Writing across the curriculum has been around for quite awhile. We know that writing is a means to learn, but it's also how we demonstrate our knowledge in a content area. One of the ways that teachers can support students to learn their content is to teach them what it is expected when they write using the conventions of their discipline. For instance, writing like a historian is not the same as writing as an artist, a scientist, or a journalist. If you want some ideas for ways to teach students, be sure to check here. Here's a google site to check out.

Some resources that might be helpful: a wiki on writing best practices and writing tips from writers and others.

• What about the whole class novel? On this padlet, you'll find arguments for different answers to this question. What do you think?

• Curious about what a year's curriculum might look like?Wonder what a year of reading workshop might look like? What about a year of both reading and writing workshop?

• http://padlet.com/steviq/R_WorkshopM_HS

MOSCOW: FOR TRAVEL WRITING, GO https://sites.google.com/site/quatereadwriteworkshop/genre-study/travel-essays-blogs

For the personal essay study, go to Personal Essay

For our touchstone text, read Ordinary Shoes by Brenda Miller.

For more resources, check out this google site.

For curriculum ideas, check out the padlet.

Curious about topics for minilessons?

For research on the 5 paragraph essay, read the technical reports from the National Writing Project

For finding mentor text, try this google site.

Check out the power point for this presentation

Check out the power point for this presentation

One difference between robust arguments and less effective ones is attention to the counterclaim. The Structured Controversy is an engaging instructional strategy that develops the skill of finding and attending to the counterclaim. In this highly interactive workshop, participants will experience a Structured Controversy and then reflect on how they can use this tool in their classroom. Designed for teachers of all content areas who teach argument, this workshop promises to be practical and relevant.

HANDOUTS

Structured Controversy Revamped (This is the handout for the conference. If possible, please print in color.)

Johnson & Johnson's original article about structured controversy from 1988 (for information, no need to download for the workshop)

The use of mentor texts is far from new, but the concept is still powerful as a way to teach students and ourselves about the art of writing. In this workshop, participants will immerse themselves in a study of mentor text as they read like a writer, noticing and naming how writers shape their ideas for an audience. We’ll identify strategies writers use to captivate the reader and notice how writers intentionally manipulate conventions. Participants will leave this workshop with a handful of mentor texts that could be used in a variety of content areas and a framework for mining mentor text for teachable lessons. Practical and interactive, this workshop is designed for any teacher who wants to nurture students as writers of their content.

Link for this workshop:

Mentors for Writing

HANDOUT FOR THE SESSION

Standing on the Shoulder of Others

Isn’t effective writing just plain good writing? Sometimes yes, and sometimes no. What counts as effective writing of fiction is not necessarily the same as effective writing of history or science. Join us in this highly interactive workshop that promises to be practical, yet grounded in a solid research base. Designed for middle and high school teachers of English, science, and social studies, this workshop investigates these questions:

What does it mean to write in a disciplinary-specific way? What is common to all good writing?

HANDOUTS FOR WORKSHOP SESSION

Writing in the Disciplines

A link to work important to this concept:

Writing in the Disciplines

In this hands-on workshop, teachers will experience a mini-unit of study of the genre of commentary. Through this experience, they’ll learn the difference between genre and mode, the power of inquiry as a way of learning about genre, and the importance of teaching authentic text types that can be found in the world outside of school. Even though the focus is on the genre of commentary, participants will learn a framework that can be generalized to study of other genre. This workshop is designed for the English language arts teacher or any other teacher who would like to bring authentic text into the classroom and immerse students in a deep study of that kind of text.

HANDOUTS FOR THE WORKSHOP SESSION

MAKING WRITING REAL: TEACHING THROUGH GENRE

A link used in the workshop: Padlet for commentary immersion

Do you find yourself squirming when it’s time to teach non-fiction? Do you worry that students will be disengaged? Do you want sizzling strategies for teaching non-fiction? If you answered yes to any of these questions, this highly interactive workshop is for you. Together we’ll experience a sequence of instructional activities and reflect on what those activities would look like in your classroom. We’ll explore the role of inquiry, the use of thinking strategies, and the importance of disciplinary literacy. By the end of our two days together, you’ll have a practical theory and a slew of instructional strategies that you can take into the classroom the next day. Designed for the middle and high school teacher of all content areas, intermediate teachers will also find this workshop practical and useful.

Workshop handout

A presentation from the Fall 2015 Colorado Language Arts Society (CLAS) Conference:

A slide show for the personal essay study