Expository Reading and Writing Course Assignment Template

This week we could choose between writing about the edTPA Lesson Guidelines or this Assignment Template from California State Universities and since my last two posts have been fairly critical I figured I would save the edTPA for another time and talk about expository reading and writing.

I thought this article did a fantastic job and breaking down reading and writing into small pieces that could easily be applied to a middle or high school classroom. I especially liked when it talked about pre-reading exercises using graphic organizers because it's a skill that I use in my classroom at the start of every chapter. The students use THIEVES (Title, Heading, Intro, Every first sentence, Vocabulary/Visuals, End of chapter questions and summarize) to pre-read before they have to read the whole chapter and answer questions. It really works because in one handout the students are looking at most of the important parts of a historical text. This could easily be adapted to also include authors purpose and meaning for an ELA class.

I also really liked the link the article made between writing for learning and writing for an audience. When a student writes notes, answers questions or fills in a vocabulary sheet they are writing for learning, but students also need to write for an audience. They need to be able to take what they have learned in writing notes, talking with peers and participating in group discussions and produce their own original product. When first learning to write students need structure and consistency, but when they have mastered the skills of a five paragraph essay they can move on into more complex and detailed work. They can explore themselves and find the style of writing that works best for them. This is why I would like to shy away from the five-paragraph essay as much as I can in the classroom. When I got to college and discovered that the five paragraph essay was not the only model I fell in love with writing again because I could add more detail to the sections of a paper I was passionate about or had the most knowledge and make the weaker sections shorter. I wish I had discovered that voice in me sooner because I probably would be a better writing at 22 then I currently am.

Reading and writing go hand and hand. You have to read in order to learn what to write about and different styles of writing and you have to write in order to leave something new for someone to discover. We each have a unique set of eyes, a unique voice, and a unique mind. No one can write exactly the way I do and about the same stuff because no one is like me. I want my students to understand this and to realize that they have something unique to leave behind, their story!