Maximizing Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing in a Connected Way
(Spring 2020)
This 8 week, self-paced, online Moodle course is intended for classroom teachers and/or graduate students who are interested in studying writing in school contexts. In particular, the focus is on analytic writing, which has traditionally been overlooked in favor of narrative writing forms. Major course objectives are to help class participants become more confident with teaching analytical writing and writing analytically themselves in the content disciplines they teach.
Course description: This two-credit graduate-level course explores how mentor texts can be used to jump-start analytical writing: writing to inform and explain, writing arguments, and writing to evaluate (Common Core Anchor Standards 1 through 3.) We will study forms of written discourse and identify genre characteristics of expository writing. Students will analyze writing assignments for developing student-writers and then adapt these to more complex, layered writing exercises. Participants will learn about analytical writing from a teacher’s perspective as well as from direct experiences with composing pieces that inform and explain, that take a position and propose a solution, and that evaluate and form judgments based on evidence.
Event Number: 20551025
EDU 455/C&I 555
Instructors: Daisy Carlsmith/Ann Ellsworth
Dates: This is a self-paced course. As such, course participants must be comfortable working independently and self-motivated to complete all work within the flexible time frame. Participants may register for the course now. No new registrations will be accepted after April 15, 2020. Participants must complete the course by June 1, 2020.
Upon receipt of course payment by WMPLC, the instructor will enter the student into the course Moodle and send an introductory email, at which time the participant may begin the class. The instructor will then collect the UM credit paperwork and payment, which will be sent to the University of Montana on June 1, 2020, along with final grades.
Registration fee: $250
Credit: 30 OPI Renewal Units or 2 Semester Credits (semester credits are offered through the University of Montana and are an additional fee of $155. The course instructor will provide a separate registration form). The total cost savings is 40% by going through WMPLC to get university continuing education credits.
This course requires the participant to access a couple of texts through their school or public library or purchase said materials from booksellers such as Amazon. The instructor may be available to assist with locating copies, if
needed.
Learning outcomes:
Participants will be able to
1. Describe the elements of effective written communication.
2. Contrast analytic writing forms from narrative structures.
3. Analyze written pieces (students’ own compositions and those from mentor texts) for words/phrases that reflect genre requirements.
4. Identify mentor texts that match to aspects of effective writing (namely: word choice, organization, and sentence structure)
5. Define RAFT and within that writing framework, identify various formats, purposes, and intended audiences
6. Examine grade-level writing standards and design appropriate age-level analytical writing assignments.
7. Compare journal articles that discuss best instructional practices for advancing student writers.
Required texts:
Write Like This
Author: Kelly Gallagher
Stenhouse Publishers, 2013
Beyond the 5-Paragraph Essay: How to Write Analytical Essays
Authors: Kimberly Campbell and Kristi Latimer
Stenhouse Publishers, 2012
Other online sources, including journal articles from writing scholars
Recommended text:
The Classroom Teacher’s Guide to Struggling Writers
Authors: Curt Dudley-Marling and Patricia Paugh
Heinemann, 2009
About the course facilitator:
Ann Ellsworth has taught in elementary and secondary schools in Wisconsin and Montana, and has led reading and writing professional development workshops across Montana and the Midwest. She is the 2019 National Council of Teachers of English's (NCTE) "Grammar Teacher of the Year." The Association of Teachers of English Grammar (ATEG) is an arm of NCTE. She was awarded the 2016 Montana Reading Teacher of the Year, and was a finalist for two national teaching awards. Presently she works with teacher candidates at Montana State University-Bozeman She has served as editor of the MONTANA STATE READING JOURNAL and is working with a publisher on a book on how to improve student writing.
Register at: https://forms.gle/PGyyin3meTGQVXoc6
(Spring 2020)
This 8 week, self-paced, online Moodle course is intended for classroom teachers and/or graduate students who are interested in studying writing in school contexts. In particular, the focus is on analytic writing, which has traditionally been overlooked in favor of narrative writing forms. Major course objectives are to help class participants become more confident with teaching analytical writing and writing analytically themselves in the content disciplines they teach.
Course description: This two-credit graduate-level course explores how mentor texts can be used to jump-start analytical writing: writing to inform and explain, writing arguments, and writing to evaluate (Common Core Anchor Standards 1 through 3.) We will study forms of written discourse and identify genre characteristics of expository writing. Students will analyze writing assignments for developing student-writers and then adapt these to more complex, layered writing exercises. Participants will learn about analytical writing from a teacher’s perspective as well as from direct experiences with composing pieces that inform and explain, that take a position and propose a solution, and that evaluate and form judgments based on evidence.
Event Number: 20551025
EDU 455/C&I 555
Instructors: Daisy Carlsmith/Ann Ellsworth
Dates: This is a self-paced course. As such, course participants must be comfortable working independently and self-motivated to complete all work within the flexible time frame. Participants may register for the course now. No new registrations will be accepted after April 15, 2020. Participants must complete the course by June 1, 2020.
Upon receipt of course payment by WMPLC, the instructor will enter the student into the course Moodle and send an introductory email, at which time the participant may begin the class. The instructor will then collect the UM credit paperwork and payment, which will be sent to the University of Montana on June 1, 2020, along with final grades.
Registration fee: $250
Credit: 30 OPI Renewal Units or 2 Semester Credits (semester credits are offered through the University of Montana and are an additional fee of $155. The course instructor will provide a separate registration form). The total cost savings is 40% by going through WMPLC to get university continuing education credits.
This course requires the participant to access a couple of texts through their school or public library or purchase said materials from booksellers such as Amazon. The instructor may be available to assist with locating copies, if
needed.
Learning outcomes:
Participants will be able to
1. Describe the elements of effective written communication.
2. Contrast analytic writing forms from narrative structures.
3. Analyze written pieces (students’ own compositions and those from mentor texts) for words/phrases that reflect genre requirements.
4. Identify mentor texts that match to aspects of effective writing (namely: word choice, organization, and sentence structure)
5. Define RAFT and within that writing framework, identify various formats, purposes, and intended audiences
6. Examine grade-level writing standards and design appropriate age-level analytical writing assignments.
7. Compare journal articles that discuss best instructional practices for advancing student writers.
Required texts:
Write Like This
Author: Kelly Gallagher
Stenhouse Publishers, 2013
Beyond the 5-Paragraph Essay: How to Write Analytical Essays
Authors: Kimberly Campbell and Kristi Latimer
Stenhouse Publishers, 2012
Other online sources, including journal articles from writing scholars
Recommended text:
The Classroom Teacher’s Guide to Struggling Writers
Authors: Curt Dudley-Marling and Patricia Paugh
Heinemann, 2009
About the course facilitator:
Ann Ellsworth has taught in elementary and secondary schools in Wisconsin and Montana, and has led reading and writing professional development workshops across Montana and the Midwest. She is the 2019 National Council of Teachers of English's (NCTE) "Grammar Teacher of the Year." The Association of Teachers of English Grammar (ATEG) is an arm of NCTE. She was awarded the 2016 Montana Reading Teacher of the Year, and was a finalist for two national teaching awards. Presently she works with teacher candidates at Montana State University-Bozeman She has served as editor of the MONTANA STATE READING JOURNAL and is working with a publisher on a book on how to improve student writing.
Register at: https://forms.gle/PGyyin3meTGQVXoc6
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