“Beyond the 5-paragraph Essay: What do
we really want writing to be?”
Rockford Summer Retreat, Project REAL,
10 August 2005, 1 PM
FAQs
about informal tasks in writing to learn or writing to express knowledge:
Q: How
often should I give a writing task in class?
A: Students
benefit most if they write at least twice a week. Teachers who know the
benefits of informal writing may incorporate it almost every class—but
they assign short tasks (3-7 minutes).
Q: Won’t
I end up with stacks of journals and papers?
A: If
you assign journals, develop a rotation system so you only collect a few
at a time. Or collect each writing activity when you assign it, read it
quickly, and return it (don’t grade! —you can evaluate with a ?,
+, or -). Or make a habit of calling on 2-3 students to read what they’ve
written each class. Or collect the writing, record a ? for each student’s
participation, and select 1-3 good pieces to read aloud, anonymously.
Q:
With my class load, how can I read everything my students write?
A: You
can’t. Just read some of it. You can tell students which short assignments
you want to read—or you can tell them to select a piece every 1-2 weeks
to turn in, with a brief explanation of why they think that piece is exemplary.
In two-pocket folders, they can file the pieces you’ve seen in one pocket
and the pieces you haven’t seen in another pocket. If you use such a system,
require students to provide a “continuing” table of contents for all the
work they do. This collection becomes a great review tool or the basis
of a portfolio. Another idea: set up a system where you only collect from
a random number of different students each time you assign a task.
Q:
Won’t students think all this writing is just busy work?
A: Some
will. But if you make it clear that you use their writing as part
of your teaching technique, most will take it seriously. For instance,
use writing to start discussions, to demonstrate different ways students
think, to integrate students’ ideas or questions into the course, to get
students’ help in writing quizzes or exams, to form a basis of group work
and interaction, or to feed into more formal writing assignments.
WRITING
TO LEARN AND THINK: Following
is a list of sample activities to help you see how you can engage students
in active learning and critical thinking.
-
Write
before class begins to develop a subject or review a point from a previous
lesson—e.g.,
Compose a sentence in Spanish using “impersonal expression” and explain
what form of the verb follows. How does this rule compare to English?
-
Write
during class to refocus a discussion that’s drifted away from the main
topic or to tone down an over-excited one—e.g.,
Now that we’ve discussed some of the main concerns—and your opinions—on
the idea of cutting taxes to stimulate the economy, sum up three points
that you think are important and explain why. You should strongly agree
with one point, disagree with another, and be undecided about a third.
-
Write
during class to raise questions or explain confusion—e.g.,
We’ve looked at several examples of the concept of “enlightened despotism.”
Write down questions that you still have, either about the examples or
about the concept. I’ll choose the best ones for a quiz at the beginning
of our next class.
-
Write
at the end of class to summarize a lesson, a discussion, a process—e.g.,
We went over the following problem: “If f(x) = 2x + 1 and g(x) = 3x – 2,
for what real number k does f(k) = g(k).” Review
the process by which we got the answer. (A variation: What was the most
difficult thing to understand in the equation we went over?)
-
Open-ended
journal entries—e.g.,
In your learning log for this week, you can “think on paper” about any
point that you find interesting in our discussions and experiments on the
cell. Write at least 3 daily entries, 100 words minimum for each. Initiate
and explore a question, find a connection between what you’re learning
and your own experience, summarize what you’ve learned, identify what you’re
having problems understanding, look up something on the web that interests
you, etc.)
-
Semi-structured
journal entries—e.g.,
You should be thinking about a number of questions after today’s lab session.
What does the chemical equation in our experiment say in ordinary English?
What keeps you from solving it? What further information do you need? What
factors make this problem more difficult than the experiments we’ve recently
done? What concerns will you have when you perform step 6 of the lab experiment?
-
Guided
journal entries—e.g.,
In your team journal this week, each team member should answer at least
one of the questions below to help prepare you for your in-class essay
on Hamlet next Monday. Discuss among your group members how you
might work the answers into an essay:
-
What
does the term “tragic flaw” mean?
-
Why
do you think Hamlet does (or doesn’t) have a tragic flaw?
-
How
does a person with a tragic flaw affect other people? Use an example from
the play or an example of someone you know.
-
What
keeps a person with a tragic flaw from realizing how they affect others?
-
What
other readings have we done in class—or what movies or TV shows— feature
a character with a tragic flaw, and how does that character compare to
Hamlet?
-
What
kind of effective action can be taken with someone who has a tragic flaw?
Speculate about Hamlet or another example.
-
Double-entry
notebooks—e.g.,
Read through sections 5-8 in our textbook. In your notebook, draw two columns
separated by a line. In the left-hand column, write down what you understand
most clearly about the causes of the dissolution of Yugoslavia. Then, after
you read through the 3 articles that you’ll find up on our course website,
go back and reflect on what you wrote. In the right-hand column, explain
what you see differently, what misunderstandings you think you had, or
whatever else you notice about your previous comments.
-
What
I observed/what I thought lab notebook entries—e.g.,
Choose a species of fish in our classroom aquarium. Look closely at a male
and female of the species. Make drawings. Write about specific characteristics
that you see in each gender of this particular species. Then write what
you think is significant about the gender similarities and differences
you observe.
-
Contemporary-issue
journal entries—e.g.,
Now that we’ve read about the spectrum of political categories (fascist,
reactionary, radical, conservative, liberal, libertarian, etc.), please
spend the next week searching Rockford and/or Chicago newspapers for stories
on 7-9 different political figures. For each political figure you choose,
write a paragraph on what you think their political category is, why you
think so, and how their beliefs might affect you if they were to influence
the formation of new laws.
-
Exam-preparation
journal entries—e.g.,
On our course website, locate the four questions prepared for the essay
exam next week. In your journal, write notes that could help you answer
each question. You may use your notes during the exam. Your notes will
count 40%, and your answer to the actual essay question will count 60%.
-
Marginal
notes or focused reading notes—e.g.,
On a separate piece of paper, please identify at least 7-9 different passages
in your reading assignment on “Setting up your own small business” (give
paragraph and page numbers!). Why are the passages you’ve identified important? Do
they provide support, identify strong or weak points, sum up an opposing
view? You should also ask questions, summarize, explain why you agree/
disagree, or make connections to someone you know who owns a small business.
-
Reading
logs or summary/response notebook entries—e.g.,
In your reading log, summarize pp. 35-42 of chapter 11 in our health textbook.
Explain how the author’s comments on different contraception methods compare
with what you, a friend, or an older relative believe about each method.
-
Student
responses to reading guides—e.g.,
On the attached handout, you have 5 questions that you should answer for
the Internet reading assignment you’ve received on comparing car insurance
policies for this week. Reflect on how the article helped you understand
your policy—or your parents’.
-
Imagined
interviews with authors—e.g.,
After reading the short story “Silent Snow, Secret Snow,” get into your
groups of three. Each one of you is responsible for coming up with two
questions for the author of the story. As a group, you should then write
an literary interview, where you combine your group’s answers to everyone’s
questions, to come up with a better understanding of what the story is
about.
-
Dialogues—e.g.,
There are at least three ways to get an answer to the equation we’ve done
in class. Imagine that you’ve answered this equation on an exam and you
have received no credit for it because you didn’t do it in the preferred
way. Write a dialogue with the teacher, anticipating what her objections
are. Explain why you think you should receive at least partial, if not
full credit. At the same time, acknowledge why the preferred way makes
the most sense.
-
Bio-poems—e.g.,
Of the many French Impressionists whose techniques we’ve studied, choose
one to write a bio-poem on, using the following guidelines:
2.Four
traits that describe his/her character
3.Relative
of (brother of, sister of, child of…)
4.Lover
of (list 2-3 things or people)
5.Who
feels… (2-3 items)
6.Who
needs… (2-3 items)
7.Who
fears… (2-3 items)
8.Who
gives… (2-3 items)
9.Who
would like to… (2-3 items)
10.Resident
of…
11.Last
name
Then
write a similar auto-bio poem, describing yourself as an artist.
We’ll talk about differences between what motivates the artist’s work—and
yours.
-
Metaphor
games/ extended analogies—e.g.,
We’re going to use some analogic thinking to start our review of the different
kinds of music we’ve covered during these last four weeks. Choose two of
the following and respond:
2.The
difference between a madrigal and a chant is like the difference between
a ___ and a ___.
3. How
does the scenery change when you go from Beethoven to Gershwin?
4.If
Ella Fitzgerald and Dave Matthews were car designers, how would their vehicles
differ?
-
Occasional
thought letters—e.g.,
For the last twenty minutes of class, please write a letter to me about
the different strengths and weaknesses you’ve discovered in designing a
website using Mozilla and Microsoft Word. Which would you prefer using
to design: (1) your homepage; (2) your resume; and (3) an electronic portfolio
displaying your writing skills in several different courses. What features
of your chosen programs would permit the easiest design and reader-friendliness
in each document?
-
E-mail
and electronic discussions—e.g.,
Email an athletic friend who has graduated a year or two ago and is in
college or has a job. Find out the differences between his/her exercise
routines now and when s/he was in high school. How does your friend account
for these differences (or similarities), and what physical effects has
s/he noticed?
-
Data-provided
prompts—e.g., Draw a graph with two bell curves—one is tall
and thin (T1), the other is shorter and wider (T2). The curves illustrate
the distribution of molecular speed for a pure sample at two different
temperatures. The vertical axis represents the number of molecules, and
the horizontal axis represents speed. The area under each curve represents
the percent of molecules at the range of speed. The same number of molecules
is present at each temperature. What inferences can you make about the
information in the graph?
-
A
series of exploration/ invention tasks that lead up to a longer project—e.g.,
a paper on biology in the news (NOTE: these exercises would probably be
done over a number of days, rather than in one class session).
2.Why
is this issue controversial? (e.g., not enough evidence; conflicts between
scientific and religious perspectives; ethical problems; differing definitions
of basic terms) (15 minutes)
3.Why
are you personally interested in the issue? How could/does it affect you?
What personal experiences do you—or someone you know—have connected to
it? (10 minutes)
4.Pick
one opinion on the issue and list as many reasons as you can think of that
might support this opinion. When you’ve developed your list, identify which
are the best supports and briefly explain why (15 minutes)
5.Pick
another opinion on the issue and do the same thing as in #4. (15 minutes)
6.Examine
your lists and evaluate the best supports. Where do you feel you need more
information? What questions must you answer more completely? What research
do you have to do? (10 minutes)
7.Do
the research. Take notes and record citation information accurately.
8.When
you’ve researched all sides of the issue, identify which side you support
and explain why. (10 minutes)
9.Look
over the writing you’ve done for steps 1-8. Write a draft of your project.
-
Portfolio
drafts—e.g.,
You have saved several “occasional thought letters” for our units on the
settling of the colonies, the Revolutionary War, the western exploration,
and the expansion of the states. For mid-semester, please choose one and
develop it into a formal paper, based on the format you receive in the
attached handout. You will be doing the same with another occasional thought
letter for the end of the semester. By the end of this year, you will be
expected to assemble a portfolio of four formal papers (letters attached).
You’ll reflect on which is best, which is weakest, and what you’ve learned
from each—and you’ll receive a grade on the whole portfolio.
-
Practice
essay exams—e.g.,
Choose one of these two essay prompts. Write out your answer at home. Bring
your draft to class tomorrow. You’ll share it with a small group of classmates.
2.Below,
you have two different procedures for solving the same equation. Argue
which procedure is better, and explain why.
-
Thesis
statement writing—e.g.,
Today in class, we’ll focus on writing a thesis statement for your upcoming
paper by going through three additive steps. Here’s an example:
2.Draft
a brief thesis:
According to Karl Marx, no government should always remain strong to protect
workers because many class-related factors could turn such a government
into a system that would oppress those workers instead.
3.Elaborate
on that thesis:
According to Karl Marx, if governments remain forever strong, they do not
continue to protect workers because: (a) economic conditions are not stable;
(b) capitalists take advantage of workers during economic instability;
(c) governments often change in favor of capitalists as these two social
classes struggle; and (d) workers eventually have to overthrow both the
capitalists and the government that favors the capitalists, if they want
their own exploitation to end.
-
Frame
paragraphs—e.g.,
Use one of the following frames to pull together what we’ve learned about
jazz:
2.Jazz
is not uniquely American because a number of non-American influences have
affected it. First,…. Second,…. Third,…. (Fourth,…?)
Follow-up:
üChoose
two of the “writing to learn & think” exercises that you like the most
and explain why.
üPlease
write one short prompt that you can use in the first week of classes.
üShare
your prompt with two other colleagues and decide on one that you all like
best. Then share it with the rest of us.