The Write Move

These pages remain for archival purposes and are not active for SFHS as of September 2007.

One of our goals in English 11 is strengthening student writing. We will do that with an approach that incorporates the following:

Weekly writing (using quotations as a catalyst for your ideas)
Work on developing ideas fully.
Weekly mini-lessons in conventions and style (based, in part, on William Safire's Fumble Rules); these are to be kept in students' binders for reference
Weekly oral reading (not all students will read each week); hearing your own words helps you understand your style and structure and other students benefit from hearing how you phrased an idea or developed your response
Occasional peer review. It's good to get constructive feedback from peers.
Handing in one polished draft for teacher assessment (one each month--four per semester; 30 points each)
Saving all writing in a binder to see progress

Our weekly schedule looks like this:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Write quotation response (10 minutes) in your notebook.	Write quotation response (10 minutes) in your notebook.	Mini-lesson (see list below).	Peer review (10 minutes), day before polished draft is due. Have your typed draft ready for review. You will earn no points for an untyped page from your notebook.	Read a quotation response (five students per week); see rubric below.

Bring your binder with you EVERY DAY!!

Developing ideas & Constructing your response:

A thought provoking quotation is only the beginning. As you consider the quotation, you need to think about
- what it means. Define unfamiliar words and ask for help in understanding abstract ideas)
- how it is true or in what ways is it true. Give examples.
Then, to really develop a paragraph fully, you need to think about how your own experience relates to the ideas.
These paragraphs will almost always be written in first person. However, do not use phrases like "I think," "in my opinion," or others like them. This is your work. It is obvious that the ideas are your own.
Do not use another familiar quotation to support your thoughts about this one. That just makes your work too confusing.
Do not begin your response in any of the following ways: (more will be added later)
- This quote is about. . . (or any variation of that).
- _______________________________
When you refer to the person who said this quotation, use his or her first and last name to begin with, and after that, use only his or her last name. This is a standard way to write. You would never refer to Albert Einstein as Albert. You just don't know him that well.
A good way to begin is to put the idea presented in your own words. Some ideas for beginnings follow: (more will be added later)
- When Abraham Lincoln says "quotation goes here," he means that . . . .
- _______________________________
Sample quotation response

Polished draft:

Turn in a fully developed paragraph at the end of each month; due dates will be on the calendar. Your polished draft may be longer than one paragraph but should not be longer than one page.
A polished draft of only 75-100 words is not well developed. It is expected that your paragraph be about 200 words long.
Polished drafts must be typed according to Falcon Skills and Style Handbook, this means, at the least, double spaced.
It is expected that students apply the conventions and style lessons (from each week's mini-lesson) in their writing. So for example, after we study subject/verb agreement errors, there should be no errors of that kind in the polished draft.
Check the rubric to see how you'll be graded.

You will focus on the mini-lesson topic of the week, but can comment on anything that needs commenting on.
- general organization
- "does this make sense?"
- what if.....
- mini-lesson focus
An expedient strategy is to exchange papers, read your partner's work, write your comments on the page itself, and then explain your comments when you're both done.
Make your own comments on your draft to remind you of revisions you should make.
You will have ten minutes total time.
Your polished draft will be due the next day.

Resources:

Points Breakdown:

Rubric for polished drafts:

	10: spectacular	9-8: good; can improve somewhat	7: average attempt; needs more attention to detail/precision	6-5: below expectations; too limited; too many errors
Fully developed paragraph, using personal knowledge or experience. (x 2)
Conventions and style (FSSH). (x 1)
Total ______/ 30

Rubric for oral reading:

	10: spectacular	9-8: good; can improve somewhat	7: average attempt; needs more attention to detail/precision	6-5: below expectations; too limited; too many errors
Detailed, with personal experience. Confident, good pace, good volume. (x 1)
Total ______/ 20