint in last month's newsletter, but wanted to highlight it again in case some folks hadn't had a chance to review it yet.
- FSA ELA Changes for 18-19: slides 6-14
- Interpreting Scores - Considerations: slides 21-23
- 2019 Paper Based Tests - Grades 3-6: slides 28-35
- FSA ELA Writing: slides 36-50
A Few Highlights from Learning Walks and District Walkthroughs!
We've also just completed spring District Walkthroughs. Thank you for welcoming us in your classrooms; we appreciate every opportunity to highlight the good work happening in English classes across the county. Check out a few pics from Learning Walks and District Walks below.
Ms. Nelson - Wesley Chapel High School
Ms. Mekus - River Ridge Middle School
Ms. Scott - Pasco High School
Secondary ELA Curriculum Feedback
#PascoSpringReads
We hope that you enjoy your spring break and spend some time recharging and relaxing! To celebrate and share great reads over break, please tweet a picture of yourself reading a great book with the hashtag #PascoSpringReads. Each person who posts a picture with the hashtag will be entered into a raffle drawing with the chance to win some additional great reads from our team.
Friday, Mar 15, 2019, 05:00 PM
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Enjoy your spring break!
On behalf of the entire Pasco Literacy team, thank you for all you do to support students in your school! We value and appreciate the tireless work you do to increase both a love of literacy and student achievement in reading and writing at your building.
Have a great spring break! See you on #PascoSpringReads.
Contact
Rachel Hatten, Sr Instructional Specialist, ELA 6-12
Email: rhatten@pasco.k12.fl.us
Website: https://twitter.com/PascoLiteracy
Location: 7227 Land O' Lakes Boulevard, Land O Lakes, FL, USA
Phone: 727-774-2242
Twitter: @hattenenglish
Cassie Hernandez, ELA Curriculum Specialist 6-12
Email: crhernan@pasco.k12.fl.us
Website: https://twitter.com/PascoLiteracy
Location: 7227 Land O' Lakes Boulevard, Land O Lakes, FL, USA
Twitter: @herncas22