Collins’ Writing

1. Collins’ Writing Writing Across the Curriculum

2. To develop successful, life-long writers, students must have: • Opportunities to: • write in many environments • experiment with voice and audience • Purpose beyond just a grade • Some choice in topic and form • Consistent structure/framework • Contextual instruction • Purposeful feedback

3. Five Types of Writing • Type 1 – Capture Ideas • Type 2 – Respond Correctly • Type 3 – Edit for Focus Correction Areas (FCAs) • Type 4 - Peer Edit for FCAs • Type 5 – Publish

4. Type 1 – Capture Ideas • Writing that has no correct answer, or is OK to guess. • Quick • One draft • Effort or Participation grade only Example: Please Do Now!, free write, journal entry

5. Type 2 – Respond Correctly • Writing that makes a point • It has a correct answer or content • One draft • Quick • Can be used to assess student knowledge (quiz) • Promotes active learning – students required to produce rather than identifying information

6. Type 3 Writing

7. Focus Correction Areas (FCAs) • Provide specific information about the criteria used to evaluate an assignment • Selective approach to correcting writing • Means of structuring a writing program • Focuses instruction and feedback • Consistency across curriculum • No OVERcorrecting

8. “Focus correcting saves grading time and helps students consider the quality of the paper in relationship to a few clearly specified criteria rather than an infinite number of highly subjective criteria.” ~ John Collins

9. For Best Results FCAs should be: • Systemic (vertically articulated/ grade levels) • Limited • Use an FCA only after explicit instruction in that skill • Mix of criteria • Organization, content, style and mechanics

10. Type 3 – Edit for FCAs • Most authentic academic writing • Read out loud • Reviewed by the author using 3 critical questions • Does it complete the assignment? • Is it easy to read? • Does it fulfill the focus correction area? • One Draft • Efficient and easy to grade • It can take any form: essay, letter, story, etc.

11. FCAs for Expository Writing STYLE • Appropriate word choice/audience • Active, not passive voice • Concise, complete sentences. • Powerful verbs • Mix of sentence lengths

12. FCAs for Expository Writing CONTENT and Critical Thinking • Accurate, factual statements • Technical vocabulary used correctly • Facts and relevant details to support thesis

13. FCAs for Expository Writing ORGANIZATION • Introduction draws reader in • Conclusion reinforces thesis • Transitions help reader move from point to point

14. Differentiation Less specific FCA More specific FCA

15. For Content Area Teachers • What’s most important to your area? • How can you help reinforce skills being taught at your grade level? • Example: • 3 clearly stated reasons: 30 points • 2 relevant examples from text to support each reason: 60 points • Correct use of capitalization: 10 points

16. Type 3 Example: Title: Explaining the Periodic Table Purpose: Practical/Informative Writer’s Role: Write as if you were a science textbook writer Audience: students in grades six, seven, or eight Form: Multi-paragraph textbook selection

17. Example cont. Focus Correction Areas: 1. Describe what the Periodic Table is and why it is important. (45pts) 2. Explain how to use the Periodic Table (45pts) 3. Capitalization and end marks (10 pts, 5 off each error)

18. Type 4 – Peer Edit for FCAs • Writing that is Type Three writing AND has been read out loud and critiqued by another • Two drafts • Produces fair and objective evaluations • Promotes sharing of ideas, insights, information • Produces most improvement in writing and thinking skills

19. Type 5 – Publish • Type Three writing AND • has been read out loud and critiqued by another • Two drafts • Real World Standards