For this assignment you will review literature (at least four articles) on evidence-based research on the process, instruction, and assessment of writing. The purpose is to acquaint you wi
Part 1:
For this assignment you will review literature (at least four articles) on evidence-based research on the process, instruction, and assessment of writing. The purpose is to acquaint you with the research-base that influences most of the literacy instruction and materials that are marketed to elementary schools. The knowledge of the research that is publicized to support instructional methods and programs will facilitate making informed decisions about methods and materials that meet the needs of students. You can also look at Chapters 4, 10, and chapter 13 of your text, as it elaborates on writing development to enhance literacy. You will write 2 pages on summation of information garnered from the research articles and provide a bibliography of articles used.
Part 2:
Based on information gathered from your research you will collect a minimum of six writing samples from two of your students and analyze his/her writing development using research, on the characteristics of good writers. You will synthesize the data and analyze it to reflect upon what stages of writing development the children are in and what type of instruction and intervention is needed to increase the student’s writing strength. Pay attention on what the samples tell you about the child’s abilities in the process of writing, writing conventions, phonics knowledge, and self-regulation (ILA 2.3), you will provide copies of the writing samples as part of your artifacts.
At the intervention stage, candidates will show knowledge of the writing process and traits of writing and writing development of children; and develop a sense of community in which children feel free to take risks to write in collaboration with the teacher and other peers.
Plan a lesson to address the limitations you found on the writing samples. In your write up make sure to explain how you taught the writing process and used writing to develop reading and reading to develop writing to help with their literacy development. Each lesson should include a goal, teaching techniques, strategies, and activities, how you used scaffolding, the texts used, and technology integration. Indicate specifically what digital tool you used to encourage self-expression as you integrate the process to expand opportunities for reading and writing.
Reflection (6.1)
You will write a reflective, introspective paragraph about the activity stating theory and lessons learned on the writing process. What was the purpose and your role for each stage of the writing process; prewriting, composing, revising, editing, and publishing. Provide example of books that you could use for ideas, voice, organization in the writing process
Lastly, based on your observation in school, what are teachers doing for reading and writing instruction and assessment, what challenges are they facing, and what approaches do you recommend to colleagues on the aspect of writing which is most often neglected?
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The Writing Process Awareness
Nicholas Alexander Cobb
Grambling State University
ED-504: Reading for Children
Dr. Mary Ghongkedze
11/30/2023
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Introduction
Improving a student's writing ability helps them to become a better communicator overall
and it also improves their reading, which is another essential job skill. And the ability to write a
well-crafted paper is imperative to academic success. In the study, two of my students were
selected to participate in this writing process research. The students were selected based on their
difference in abilities to write. Before I analyzed the student’s writing, I had to identify the
characteristics of a good writing student. My first characteristic was that the writer pays attention
to details. This attention to detail not only makes them fantastic editors who can spot the smallest
grammatical errors, but it adds a special touch to their writing, too. Good writers are also
extremely descriptive, as they understand the power of words. Good writers have a strong
vocabulary. Incorporating interesting and unusual words into their writing, this skill helps them
maintain a reader's interest and allows them to communicate more effectively by accessing the
perfect word for any situation.
After I selected the criteria of a good writer, I synthesized six writing samples from two
of my fourth grade students. Student one has a low learning curve and is considered to be behind
grade-level. He was identified as a non-proficient writer according to the ELA LEAP test results.
After analyzing this student’s work I was able to select his writing stage and develop a plan to
help him develop his writing stage. Student one (9 years of age) used scribble for the most part
of his writing, which was later identified as the Emergent Stage. He drew random letters on the
pages as well. Initially he was upset at the fact that he struggled with the writing prompts, but I
changed his spirit with positive thinking. I told him it was excellent that he could scribble
because he was already at the second stage of the writing process. Although this usually occurs
between the ages of 2 and 4, kids in this stage are taking the big step from scribble writing to the
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use for writing symbols called letters. His writing did not match letters and sounds, but he’s
beginning to understand that letters play a special role in writing.
Student two is a 9 year old student that has a high learning curve, and is still not
considered to be proficient in writing, based on the ELA LEAP results. After analyzing this
student’s writing, her spelling was not accurate, but as we reviewed her writing, she showed
awareness that different spellings can have different meanings. It was evident that this student
was in the Transitional stage because of the emphasis she placed on writing letters in the correct
sound sequence. She wrote the word “vakashun” instead of “vacation”. She also correctly used
vowels and consonants.
Plan to Address Student One: Emergent Stage
Student one began with the basics that I found based on research and studies. In step one,
we begin by teaching him to write his name, which helps him understand that letters are used to
make words. The goal of this strategy was to also encourage the move from scribble writing to
using letters as symbols. Once we were able to master it, we progressed towards teaching him to
write words like "Mom," "Dad," and the names of other family members. This was an intentional
strategy that was founded upon the commonalities that he is familiar with at home. His English
teacher and I wanted to ensure that we had the opportunity to reinforce these strategies outside of
school.
While writing is imperative, according to research, the best writers are typically better
readers. Reading is extremely important at this stage. A great way that we encouraged student
one to read is to find time to read with his parents at least 20-30 minutes a day. In addition to
encouraging him to love reading, reading aloud inspires his inner storyteller, which we felt
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would translate well to helping him develop his writing skills. Student one began to come up
with his own imagination. Reading was a strategy that helped us to reinforce the ideas that words
are made up of letters. Instead of giving him different readings everyday, we allowed him to read
the same books. When you read the same story over and over together, he began to recognize
some words. For many kids, this repetition isn't just a step toward reading but also toward
writing. Once he recognized it, he began to move on to writing those letters to tell his own story.
Plan to Address Student Two: Transitional Stage
Children in the transitional stage of writing display the ability to create meaningful
sentences to communicate a message. She showed that she has mastered basic mechanics,
starting a sentence with a capital letter, ending with the correct punctuation, and correct spelling.
She did show struggle in mixing the use of capital and lowercase letters. Therefore, our first
implementation was having her write on wide ruled lined paper as they gain control of the size of
letters. Her spacing of words on a page began improving.
We wanted to continue to develop the awareness that writing is purposeful. Therefore we
implemented a model and discussed how to choose a topic and the selection of details depending
on the purpose of writing. The most important strategy we implemented was demonstrating and
talking about the writing of the whole text from letter to word to sentence to paragraph. This was
accomplished by giving her several opportunities for personal choice writing such as diaries and
journals. We analyzed the features of her writing, including topics like ideas, feelings,
experiences.
Reflection
The most important lesson to understand about the writing process, is that it is constantly
recurring, meaning that there will be time where as a teacher, we may need to move back and
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forth between some or all of the steps. There are many ways to approach this process. The initial
theory I developed about the writing process is that It is the process of discovery through
language. It is the process of exploration of what we know and what we feel about what we
know through language. The easiest way for me to look at this process is as a series of steps that
you can move from one to the other and back again.
The purpose of each stage was extremely important. Prewriting sets the tone because
planning such as research, brainstorming, and outlining. Progressing to the drafting stage is
important because the student had to write the material in the intended format. Revising served
as examining the content of the text and making needed adjustments. While the editing phase
was correcting errors in mechanics, spelling, and grammar. The books that I found useful to the
students growth in the writing process was:
1. Author: A True Story by Helen Lester
2. The Best Story by Eileen Spinelli, Illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf
3. My Book About Me by ME, Myself by Dr. Seuss
4. My Weird Writing Tips by Dan Gutman, illustrated by Jim Paillot
Based on my observation, I did notice that we have some teachers that are attempting to
help raise awareness and bridge the writing gaps in our students. The push and encouragement
has increased for students to read at home with their families. The school did a book drive and
was able to donate books to every student in the school. This was completed to promote reading
with the families. The principal developed a rewards system for students who take books home,
read with their families, and report back on the books they have read. We also did a monthly
field trip to the local library. Students love to read, but we realized that they are not aware of the
different resources available to them right in their own community. Therefore the field trip
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allowed the students to register for the library card and have access to the community resources
seven days a week.
Now we are making progress to closing the gaps, but there are still some challenges that
are faced. These challenges include inadequate teaching and learning materials, high teacher –
pupil ratio and others. Reading difficulties is a problem which is widespread although it is not
receiving the necessary attention that it deserves. As I analyzed the challenges, I realized that we
as a teaching community are neglecting the most important phase of the writing process. The
brainstorming process is one of the most important – and often overlooked – steps in writing a
book. Brainstorming is essential to coming up with strong, original ideas for your book and can
help you flesh out your characters and plotlines. This is the time to give students the opportunity
to be creative and spark curiosity.
Recommendations:
Parents can play a vital role in the development of their children’s writing ability. Below,
I have listed the tips for parents to help their children become better authors:
1. Express Heartfelt Enthusiasm
a. Regardless of the type of assistance that parents provide, they can also
play one final supporting role: that of cheerleader.
2. Release Judgment
a. Parents should approach assistance with that mindset, reassuring their
children that they are collaborators, not teachers or evaluators.
3. Read Aloud
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a. I encourage parents to ask their child to read the piece aloud, and practice
using it in the classroom with student partners. This helps students hear
the mistakes they may miss in the writing.
4. Talk to your child… A LOT
a. Children expand their vocabulary and understanding of sentence structures
not only through reading but also through conversations with others.
Parents' and guardians' understanding of literacy is critical in influencing their children's reading
and writing habits. Help your children become good readers by choosing books appropriate for
their age and interests. Set aside reading time as a priority and provide access to printed or digital
versions of books. After reading, have the students write and talk about what they read. These
are easily applicable methods that can make a drastic difference in the student’s ability to write.
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References
“Efficient Ways to Improve Student Writing.” Www.uww.edu,
www.uww.edu/learn/restiptool/improve-student-writing.
“Healthy Parental Support of Student Writing.” Edutopia,
www.edutopia.org/article/healthy-parental-support-student-writing/.
“Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers | Reading Rockets.”
Www.readingrockets.org,
www.readingrockets.org/topics/writing/articles/teaching-elementary-school-students-be-e
ffective-writers#:~:text=Teachers%20can%20encourage%20students%20to.
“The Importance of a Parent/Guardian’s Role in Their Child’s Literacy: Resources and Tips.”
Reading Partners,
readingpartners.org/blog/the-importance-of-a-parent-guardians-role-in-their-childs-literac
y-resources-and-tips/#:~:text=Parents. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.
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