DOCUMENT RESUME CS 215 459 Seeing with New Eyes: A
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 399 543 CS 215 459 AUTHOR Spandel, Vicki TITLE Seeing with New Eyes: A Guidebook on Teaching and Assessing Beginning Writers. Third Edition. INSTITUTION Northwest Regional Educational Lab., Portland, Oreg.d PUB DATE Jul 96 NOTE 321p. PUB TYPE Guides Classroom Use Teaching Guides (For Teacher)(052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC13 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Childrens Writing; Developmental Stages; *Portfolio Assessment; Portfolios (Background Materials); Primary Education; Reading Writing Relationship; Student Writing Models; *Writing (Composition); *Writing Evaluation; *Writing Instruction; Writing Processes IDENTIFIERS *Beginning Writing ABSTRACT Noting that primary-school writers are imaginative, and that their writing often reflects a mixture of creative, highly individual styles, this book places teaching ideas and students' writing and drawings in perspective and views the experimentations and playfulness of students as ways of learning. The Six-Trait Analytical Model for Assessing Writing is employed as a basis for teaching and assessing primary students' writing. Chapters in the book are (1) Lessons from the Classroom;(2) How the Traits Show Themselves at Primary Level;(3) Rubrics, Stages of Growth and Developmental Continuums;(4) Sample Student Papers;(5) Primary Process (which discusses the primary version of the writing process); (6) Teaching Traits to Primary Writers;(7) Teacher Talk: Answers to 10 Questions;(8) Using Reading to Teach Writing;(9) Writing with Purpose: More Than Stories; and (10) The Joy of Portfolios. Contains 21 references. A list of "writing do's and don'ts," goals for primary writers and teachers, and a description of the Six-Trait Model are attached. (RS) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** A GUIDEBOOK ON TEACHING 5 ASSESSING BEGINNING WRITERS "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCETHIS MATERIALtf HAS BEENGRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER(ERIC)." U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Of of Educational Research and improvement A EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarly represent official OERI positron or policy , 1- rs, cT REST COPY AVAILABLE by -9)icla zSpandel NORTHWEST REGIONAL EORATIONAL LABORATORY Srrt$QWITH MEWintris A GibiorIBOOK 0111 TrACKiNG & ASSIESSiNG i;rQiMiQ WIRILEVS Developed and written by lkt iCKSPANifork Assessment and Accountability Program Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory 101 SW Main Street, Suite 500 Portland, Oregon 97204 Copyright Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. July1996, third edition. All rights reserved. To order, phone: 503-275-9519 For workshop information: 503-275-9564 / 275-9576 ©1996 NWREL. All rights reserved. No part of this documentmay be included in a document to be published or sold withoutexpress written permission of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Permission is hereby granted, however, to reproduce portions of the document for classroom use by teachers and students. This book is lovingly dedicated to Mrs. Arlene Moore, one of the finest primary teachers ever to grace a classroom, and to the students of the 1995- 96 Lincoln Elementary transitional class, Mt. Vernon, Washington, who taught me so much about being a better teacher, writer and researcher. EST COPYAVAILABLE 5 slEr wort" 'Iolir* s TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page Dedication Table of Contents Introduction Dear Gog Tasha's Letter Chapter 1 Lessons From the Classroom 1 9 Acknowledgments Chapter 2 How the Traits Show ThemselvesAt Primary Level 10 The 6 Traits: Some Definitions 11 Signs of the Traits 19 The Six Traits: Primary Version(2-page) 26 Chapter 3 Rubrics, Stages of Growth &Developmental Continuums 28 Guide 1: Developmental Stages ofWriting 31 Guide 2: Primary DevelopmentalContinuum 38 Guide 3: Thinking Like a Writer 49 Guide 4: Primary Writers' Very OwnScoring Guide 54 Chapter 4 Sample Student Papers 65 74 Did You Notice? More Student Writing 82 Art Literacy: What Is Art? 83 89 A Diverse Collection Responses to Literature 96 From the Joke Collections ofSecond Graders 97 "If I were something other than a person ..." 99 Zaneta: Classroom Sketch &Self-Portrait 104 Chapter 5 Primary Process 107 Writing Process: Primary Version (2-page summary) 108 Primary Writing Process, Prewriting Through Reflection 110 Student-Led Conferences 124 Myths and the Writing Process 130 Chapter 6 Teaching Traits to Primary Writers 132 Six Important Tips 133 Teaching Traits (2 -page summary) 137 Where's the Connection to theClassroom? 145 Classroom Activities for Teaching Traits 149 Beginning Editing 173 Chapter 7 Teacher Talk: Answers to 10Questions 187 Chapter 8 Using Reading to Teach Writing 205 Books to Build Observation Skills 207 Books for Developing a Sense of Place 210 Books for Developing a Sense of Self 215 Books for Exploring the Concept of Story 221 More on Colors 229 Books Just for the Love of Language 230 Combining Text, Artwork & Photos 234 Books to Show the Power of Informational Writing 235 No Matter Which Books You Use 238 Chapter 9 Writing With Purpose: More Than Stories 243 Young Writers Can Write More Than Stories 244 Poster-Ready Definitions for FiveModes 249 7 Chapter 10 The Joy of Portfolios 258 One Student's Sample Portfolio 259 What We Learn From Sara's Portfolio 268 A Plan for using Portfolios in Your Classroom 269 Student-Led Portfolio Conference (summary) 273 Things That Could Go in Your Portfolio (summary) 274 Juneau Language Arts Portfolio (example) 276 Criteria for a Good Story (Grade 1) 278 Criteria for Best Writing (Grade 1) 279 Self-Reflections: How to Get Started 280 Setting a Baseline 282 Letting Parents Know About Portfolios 285 Writing Do's & Don'ts 290 List of Sources 294 Appendix 297 The 6-Trait Analytical Model for Assessing Writing 298 tolir:ROiDUCT:CO-01. Welcome! If you are a primary teacher, you already know how special the world of the young writer is. At this level, "writing" may take the form of pictures, scribbles, dictated stories and thoughts, recordings, or conventional text. Sometimes that text goes left to right on the page, sometimes right to left, or bottom to top, or round in spirals. Primary writers are imaginative, and their writing often reflects a mixture of creative, highly individual style, and an attempt to adhere to the conventions of printas interpreted through primary eyes. This collection of student writings and drawings and teacher ideas attempts to place all these differences in perspective, and to view the experimentations and playfulness of students not as errors, but as ways of learning. Our text is respectfully dedicated to the writers of today and tomorrow and the wonderfully patient and insightful teachers who are forever looking for ways to encourage them. We hope it helps you find appropriate and inspiring ways of responding to your young writers' work. 0c4,6 spandei AAssessment & Accountability Program Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory DerGog. Can. 1 kOme bows. and tac- you prStit, LoVe, i C15 hci Dear George, Can I come toyour house and take you a present? Love, Tasha Tasha's letter as seen through traditional eyes ... What do traditional forms of assessment tell us about Tasha's writing? Well, her spelling is inaccurate, for one thing. The punctuation is arbitraryand confusing. Words are omitted. The whole thing is difficult to read. It's short. It doesn't say a lot. Such assessment reflects a host of traditional expectations about what writing is or should be. But do those traditional expectations give us a true picture of Tasha's writing skill? Not really ... Tasipes 164-6ev as seed417-voixgbvele eyes & 119(So Suppose we put content, voice and purpose before conventions, and view early conventions developmentally, asking, What is Tasha noticing in the print that fills her world? What is she borrowing? Now, through "new eyes," we see that Tasha is recognizing the power of print. She knows you can get attention through what you write, and that one appropriate form of communicating is with a letter. Herletter follows traditional format, with an opening or salutation, a body, and a closing. She also uses left to right orientation on the page, plus up to down orientation, which makes her writing easy to follow. She has spaces between her words. A few words are omitted, true enough,but we can easily infer what they are. The spelling may not be conventionally correct, but Tasha captures so many of the sounds of her language that the text isreally quite readable; that's real developmental progress for a first grade writer. She starts names with capital letters. Notice that the comma in the closing is used correctly; Tasha has indeed been payingattention to how letters begin and end. The periodsare tossed about at random, yes, but this writer knows periods are importantand that in itselfis a beginning. Her voice is emerging, and will gainstrength from practice, and from her awareness that her writingcan have power and influence. Her message is direct, purposeful and very understandable. Short,yes. But length will come with experience andconfidence. On the pages that follow, we offer more ideas for seeingyoung writers' work through new eyes. 12 NS FROM CLASSROOM Unlike many