Credit to the Illinois Writing Project Web site: www.illinoiswritingproject.

com for this handout

Writing to Learn
Writing is not just a language art: it is also a teaching method to engage and explore
subject matter more effectively. The best writingtolearn activities reach across many
subject fields and teaching styles! helping students to move. . . .
INTOTHROUGHBEYOND
the content of the curriculum.
Writingtolearn activities differ from formal expository or creative writing assignments
in important ways. They are:
SONT!NEOUS "#. $lanne%
SHORT "#. length&
E'LOR!TORY "#. authoritati"e
E'RESSI(E "#. tran#actional
IN)OR*!L "#. formal
ERSON!L "#. au%ience+centere%
UNEDITED "#. $oli#he%
UNGR!DED "#. gra%e%
Writing as a tool of learning is li"e a crescent wrench of the mind! a device which
organi#es! manipulates! channels! and gives extra leverage to thin"ing. It wor"s best
when it$s personali#ed: when the language is informal! collo%uial! loose! and personal
as close as possible to everyday speech& when experimentation and ris"ta"ing are
invited& when the need for proofreading and ris"s of grading are eliminated& and when the
results are u#e% in class for ongoing exploration of content.
'
S!*LE WRITING TO LE!RN !,TI(ITIES
INTO ,ONTENT
Beginning UnitsAccessing Prior KnowledgeMaking Predictions
-. !%mit Sli$#. (pon entering class! students turn in short pieces of writing on a preassigned
topic! such as a summary of the previous night)s reading assignment. The teacher may read
some or all aloud *with or without names attached+ or cards may be passed out randomly
among students to be read aloud or discussed. This helps focus students on the day)s topic or
upcoming activity.
.. Brain#torming. ,or -. seconds or one minute! students list on their own every idea! detail or
%uestions they associate with the topic. Then each student! going round the room! contributes
one entry to a master list on the board or overhead. (se this list to highlight important ideas
or %uestions that will come up during the period or unit.
/. ,arou#el Brain#torming. Write out five or six statements or %uestions about the topic being
studied / each one at the top of a separate piece of chart paper. Post these around the room.
0tudents in small groups rotate among the posted sheets! and each group spends several
minutes at a sheet to discuss the topic and then write a group brainstorm or response on the
chart paper *and sign it+. 1t your signal! the groups rotate to the next chart. 2epeat until all
have visited all the charts! and then allow a few minutes for overall browsing so people can
see all the ideas that have been shared. 1s with straight brainstorming! use the lists as you are
wor"ing through the unit! to highlight big ideas and themes! answer %uestions! or clarify
misconceptions.
0. 1+W+L. When a new topic is being introduced! students ma"e a class list! together! of all the
things they already 1no2 *or believe they "now+ about the subject. Then they ma"e a list of
things they Want to "now or investigate *or substitute 3 for 3ue#tion# to as"! if you are
concerned that 3want4 is not yet where your students are+. When the lesson is done! be sure
to go bac" and have students ma"e a list of what they)ve Learne% to help solidify their
progress.
THROUGH THE ,ONTENT
4. Writing Brea5. Too often in presentations! teachers feel a need to plunge on and 3cover the
material!4 when in fact students would benefit greatly from an occasional pause for them to
write and reflect on what)s being taught. 0ome possible focusing %uestions: What I)m
thin"ing right now& what I get so far& %uestions that are bugging me. This provides "ids a
chance to consolidate what)s been learned and prepare to go on.
6. Non+Sto$ Write. 0tudents regularly write for the first five minutes of class time each day! on
the topic of the upcoming lesson. 0ome teachers call this 3focused free writing.4 It can be on
the same %uestion each day *reflections on the reading! %uestions I have this morning!
5
highlights from the homewor"! etc.+ or may be a response to a specific %uestion or %uote put
on the board. This activity wor"s especially well to begin a class! since it causes students to
brea" social contact! loo" down at their writing! tune in to the lesson! gather thoughts! and get
centered.
7. Learning Log#. 1s teachers become committed to writingtolearn! they need a place for
students to store all their lists! clusters! freewrites as the course unfolds. 6any teachers have
formali#ed this approach by as"ing each student to "eep a continuous learning log or journal
throughout the class. While some specific individual topics may be set by the teacher! the
essential idea is for students to be ma"ing regular journal entries on a variety of classrelated
topics / three! four! or five entries per wee"! some in school and some at home. This
document becomes a special place where the subject matter learning wor" of the course is
both accomplished and reflected.
8. Dou9le+Entr& :ournal. 1s students read their textboo" or other material! they ta"e notes in
two columns. These are sometimes called 3Cornell 7otes.4 8ach column is for a different
"ind of information! based on how you want students to thin" about the material. 0ome
options:
What the material is saying9what I)m thin"ing or wondering
Computation steps9reasons for them
facts9values or implications
;. Write+!roun%. 0tudents wor" in groups of three to five. 8ach write for several minutes on a
%uestion! reading selection! or problem! and passes his or her paper to the next student in the
group. The students all then respond on the sheets to the initial writers) thin"ing. They
continue passing and responding until each sheet gets bac" to its original owner. 1llow a little
more time for each successive step! since students must read all the comments on the sheet
they)ve received before they write their own contribution. :penended! controversial! or
thoughtprovo"ing topics wor" best for this.
-<. Teacher+Stu%ent ,orre#$on%ence. 0tudents write short letters or notes to the teacher
about the subject matter / or anything else they are dealing with in their learning. The teacher
responds using stic"y notes or space left by the students. 0tagger your receipt of these so you
aren)t overloaded. ;es! it)s timeintensive and you can)t do this every wee"! but even if "ids
get to exchange letters with you once a month! you)ll discover crucial things about their
learning needs that you)d never find out otherwise. 1nd students) appreciation of your
individual attention will help with discipline and other issues that come up
Be&on% the ,ontent
--. E=it Sli$#. These are li"e 1dmit 0lips! only reversed. ,or two minutes at the end of the
period! students complete a short piece of writing on a notecard! giving their response!
summari#ing! or as"ing %uestions about the day)s session. The teacher may collect and read
these herself! or use them to teach. This is a great diagnostic tool for the teacher! and a
natural source of %uic" review highlights during next class.
-
-.. Dra2ing an% Illu#tration. <rawing *cartoons! posters! flyers+ and writing are branches of
the same cognitive tree! and for many students the graphic mode better fits their learning style.
There)s always room for comic strips about the subject being studied! flyers for "ey current or
past events in the field! and posters that advertise important concepts.
-/. ,lu#tering. 1 form of writingtolearn using a "ind of rightbrained outlining first described
by =abrielle 2ico in her boo" Writing The 7atural Way *Tarcher! '>?@+. 0tudents put a "ey
concept! term! or name in a circle at the center of a page! draw some spo"es radiating out
from the center circle! and then freeassociate! jotting down all the ideas that occur to them in
circles arrayed at the end of the spo"es! in whatever pattern 3seems right.4 0ome ideas lead
to more spo"es and further thoughts. This helps students see how all the main ideas and
details in a unit of study are connected together. In addition! clustering often reveals
unrecogni#ed connections and relationships.
-0. *a$$ing. This strategy invites students to arrange ideas and groups of ideas visually! but
with more flexibility and creativity than clustering allows.
-4. Written ,on"er#ation> Stu%ent+to+Stu%ent ,orre#$on%ence> Dialogue :ournal#. This is
tal" in writing about the content of the course with other students in the class. It provides a
twoway channel of communication that deepens students) thin"ing by exposing them to each
others) varying "inds of understanding or points of view. 0tudents wor" in pairs! each writing
about how they solved a problem or what they understood from a piece of reading. They
exchange papers after they)ve written for several minutes and then respond to each other as if
having a conversation! except there)s no tal"ing / and actually in each pair two conversations
are happening at once. 2epeat the exchange three or four times! just as would ta"e place in an
oral discussion. This is especially valuable for helping students understand a complex idea or
chun" of material more fully! after they)ve been studying it.
-6. Reflecti"e Write. 1t the end of a period or unit! students write to reflect on what they)ve
learned! what it too" to learn it! how they)ve progressed! and9or what they can do differently
next time. 0tudents all too often simply do what)s re%uired of them and put the tas" out of
their mind when it)s done. This step helps them reali#e they actually understand something
new and solidifies its place in their consciousness. Aut "ids don)t necessarily understand! at
first! what it means to reflect! so be sure to model for them the first few times you as" for this!
writing on an overhead as they watch and explaining your thin"ing as you go.
B
E(!LU!TION O) WRITING TO LE!RN !,TI(ITIES
Writingtolearn assignments differ %uite dramatically in the structure and purpose from the
customary school writing tas"s. 2emember the contrasts we started with:
Writing to Learn )ormal> u9lic Writing
0P:7T178:(0 PC1778<
I7,:261C ,:261C
0D:2T C:7=82
P820:71C 1(<I87C8C87T828<
8EPC:21T:2; 1(TD:2IT1TIF8
(78<IT8< P:CI0D8<
8EP2800IF8 *i.e.! includes feelings! attitudes+ T21701CTI:71C *i.e.! explains+
(7=21<8< =21<8<
WTC calls for a special "ind of 3evaluation!4 a different sort of feedbac". 0ince the goal of WTC
is for students to explore topics! to search and discover ideas! try out possibilities! express
confusions! and wor" their way into material! it is 7:T appropriate to grade or ran"! any more
than a grocery list left around the house ought to be graded. The usual "ind of intensive red
penciling! written comments! and mar"s in a grade boo" are inappropriate! inefficient! and
irrelevant to WTC. ,or formal grading! we can derive a course grade from students) formal
writing assignments! demonstrations! and tests! where they demonstrate mastery of content.
A(T / teachers still worry about students who come to them grade dependent! who won)t do any
school tas" without a grade! either because they get a feeling of reward from grades or because
they assume any school wor" with no grade attached can be s"ipped. *These attitudes of students
aren)t defects of their character& we have very effectively taught and rewarded them in school.+
So in#tea%> tr& the follo2ing?
'. (se the wor" in class. :pen class by reading admit slips aloud& end class by reading a half
do#en nonstop writes. If students are to jot down three good discussion %uestions! use them to
start the discussion. Real u#e is the most powerful feedbac" teachers can give to WTC.
8ventually students become reprogrammed! and feel more rewarded by having their ideas ta"en
seriously than by a grade.
5. 2espond in writing :CC10I:71CC;! answering content with content. 7otes! PostIts! side
comments / words mean much more than point totals. The goal is conversation about ideas.
-. (se binary grading. <on)t %ualitatively evaluate. Gust chec" off that students have done a WTC
tas". ;es97o! Chec"96inus! :n9:ff! whatever you li"e. This way! you are monitoring students)
participation! but not confounding the in%uiry or eating up your time with grading.
B. When you do assign more formal writing activities with correct answers! "ey ingredients! or
right approaches! score with analytic scales that students have seen and discussed beforehand.
Delpful Websites:
@
http:99www.sanantoniowritingproject.org
http://sawpwater.weebly.com
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