The Threads of Reading Blog » writing

Publishing Student Writing and Generating Reading Excitement

The Weaver — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:34:17 +0000

Research shows that writing reinforces and builds reading skills so the more we get students writing, the more improvements they make in their reading. A great way to get students excited about writing is to get their works published on the internet. Reading Rockets and AdLit.org has recently established a monthly challenge that gives students writing prompts that they can address. The prompts are inspired by the Exquisite Corpse Adventure serial saga being presented on the Library of Congress website. Each month, there is a new prompt for students in grades K-12 that correlates with the ongoing Adventure saga. Be sure to check out the prompts and the Adventure. The ongoing adventure is fun and will get students excited and thinking! Your kids will love the writing challenge and may just get their best writing published! There is also a great literacy resource “treasure chest” at the Library of Congress site for both parents and teachers. Be sure to check both of these great resources out!

Encouraging Reluctant Writers with SPAWN

The Weaver — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:16:24 +0000

Struggling with how to get reluctant writers to revise and/or strengthen their work? A technique called SPAWN, developed by Martin, Martin, and O’Brian in 1984 and recently reintroduced by Grozo (2003) may be just what you need. The 5 writing options you can present to your students include the following:

S – Special Powers. The student can change some aspect of the text or topic. Their writing then explains what was changed, why it was changed and the effect of the change.

P – Problem Solving. Students are asked to write possible solutions to problems that have been proposed in the book being read or the material being studied.

A – Alternative Point of View. The students writes about a topic or retells a story from a different character’s point of view or relates it from a different perspective.

W – What If? Students are given the opportunity to respond to a change they have made in some aspect of the topic or the story or to a change the teacher suggests. They write about the results of the change.

N – Next. After reading a portion of the text, students describe what they think the author will discuss next, explain or have happen next and provide evidence to support their predictions.

Digital Story Telling

KTankersley — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 19:20:18 +0000

If you are looking for ways to motivate children to improve their writing and thinking skills, consider having students produce digital stories. A digital story is a multi-media text consisting of pictures and video clips embedded in a document like a Power Point that is enhanced by a narrated soundtrack that tells the story. According to the research of Burn and Reed (1999) digital story telling can be a great motivator for even the most reluctant of reader. Digital story telling can be used for presenting both fiction as well as non-fiction text on a topic of interest in the content classroom. Digital story telling helps students organize their thinking, have a purpose for writing, and develops pride and self-confidence as the completed work is shared with other students. Digital story telling can be done either in groups or by individuals and even the most reluctant reader and writer will be motivated to complete a digital story project.

Blogging to Teach Writing

KTankersley — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:30:00 +0000

I just read a great tip from a wonderful high school teacher who is having each of her students journal by setting up and writing on their on blog each day! She says that the interest in writing in her class has shot up by 100% and the kids love to share their blogs with one another. As for writing on appropriate topics, she says that all she had to do was to remind students that both their PARENTS as well as the PRINCIPAL would be able to read their writing. This understanding helped her students understand that everything written in their blog should be “G” rated and above reproach. She also did a mini-lesson on about “web privacy” issues and let parents know about the new project. Congratulations, Margarete on a great writing idea!