Mindy's Musings
SWPRSC's response to current writing expectations in K-12
Welcome to Kokopelli Connects!
My final recommendation from my last entry involved a reflection from you, the reader. Did you grab a paper and pencil, your tablet, computer, etc...and begin making lists of
- The graphic organizers you use;
- The problem-solving model you promote in your classroom;
- The text/stimuli you will be expecting students to pay "close" attention to;
- The on demand opportunities you will provide for your students.
Once you have your collaborative notes and thinking/writing tasks, you'll want to prioritize these tasks and determine what to assess and how to do that. This can be a daunting task. Your thoughts maybe sound something like this...
"How do I, as the teacher, decide what to pay attention to when my students are writing? It's so easy to bury myself in writing criteria and forget what my students are striving to do!"
More than two decades ago, my colleagues and I were asking ourselves these same questions. Our problem was not a lack of desire to support "multi-disciplinary" efforts; instead, we desperately needed help managing the efforts successfully and evidentially. Because this tool has changed very little since then I am choosing to highlight Collins Five Types of Writing http://www.collinsed.com/5types.html here.

Checklist: Slang, Contractions, use of 2nd Person Point of View (you), colloquialisms or vernacular, emoticons, text shortcuts, code switching, (include any additional expressions you see fit.)
Mindy Applegate
