Expository Writing: The New Narrative

Expository Writing: The New Narrative

State of Texas Assessments Of Academic Readiness Mini STAAR Update

Norms • Ask Questions • Share Ideas • Tame All Technology

ADMIT TICKET What is one thing you can celebrate about your 2011 teaching and learning experiences?

Readiness Standards… • are essential for success in the current grade or course. • are important for preparedness for the next grade or course. • support college and career readiness. • necessitate in-depth instruction. • address broad and deep ideas.

Supporting Standards… • may be introduced in the current grade or course. • may be emphasized in a previous or subsequent year. • may be reinforced in the current grade or course. • play a role in preparing students for the next grade or course– but not a central role. • address more narrowly defined ideas than Readiness Standards.

Types of Writing Assessed • Grade 4 • Personal Narrative • Expository (not “how to”) • At the top of the page it will say “Composition #1, Narrative Essay” or “Composition #2, Expository Essay.”

Writing in Grade 4 • Two Day Writing Test • Day 1- ½ Multiple Choice & One Composition ( 4 hours) • Day 2- ½ Multiple Choice & One Composition ( 4 hours) • *Stand alone field test every 3 years

Composition Grade 4 • Students will write two one-page compositions addressing different types of writing. ( 26 lines) • Personal Narrative: • Write about important personal experiences (TEKS—17A) • Expository: • Create brief compositions that establish a central idea in a topic sentence, contain a concluding statement, and include supporting sentences with simple facts, details, and explanations • (TEKS—18 A and i, ii, and iii)

Planning • Students will have the bottom of the prompt page and two additional blank pages for drafting and brainstorming.

STAAR Writing • READ: A short synopsis of some kind • or a quote • THINK: The synopsis or quote • generalized and reworded • WRITE:An even more focused • rewording • BE SURE TO: A reminder to proof

Example of a 4th Grade Expository Prompt: • READthe information in the box below. There are people in our lives who are special to us. Sometimes this person is a teacher or coach, a brother or sister, or even a friend. • THINKabout the people you care about. • WRITEabout one person who has been important to you. Explain what makes that person special. • BE SURE TO clearly state your central idea, organize your writing, develop your writing in detail, choose your words carefully, use correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and sentences.

What was observed from the 1’s and 2’s? • Wrong organizational structure/form and purpose • Weak, evolving, or nonexistent thesis • Wasted space: repetition, wordiness, extraneous details or examples, looping/meandering, meaningless introductions and conclusions or introductions and conclusions that are way too long for one page • Inclusion of too many different ideas for 1 page

1’s and 2’s… • General/vague/imprecise use of language or inappropriate tone for purpose • Essay poorly crafted • Weak conventions

What was observed from the 3’s and 4’s? • Strong match between structure/form and purpose • Explicit thesis • Narrow and deep development—no wasted words or space—Quality over quantity! • Introduction and conclusion short but effective • Specific use of language and appropriate tone for purpose • Essay well crafted • Strong conventions

STAAR writing • Most personal narrative prompts will appear with a photograph • The prompt will contain a stimulus and be scaffolded, though less than the expository prompt • Personal narratives must be based on student’s real experiences, must be believable—not fictional/ something that happened to them. • Look at the picture. One sentence about the picture. Then write about…Be sure to…

Victoria Young said… The Effect of One Page: • High scores require an economical use of space. • Tight, specific, logical development—no wasted words • A short effective introduction and conclusion are a must! • Bottom Line: Both planning and revision are absolutely essential since students don’t have space to “write their way” into a better piece.

Continued… Form/Purposes Need to Match: • Many students scored 1’s and 2’s because their overall organizational structure and form did not match the purpose for writing or were weakly matched. For example-started a TAKS personal narrative instead of an expository piece • Some students started out in the right form but then “drifted” into another purpose. For example-Started as an expository and drifted back into a personal narrative or started personal narrative and drifted to fantasy

Continued… Thesis: • Having a central idea is essential in writing a focused and coherent expository piece. • Personal narratives also need a narrow focus. • When you explain something in your expository essay, you can give details. • Passive or active voice doesn’t matter. Time Limit: • 4-hour time limit includes Breaks but not Lunch

Multiple Choice: Revision and Editing • Revision Focus: Effectiveness Introduction and Conclusion Organization Progression Development Language/Word Choice Sentences 32% Revising (9 items)

Multiple Choice continued… • Editing Focus: Correctness Conventions 68% Editing (19 items)

Example of Grade 4 Revision Stem • David would like to improve his story by adding a strong concluding sentence after sentence 28. Which of these would be the BEST sentence to add?

Student Success on STAAR • Students must be provided in-depth, rigorous instruction of the ELAR TEKS implemented in the fall 2009. • Students must be provided instruction in all genres represented by the ELAR TEKS. • Equal weight must be given to fiction and expository genres in all grade levels. • Instruction must emphasize critical-thinking skills/inferential thinking rather than isolated skills.

Expository defined… • Expository text: A type of informational text that clarifies or explains something (TEKS Glossary) • Exposition is a type of oral or written discourse that is used to explain, describe, give information or inform. (www.stanford.edu) • ex-pos-i-to-ry/adjective –chiefly US, somewhat formal---used to describe writing that is done to explain something*expository prose (Webster’s Dictionary)

Continued… 4. Expository texts explain something by definition, sequence, categorization, comparison-contrast, enumeration, process, problem-solution, description, or cause-effect. (www.englishcompanion.com)

Expository Prompt Expository prompts will contain a stimulus and will be scaffolded: Read… Think… Write… Be sure to... A role model is a person you admire or look up to. Before you begin writing, thinkabout someone you look up to. Why do you admire this person? Writea composition in which you explain to your classmates whom you admire and why you admire this person. President author athlete grandmother

Common Types of Details • Specific or concrete examples • Facts • Self-evident truths • Anecdotes • Comparisons or analogies • Authoritative quotes or testimonials • Numbers/statistics • Descriptive details • Definitions • Graphics (diagrams, maps, charts, etc.)

Introductions and Conclusions • Sharing a secret • Creating a scene • Compare/Contrast • Create a “what if” scenario • Definition • Anecdote • Idiom • Quote • Exclamation • Using the literature on the tables, find examples of “effective” introductions and conclusions.

Transitions • Additions– for instance, another thought… • Alternatives– on the other hand, in some cases… • Comparisons—similarly, when compared to… • Cause and Effect– as a result, consequently… • Summarization– the last thing, in closing… • Emphasis– once again, for this reason…

Narrative vs. Expository READ: Waiting can be hard to do. THINK: about how waiting can actua can actually be a good thing. WRITE: an essay about why it is important to be patient sometimes. BE SURE TO: Clearly state your central idea, organize and develop your explanation effectively, develop your writing in detail, choose your words carefully, use correct spelling, capitalization, punctuation, grammar, and sentences. (used w/ permission of Michelle Stimpson) Write a composition about a time when you had to wait.

Sample Prompt We all experience stressful times in our lives. Name a few strategies you use to overcome stress and explain how they help you. http://writingfix.com

Sample Prompt Friends are important to people. Explain what friends mean to you. Be sure to include details and example/reasons why friends are important to you. http://writingfix.com

Sample Prompt Some people think a rainy day is a bad day. A rainy day doesn’t have to be bad. Explain how to turn a rainy day into a good day. http://writingfix.com

Sample Prompt Books, movies, and television can offer opportunities to learn valuable lessons. Write about a lesson learned from a book, movie, or television show that proved to be of value to you. http://writingfix.com

Reflection • What are the implications for instruction? • How might I adjust my instruction to address what was learned in the training today? • What is one question I still have?

Expository Writing: The New Narrative