Megan Jones

March 16, 2011

Chapter Nine - Notes

Chapter 9 – Powerful Pens: Writing to Learn with Adolescents

I. Defining and defending writing to learn

A. Steps in expanding writing
i. prewriting activities
ii. writing a draft
iii. peer review of the draft
iv. revising
v. editing
vi. writing the final draft
vii. publishing

B. Applying three kinds of knowledge

i. declarative asks what
ii. procedural asks how
iii. conditional asks when and why

C. Strategies to develop writing skills

i. Language Experience Approach
ii. writing models
iii. generative sentences
iv. power writing

D. Why is writing neglected in many content area classes?

i. not considered part of their curriculum.
ii. improvement in algebra scores when using writing to learn

E. Using writing prompts

i. number of ways to incorporate writing into content areas
ii. very open-ended to very specific prompts
iii. using Raft
a. R = Role
b. A = Audience
c. F = Format
d. T = Topic
iv. using prompts helps students to clarify
II. Strategies at work
A. Writing to learn in English
i. Learning logs
ii. selecting quotes

B. Writing to learn in Mathematics

i. Name the Math – question on the white board, ready for
students to work
ii. teach students to ask themselves questions
iii. model each step

C. Writing to learn in Social Studies

i. thinking about thinking to develop questions
ii. responding
iii. finalizing ideas and opinions

D. Writing to learn in Science

i. using entry slips as writing prompts
ii. informing instruction through student responses
iii. helping students connect information through writing prompts

E. Writing to learn in Electives – here again using RAFT is a great tool.

III. Conclusion
The strength of writing lays in the intended audiences hands.
Using prompts is always a good idea.
Should be used with all content areas
Helps students see data at hand.

Summary:
Before reading this chapter I never really put much thought into writing
prompts. I always planned to have a math related question for students to
work as they come into the classroom, but I never thought about
incorporating writing into that simple step. Something for me to check and
possibly give the students participation grades from their responses. Even
writing three sentences will be writing! This is something for me to really
think about when designing the function and management of my classroom.