Guest Post by Kelly Gallagher, @KellyGToGo

Let’s begin by considering a passage taken from Writing Next, a recent comprehensive study on the state of writing in our nation’s schools:

Writing well is not just an option for young people—it is a necessity. Along with reading comprehension, writing skill is a predictor of academic success and a basic requirement for participation in civic life and in the global economy.

Contrast that statement with the following (taken from the same study):

Every year in the United States large numbers of adolescents graduate from high school unable to write at least at the basic levels required by colleges or employees.

Writing is foundational to leading literate lives, but my sense is that in this age of testing, writing has been placed on the back burner. Students are simply not writing enough. On those occasions where students are asked to write, prompts are often assigned rather than taught, and these assigned topics often favor “fake school writing.”

With the above issues in mind, I hope you will join me on Monday, January 9, from 7:00-8:00 p.m. (EST) as I host an #engchat to discuss how to elevate student writing. Some questions for consideration:

• In this age of excessive testing and overwhelming standards, how do you ensure your students get enough writing practice?
• How do you get your students excited/motivated about writing? What writing activities excite your students?
• What specific strategies have you found to be effective in elevating your students’ writing?
• What particular modeling strategies/techniques have you found that work well in your classroom?
• How do you move away from traditional school writing and give your students the kind of writing practice they may utilize long after graduation?

 
Should be interesting. You are cordially invited to stop in and participate in our chat. “See” you Monday.
 
Sincerely,
 
Kelly