week+of+september+22+and+24

September 22 Read Kent in “Matthew’s Portfolio” in Neglected R, pp. 47-63 Read Newkirk and Kent in Neglected R, pp. 64-72

Guiding questions for when you read: • What is assessment? • What does Kent notice and look for in Matthew’s portfolio? • How does the way a teacher read affect the way s/he assesses and provides feedback?

1. Writing our way in... The human hand has 27 bones: the carpus or wrist account for 8; the metacarpus or palm contains 5; the remaining 14 are digital bones; fingers and thumb. We use our hands every day, to hold a pen, brush, needle, camera, or computer mouse. Our hands enable us to create, reach out, touch, help, heal, stroke, work, caress, pinch, pull, hold a baby, make a fist, fold in prayer, cook a meal, make a living, craft a work of art, interpret for the deaf. We hold hands with those we love and shake hands with those we meet. Sometimes hands are soft and smooth; sometimes they are worn, gnarled, twisted in pain. We experience the world through our hands. We can learn a lot about a person from his hands. Think of a person and write about his or her (or your own) hands.

2. Working in genre challenge groups, taking a look at your responses to the Bawarshi genre categories (study the situation of the genre; identify and describe patterns in the genre's features)

3. Assessing and responding to student writing - **Feedback, Assessment, Evaluation, Grading** - What are the distinctions? How do Kent and Newkirk distinguish them? What do they each look like in Kent's classroom, particularly with Matthew's Portfolio?

For next time: Assessment continued Read Kittle, pp. 208 – 233 Read Moher in “Neglected R,” pp. 26-38

Guiding questions for when you read: • What moves do writing teachers make when they work with student writers? • What kinds of questions do teachers ask students of the pieces they have created? • What is the distinction between assessment and evaluation?

Assessment, really, we're going to talk about assessment this time Goal for the day is to distinguish between assessment, evaluation, and grading; to identify the key ideas in each of the readings; to identify (and/or map) the tensions and questions related to reading students' writing
 * September 24**

1. Writing our way in ... prompt .... You roll through your favorite fast-food drive-thru, order your usual and wait for the cashier to repeat it back to you. Only, he doesn't repeat it. Instead, through the speaker, you hear a very unsettling conversation. (found [|here] - more prompts here too)

2. Magnet summaries for each of our readings ...4 groups and each group works on magnet summary to present to class - Matthew's Portfolio, Kent and Newkirk Q&A, Kittle, Moher Procedures: **
 * Description: **Just as magnets attract metal, magnet words attract information. Magnet words frequently appear in titles, headings, or may be highlighted in bold or italic print. Not all words in bold or italic are necessarily magnet words.**
 * // Each student should take four index cards. Read the entire passage recording each magnet word from the material in the center of a card. //
 * // In your cooperative group, decide on the best magnet words for the passage. //
 * // Recall important details that are connected to the magnet word. Write these details around the magnet word. //
 * // Organize the information on each card into a sentence that sums up the passage of text containing the magnet word. The magnet word should occupy a central place in the sentence. Omit any unimportant details from the sentence. Write the sentence on scratch paper first. Then write the final version on the back of the magnet word card and underline the magnet words. //
 * // Arrange the sentences in order that your group wants the summary to read. Write a Magnet Summary for the passage altering the sentences so that they flow smoothly from one to another //// . (Buehl, 1992) (described here [|at this link]) //

• What moves do writing teachers make when they work with student writers? • What kinds of questions do teachers ask students of the pieces they have created?

3. Reading Sample of Student Writing
 * What sticks?
 * What do you want to know more about?
 * What do you think this writer is working on?

Next Tuesday ... Revision

Read Lane in “Neglected R,” pp. 39-48

Guiding questions for when you read: • What are the choices writers can make when revising? • How might revision look different at different stages of the writing process? • How is revision connected to assessment? • What are students learning when revising?