Young writers find the color-cued structure of the Painted Essay to be a big help in putting a piece of writing together. Here, a primary student works with a model to build his own piece of writing. |
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This third grade student is finding success with writing her report by using the Painted Essay to guide herself. |
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In a social studies unit on children of the global village, students build knowledge and understanding of hunger in the planet - who goes hungry, who does not. They capture the knowledge in notes, so they are available when it comes time to write the research paper.
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These eighth grade students are collaborating on creating “visual notes” to help build their own understanding of their research topic before writing the paper. |
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Working with models before wrting their own pieces helps students get a good idea of what a good piece like this can look like. Here, 7th/8th grade partners work with a model about a Holocaust rescuer before beginning their own research. |
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“1919: Should the United States join the League of Nations?” These 7th/8th grade students prepare for a simulated 1919 debate on that question. After they constructed adequate knowledge from the debate, they will choose a position for a persuasive essay on the topic.
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This eighth grade student is working with her second draft of a Response to Text, using her own notes and notes from a conference partner. |
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I keep coming back to the importance of solid instruction for today’s students. Clearly a student who has been exposed to a teacher who utilizes the [Writing for Understanding] strategies we are learning has an advantage in earning a higher score on his/her portfolio pieces.
— Carol McLenithan, Mater Christie School |
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