Teaching Writing: Writing Project
Writing Project # 1
Autobiographical Essay:
Writing Experience
Assignment:
We are exploring and reflecting on who we are and what kinds of experiences we have had as writers, with the understanding that this kind of autobiographical inquiry can help develop who we are becoming as writers and teachers of writing. Your assignment is to write a 3-5 page (digital, double-spaced) autobiographical essay that focuses on a particular experience you have had as a writer, or more generally, an experience you have had that relates in some way to the art and practice of writing. Explore this experience, thoughtfully present its significance to your reader, and develop your understanding of that significance by making at least one connection to something you have read thus far in our texts or in your further reading. How you make that connection is your decision. Think about these questions: why do you remember this experience? What was significant about it from your point of view today (that is, as a developing writer and teacher of writing)? What can you learn from this experience and apply to your own understanding of writing (perhaps why you love/hate to write) and/or to your developing sense of how you or others become a writer? How does this experience inform your own philosophy of writing and learning?
The genre for this piece is autobiography, personal writing; your audience are fellow writers and educators (imagine this being published in Kiosk or English Journal or College English), interested in learning about insight you can share about your writing experience. This is also the kind of text that will go into your writing (and in some cases, teaching) portfolio. As you compost, you can talk further with me and your writing group about how to focus this essay, what kind of writing experience you want to explore and elucidate.
Objectives:
To develop your understanding of the experiences that have shaped (for better and for worse) your identity as a writer. To begin the process of evaluating those experiences and re-shaping them. To engage in the kind of reflective inquiry and writing that are foundations for effective teaching of writing. To compose an essay that will become part of your portfolio and could be, with additional revision, suitable for submission to a professional journal. I would love to see everyone be interested in submitting a version of his/her piece to Kiosk in the spring. Also, there will be an opportunity to share your writing at a Friday is Writing Day event later in the semester.
Supporting steps:
Composting and class discussion; writing experiments; further reading; group workshop of the essay; class workshop of the essay.
Assessment:
The essay will be assessed using a contract/negotiation method of evaluation in which students will select from a descriptive rubric the level of achievement they feel applies, then conference with the teacher to help determine a final grade. Assessment will also take into account both the final product and the process leading to it.
Rubric for evaluation
Product: what the final essay achieves [100 points]
F [below 60] failing: The essay fails to meet the guidelines of the assignment.
D [60-69]/insufficient: The essay addresses the assignment generally, without providing the kind of focus that is necessary for coherence and development; the essay makes no use of a connection to reading; the essay shows little thought and creativity in exploring the experience; the mechanics of the essay suggest that little to no editing was done. In general, this essay reflects a weak and insufficient achievement, suggesting the need for improvement in multiple areas. Revising the essay before the end of the term is a possibility to discuss in conference.
C [70-79]/sufficient: The essay addresses the assignment sufficiently and provides a necessary focus, though with a need for further development; the essay makes a sufficient connection to reading but not in a way that is effective for the essay; the essay demonstrates sufficient thought and creativity, with a need to do more during the revision process; the mechanics of the essay indicate the need to address some issues during editing. In general, this essay reflects sufficient achievement with the assignment, suggesting room to improve in one or more of the areas mentioned.
B [80-89]/strong: The essay addresses the assignment fully and develops its focus coherently and effectively; the essay makes effective and thoughtful use of connections to reading, demonstrating the writer’s understanding of the reading; the essay demonstrates the kind of thought and creativity that is necessary for an effective and compelling piece of autobiographical writing; the mechanics of the essay indicate no significant problems. In general, this essay reflects strong work and achievement; there is room to refine and push a bit further in one of the areas mentioned, something the writer can do if selecting this for further work (final portfolio) and possible publication.
A [90-100]/exceptional: The essay responds to the assignment in an exceptional manner, developing its focus with impressive coherence and thoroughness; the essay’s use of connections to reading are highly effective, perceptive, and thoughtful, demonstrating great insight; the essay’s thoughtfulness and creativity are demonstrated throughout the piece, making it highly engaging and compelling; the essay is clean, well edited. In general, this essay reflects excellence in all aspects; the writer should consider refining/expanding the piece for publication.
Process: the work put into the process of writing the essay [25 points]
Includes: journal composting, writing experiment, further reading, full draft, revision, editing, group work
insufficient: Though the essay was turned in, little effort was demonstrated throughout the process, leading to significant problems with the essay or with deadlines along the way. [0-14 points]
sufficient: All deadlines were met and the effort along the way was fine, with room to improve effort at a key stage of the process: for example, brainstorming or revision. [15-19 points]
strong: Effort was strong throughout the process, resulting in solid work at each stage. Though no major problems are indicated, the writer should reflect on which stage of the process they feel they could further improve (for example, revision or editing) and work towards that during the next project. [20-24 points]
exceptional: The writer’s effort was excellent throughout, consistently doing more than expected and pushing themselves to learn and improve their writing and the essay itself. [25 points]
Writing Project #2
Writing workshop: curriculum plan
Assignment:
Develop a curriculum plan for teaching writing to an individual or a group of writers. The context for the teaching is up to you to select and define: an elementary or secondary classroom; a college-level course in English or writing; a mentoring situation (such as you might have this term in your service learning project); teaching writing to a group of business professionals. The curriculum plan should be for a course that is at least 10 sessions (longer if you wish). The curriculum must include attention to some form of assessment (even if you are not planning this for a school setting).
In general, the format of your curriculum plan should closely follow that of the plans found on Readwritethink.org: Overview, From Theory to Practice, Student Objectives, Instructional Plan, Assessment/Reflections [Example linked here.] Your lesson plan should be digital, can be single or double-spaced. You must have a minimum of 3 critical resources for your Theory to Practice section. Another example you might consider: a curriculum plan I developed for teaching a creative writing summer workshop for middle school students—lasting 10 full days: linked here.
Each of you will give a 5 minute presentation of your plan—the gist of it; not necessarily teaching it—to your professional/writing group. This presentation might include discussion/reflection on experiences teaching aspects of your curriculum in service learning project.
Objectives:
There are two main objectives. The first is for students to put theory into practice: you will take ideas and issues from reading and class discussion regarding methods and principles for teaching writing and develop a practice. The second is for students to bring practice into theory: you will take experiences from your curriculum development and your service learning teaching and bring them back to class and our exploration of writing methods.
Supporting Steps:
Journal composting, class discussion, writing experiments, conference with teacher and with writing group, further reading, draft, revision and editing, service learning experience
My Assessment:
For this project, as a way to model another assessment method for writing, I will use the points/categories rubric below.
Total points: _______ /125 points
1]Research/ideas [25 points]
Focusing on overview and theory, the reading and research informing your plan; looking for clear evidence of principles and the reflection of ideas from our readings, discussions, and your own further reading.
Minimum requirement: three critical/theoretical sources (following the guidelines of the critical link).
[if this were an essay, this section focuses on your thesis, your research, and your introduction: how you set-up your idea and its relevance to a larger conversation in the field of teaching writing]
2]Content/Organization [25 points]
Focusing on the instructional plan and activities: the integration and elaboration of objectives through the instruction, the coherence of the plan.
Minimum requirement: 10 teaching/mentoring sessions with description of activities and experiences you are planning.
[if this were an essay, this section would be your supporting paragraphs—how well you develop and clarify the specifics of your idea, how it plays out]
3]Assessment/Reflection [25 points]
Focusing on the thoughtfulness and appropriateness of the assessment methods your plan develops and integrates.
Minimum requirement: at least one assessment activity or performance and a sense of how curriculum concludes.
[if this were an essay, this is your conclusion: how you will conclude your idea for students (and assess their learning ), how you will conclude and reflect upon your own experiences teaching this plan; something to build in during revision of your plan]
4]Conventions/Mechanics [25 points]
Your curriculum project should be cleanly edited, properly formatted (according to the ReadWriteThink model provided) and highly readable.
Minimum requirement.: follow format with limited editing errors.
[if this were an essay, this refers to the kinds of presentation things you work on during editing]
5]Process [25 points; 5 points each assignment]
Composting and sketch; Further reading; Full draft; Assessment experiment; Presentation to group.
Minimum requirement: all steps completed/posted on due date.
For each category, the following scale applies
23-25: exceptional [strong evidence of purpose, development plus an overall integration of each part to larger whole]
20-22: strong [meets minimum plus clear evidence of purpose and development]
17-19: sufficient [meets minimum requirement]
15-17: weak [doesn’t meet minimum and lacks sense of purpose and weak in development]
10-14: failing [fails to meet minimum and shows little sense of purpose/development]
0-9: incomplete [little or no evidence of attempt to complete any aspect of the category]