1. S A R A H C R A I N
K - 1 2 L I T E R A C Y C O O R D I N A T O R
S T A F F O R D C O U N T Y P U B L I C S C H O O L S
C R A I N S E @ S T A F F O R D S C H O O L S . N E T
W W W . S L I D E S H A R E . N E T / S A R A H C R A I N
Content Area Writing in the
Secondary Classroom

2. Objectives
Participants will be able to:
 Distinguish between formative and summative uses
for writing in the content area
 Apply “writing to learn” strategies to a content area
 Compare and contrast “on-demand writing” with
other summative writing assignments
 Examine strategies and discuss best practices for
grading writing

3. Getting to know you…
Please take a moment to
consider the following:
 What do you know to be
true about writing?
 What would you like to
learn or what is a
question that you have
about writing in the
content area?

4. Why Write?
1. Writing helps students actively engage in subject
matter.
2. Writing helps students gain access to further
education.
3. Writing leads to fulfilling employment.
4. Writing prepares you for active citizenship (Daniels
et al., 2007, pp. 5 -6).

5. Formative Assessment Summative Assessment
 “Writing to learn”
 Primarily for the
students’ benefit
 Short, first drafts only
 Can be used to inform
instruction but are not
“graded”
 Notes, lists, journals
 “Public writing”
 Primarily for an
outside audience
 Several drafts and
revisions, usually
extended length
 For a grade
 Essays, editorials,
reviews
Different Types of Writing/Assessment

6. Writing to Learn
“In order for learners to understand and remember
ideas, they must act upon them” (Daniels et al., 2007,
p. 25).
“To get learning power, kids need to grapple with
ideas, transform them, and put them in their own
words” (Daniels et al., 2007, p. 26).

7. Writing to Learn
So what about:
 Taking notes during a presentation/lecture?
 Answering the questions at the end of a chapter?
 Copying information from the board?
Consider: Are these good examples of writing to learn?
Why or why not?
Write your thoughts on a piece of paper.

8. Writing to Learn
A Few of My Favorite Things:
 Writing Break
 Exit/Admit Slips
 Drawing or Illustrating
 Double - Entry Journal
 Written Conversations
 Carousel Brainstorm
Take a minute and reflect in writing on how you
might incorporate one of these strategies into a
content lesson.

9. On Demand Writing Other Public Writing
 Writing to demonstrate
knowledge
 Limited audience
 Limited response
 Limited time
 Writing to persuade or
entertain
 Authentic audience
possible
 Invites student to
discuss topic in depth
 Student can draft,
revise, edit, and polish
Public Writing

10. On Demand Writing
(you know, “tests”)
Best practices:
 Focus on “big ideas”
 Build in more time
 Ask questions that require students to reflect rather
than recall
 Use engaging, relevant topics
TEACH THEM HOW TO RESPOND

11. Easy as ABC…
Kelly Gallagher (2006, pp. 40-46)
A. Attack the prompt
B. Brainstorm ideas
C. Choose how to organize your response
D. Detect mistakes

12. Ideas: But When Do I Do This?
 RAFT
 Web page
 Brochure
 Portfolios
 Multi-Genre Project
 I-Search Project
 Social Action Project
 In place of a traditional
multiple choice/short
answer assessment
 Small parts assembled
throughout the course
 Culminating project
post SOL’s
Other Public Writing

13. Why does writing take SO MUCH time to grade?

14. Rubrics – the Key to Grading
When grading an essay:
 as a content expert, what do you think is important?
 as a writer, what do you think is important?
How do you balance these two roles as a content
teacher?
Take a moment to record your responses.

15. Myths About Grading Essays
1. Only full length essays should be graded and given
feedback.
2. My rubric has to be specific to the exact essay I
assign.
3. I have to grade for all elements on the rubric in
each essay.
4. I have to correct all of my students’ grammatical
and mechanical errors.

16. #1: Only full length essays should
be graded and given feedback.
 Practice writing skills
on a smaller scale first
 Literary analysis
paragraph BEFORE
a full paper
 Use these small
assignments to make
detailed comments
 Quality over
quantity
Poetry Paragraph Journal
*An “A” response consists of the
following:
___ Clear topic sentence stating the main point
of the paragraph
___ Several specific and persuasive examples
from the poem to support the main point
___ A comprehensive understanding of the
literary element discussed
___ A comprehensive understanding and
explanation of the thought and feeling
expressed in the poem including subtleties
of meaning
___ Correctly formatted quotations and in-text
citations
___ Little to no grammatical errors; those
present are not distracting
___ Language that is clear, varied, and concise
___ Varied style and effective tone

17. #2: My rubric has to be specific
to the exact essay I assign.
 Design a rubric with
common categories that
will work for multiple
assignments
 Teach mini-lessons on
specific features to help
students improve
Common Categories
 Content
 Format requirements
 Mechanics

18. #3: I have to grade for all elements
on the rubric in each essay.
Teacher Directed
 Assign a specific focus
for a paper
 Grade only for this
element
Student Directed
 Student self- assesses
his/her opportunities for
improvement
 Writes with selected
element as primary focus

19. #4: I have to correct all of my students’
grammatical and mechanical errors.
 Highlight sentences that
you want students to
revise
 Limit the number of
revision sentences
 Ask students to use
resources to figure out
mistakes
Write the sentence
where the problem
occurs here.
Write the corrected
sentence here.
Circle the
problem(s)
here.
Spelling
Run-on
Clarity
Spelling
Run-on
Clarity
Spelling
Run-on
Clarity
Spelling
Run-on
Clarity
Spelling
Run-on
Clarity
Spelling
Run-on
Clarity

20. In Closing…
The American Association for the Advancement of
Science is quoted, saying:
“Learning requires the student’s
engagement in four activities, all
intended to result in thinking: reading,
listening, doing, and writing” (Daniels et
al., 2007, p. 8).
Notice it isn’t literature, math, science, and history…

21. References
Daniels, H., Zemelman, S., Steineke, N. (2007).
Content-area writing: Every teacher’s guide.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann
Gallagher, K. (2006). Teaching adolescent writers.
Portland, ME: Stenhouse