RE 5730
Workshop Planning Sheet
Rachel Monroe
Focus: My plan will focus on the writing shift in the 21st century classroom. We will discuss the changes from the 20th to 21st century in terms of writing and students, as well as discuss topics and resources to use when instructing 21st century writers. The workshop will focus on the need for incorporating technology resources into writing instruction due to the change in writing styles and audiences in the 21st century. We will also discuss how this change in writing needs to be added to all content areas, not just into reading and writing instruction. These changes will lead to 21st century globally competitive students.
Main Topic: The main topic of my workshop will be how to incorporate 21st century writing practices into the classroom. There is a current shift from imaginative and personal narrative writing as the main focus in k-6, to incorporate more content area writing in the areas of math, science, social studies, and reading/language arts. The workshop will discuss how to create and use writing topics for authentic purposes in all content areas. The workshop will also focus on how to incorporate technology resources into the writing process to create 21st century writers who are aware of their ever-changing audiences. Teachers will be given resources and ideas on what technology will engage writers of today’s classrooms.
Instructional Activities: I will use the following activities as part of my workshop:
· Discussion of differences in 20th century to 21st century writing--teachers will discuss the changes in today’s students from those in years past and how this affects their writing techniques, ideas, and audiences.
· Use of Bing.com pictures to create imaginative or personal narrative writing and current event updates—I will show teachers how bing.com front page pictures can be used as great topics for writing imaginative or personal narrative writing while incorporating current event topics by clicking on links on picture.
· Idea list/use of blogs, wikis, youtube, email technology for writing instruction and practice-Teachers will be provided with a list of possible uses k-6 for blogs, wikis, and email writing for classroom use. I will show model examples of how other teachers have used the technology for writing mini-lessons or writing topics for different audiences and formats.
· Discussion of use of social networking ideas and cell phone texting-Teachers will discuss the large use of social networking, cell phone texting, and emailing as part of the writing process for 21st century students. We will discuss how this affects writing and how it can be use positively to help students improve writing skills and express their thoughts/feelings.
· Idea list/use of content area writing topics in different modalities-Teachers will discuss current and upcoming state standards for writing in content areas across all grade levels k-6. We will discuss what this means for grade level writing instruction and how this can be covered by creating authentic writing experiences for children in math, reading, science, and social studies.
· Creation of blog/wiki for grade level material topics and networking between classes-The last activity will allow grade levels to group together and create blogs/wiki’s/email for classroom use that incorporates their grade level material. They will be able to discuss how it will be used throughout the year and what topics will be included in the blog/wiki for writing purposes. They will also discuss how it could be used for content area writings and networking between classes so students see different audiences. Grade levels will share their blog/wiki creations and discuss its uses at next staff meeting.
· Model Additions to Delicious Account-http://delicious.com/. Teachers will add websites, resources, writing ideas to school delicious account for all teachers to use as a classroom writing resource list.
Theoretical Perspective: After researching perspectives on 21st century writing, I found two articles from NCTE that confirmed what I hoped my instruction would provide: students are writing more than ever, but for different purposes, not just for research papers or book reports. Students are sharing ideas, thoughts, and questions openly in emails, blogs, chat rooms, and social networking sites daily. There are not “prompts” to follow or topics given, yet students are able to use writing instruction in different ways. Teachers must shift their instruction to incorporate these interests and ideas into daily writing instruction. Students will then become better prepared for writing in the 21st century and globally competitive world.
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Press/Yancey_final.pdf
http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Press/WritingbetweentheLinesFinal.pdf
Objectives: At the end of my workshop:
· Teachers will incorporate technological resources into daily writing activities or instruction.
· Teachers will be able to create topics for authentic content area writing experiences.
· Teachers will be able to incorporate different audiences and formats into writing topics and examples.
· Teachers will understand the shift and change from 20th century writing techniques to 21st century technology-content area centered writing and apply this knowledge to create writing lessons for these types of students.
· Teachers will use North Carolina’s 21st century writing approach and apply it in all grade levels.
· Teachers will implement the use of social networking, Youtube, emails, blogs, wikis, or other technology materials into writing practices.
Workshop Outline:
1. Shift from 20th century to 21st century skills-
§ Discussion of generational changes in teaching today’s children.
§ Create list of possible writing instruction traits needed in 21st century (one per grade level).
§ Share list ideas with entire group, circle consistent traits for master list to be added into inspiration map.
§ Discuss influence of technology on today’s children and how it influences their writing practices.
2. Introduce technology resource list for writing ideas-
§ Model and Discuss uses of several resources listed:
· Bing.com front page pictures as imaginative/personal narrative writing topics that relate to current events.
· http://www.brainpopjr.com/bulletin_board as a resource for students to share writing and use typing skills.
· http://writingfix.com/WAC/numberfix.htm-writing across content areas.
3. Technology Use-
§ Show teacher examples of blog/wiki/email/youtube/social networking sites in the classroom for writing instruction/practice.
§ Discuss possible uses of these technology resources in lower grades.
§ Discuss how students use these sources to communicate daily to share ideas, feelings, and thoughts.
§ Discuss how this use can affect writing instruction/practice and how students can effectively use the technology to improve writing.
4. Content Area Writing
§ Discussion of need in writing across all content areas as authentic tasks for comprehension and application.
§ Discussion of state implementation of writing content tasks in k-6, how it can be incorporated effectively.
§ Share/model resource list and examples of writing prompts across content areas for each grade level.
§ Teachers group according to grade level and create two developmentally appropriate writing prompts in math and social studies.
§ Share created prompts.
5. Small group activity with creation of blog/wiki
§ Teachers create a blog/wiki on county website focused on their grade level material
§ Teachers present how they will use the blog/wiki in writing instruction or to integrate content areas during next staff meeting.
6. Model Delicious Account- Model use of account, why it will help all teachers k-6, and how to make additions to the school account for all teachers to see.
§ Teachers will be asked to make at least one addition to the account for teachers to use as a resource for writing activities, websites, ideas, etc.
§ These additions will be shared at the end of each staff meeting.
Small Group Activity Plan:
Creation and use of a Blog/Wiki on grade level material-
Teachers will be grouped according to grade level. They will discuss what students can developmental handle--as far as technology skills. They will also discuss what type of questions can be asked on the blog/wiki and what type of responses will be expected (one word/phrases-Kindergarten to paragraphs (5-6) grade). This will help teachers narrow down requirements for information needed on the blog/wiki. Teachers will then decide how the blog can be used for different content areas for writing instruction or requirements. Teachers will design a blog/wiki around these characteristics that can be used during the year for writing in all content areas and for networking between classes. Teachers will share this example of a blog/wiki at the next staff meeting once students are able to use it.
Follow-up Activities (3-5):
· End of the school year follow-up during staff meeting- teachers will share ideas incorporated into classrooms, what works/what doesn’t, questions, what still needs to be addressed.
· Teachers email one idea they will incorporate into their 21st century writing classroom. I will then provide ideas on how to use it in their specific grade level and give assistance to the lesson or help with need for additional resources. I will also give feedback on plan or implementation (if teachers allow observations). Teachers will share these ideas with others during staff meetings.
· Review new Delicious Account resources during last 10 minutes of staff meetings.
· Send email reminders of Delicious account resources and resources lists when working with 21st century writing periodically throughout the year.
Assessing Effectiveness of the Workshop:
· The effectiveness of this workshop will be determined by a staff survey/rating system of resources, content, and instruction. The survey will include a rating system for all resources: bing.com, brainpop, delicious account, blog, wikis, etc. Staff will rate which resources helped most/least and which were easy/difficult to use. Staff will also rate the instruction given during the workshop-what can be improved, what help the most, etc.
· The effectiveness of the workshop will also be determined by the amount of use and incorporation of ideas among teachers according to the principal, teachers, and myself. This will be an informal assessment of workshop success.