Primary Scaffolding for On-Demand Writing
It’s All About Instruction
Reading Critically
• Assist kids in reading critically, an important skill in On-Demand writing. In on-demand assessment, two prompts are offered. Help students read through the parts of both prompts (Situation, Writing Task, and scoring criteria) offered and decide which of the two they can better respond to.
• Have students then reread the situation of the prompt chosen and highlight any information in the situation that is needed or can be useful in the response.
Suggestion: This is the first step to be given to the student in the scaffolding process.
Analyzing the Writing Task
• Analyze the writing task with students. This involves identifying (by highlighting, circling, underlining, etc.) the form, audience, and purpose with the class.
Suggestion: In the second step of this scaffolding process, the student is now responsible for the “Read Critically” and “Analyze the Writing Task” section.
• During this section, explicit instruction in the differences between personal narrative and narrate an event is needed. The teacher must help the student distinguish between the form of the personal narrative and a narrative embedded in another form in order to advance a purpose.
When narrating an event, the writer sometimes uses one event to engage the reader for another purpose (persuade, inform, etc.). The narrative then becomes a method of idea development. The narrative may take place in the introduction to engage the reader or it may be embedded in the piece to support an idea. Note that all narratives are not personal ones. Some may be extended examples embedded to give evidence to a point, or, in the case of the personal experience, to lend authority to a piece.
• As part of classroom instruction, provide students with experience in using persuasive strategies such as anticipating arguments, emotional appeal, etc. This knowledge may be applied to on-demand writing tasks.
• Provide students with writing-to-learn experiences in the classroom to prepare them to respond to texts, graphics, and charts.
Planning to Write
• Explore various approaches and/or organizers to the writing tasks with students to provide them with a number of strategies from which to choose when addressing an On-Demand task.
On-Demand Released Item-Spring 1999
Situation:
All Students have responsibilities in the classroom. In the school handbook there is a list of responsibilities.
Student Responsibilities
• Following rules
• Attending school regularly
• Using time wisely
• Completing homework
• Listening carefully
• Following directions
Writing Task:
After looking at the list, write a letter to a new fourth grader. Tell which responsibilities you think are most important and why.
An example of whole group guided instruction for the above writing task:
1. Decide on the responsibilities students identify as important. Label separate charts with the responsibilities chosen:
Attending School Regularly - Listening Carefully - Completing Homework
As a group, discuss why these are important. Jot student ideas, thoughts, etc., on the charts. This is modeling the thinking that goes into the written response.
2. Review Leads: As a part of their classroom instruction, students have experienced the many ways writers engage their audience and set a context for their writing. With the class, list some of these on a chart:
· question
· anecdote
· exclamation
Note: This is not an exhaustive list.
As a group, write three different leads for the Released Item, Spring 1999 task:
• Do you know what it will take to become a top-notch 4th grader?
• Arriving my first day at Mrs._______4th grade door, I wondered if I was really ready to leave the primary wing…
• YOU can be a top-notch 4th grader and I can tell you HOW!
3. Discuss effective conclusions. List examples on a chart:
· circle back
· encourage
· call to action
Note: This is not an exhaustive list.
As a group, write some conclusions that might go with the leads offered earlier by the group:
· Now you know
· I wondered no more, I knew that…and you will too.
· Use these rules…
Drafting
• Allow students to use prewriting charts to compose whole group drafts.
• After guided instruction, allow students to use prewriting charts to draft individual responses.
• Gradually, move students toward generating their own plan for drafts.
Conferencing, Revising, Editing
• Guide whole class instruction in revision and editing with the use of a self-assessment tool (from Portfolio Handbook, KELP, or other teacher-written organizers).
• Students use dictionary and/or thesaurus.
Publishing
• Have students to write final response.
• Have students to read response to make sure they are satisfied they have addressed the task completely.
Notes:
• Gradually offer parts of teacher guided instruction to students for more individual work. We suggest that the instructional section of Analyzing the Task and Planning to Write (prewriting) be the last sections that students to write in an independent situation.
• Provide students with models that use both kinds of embedded narratives: those based on personal experiences that lend authority to an argument and those which illustrate a point with an extended example.