MommyThrice Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Okay, this teen boy is spending way too much time, with way too little to show for it. I would like to try some timed writing assignments to get him moving a little faster. How do you do this? What would be a good time and length expectation for end of 9th grade? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
athomeinMT Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I don't know how this is going to work out but I wanted to speed mine up a bit too. I went to the College Board SAT website and got practice prompts from previous SAT's. I give them one sheet of notebook paper and 25 minutes to write a response. It's been really interesting, I have one ds who will write as little as possible, actually takes pride in making his answer as concise as possible. Will spend an amazing amount of time looking up more precise words to use as few as possible to convey his message. Another that I work with could use six pages to say hello. Both seem to be making progress towards meeting me in the middle, in a reasonable amount of time. I haven't begun to carry this idea over to their regular writing assignments. I think I just want them to see that it is possible for them to change before I push it too far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenn in CA Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 This is a great idea. I think a 5-paragraph essay in 30 minutes is a good ballpark to start with. Not to say that in 9th grade, all 5-p essays should only take 30 min. But that is a good way to practice just "spitting it out." There is a time for more polished, edited writing too. You can start w/easy prompts, if he really struggles, such as "my favorite sport." And if he doesn't complete it in 30 min... and just isn't even trying... then say "OK, I'll have you do another, starting now, due in 30 min... and so on and so on." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyThrice Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 And if he doesn't complete it in 30 min... and just isn't even trying... then say "OK, I'll have you do another, starting now, due in 30 min... and so on and so on." You OBVIOUSLY have teen boys! I'm going to give this a try tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I attribute the idea of practicing timed essays to 8FillsTheHeart, from a post of hers years back. Thanks 8! :) Two DSs here, and below is how we started doing once a week timed essays here, beginning in grades 8/9, and then worked our way up. And when I say we, I do mean "we" -- all 3 of us sit down, select a past SAT prompt from the Online Math Learning website (scroll down about 3/4ths of the way down), and we all write an essay following the guidelines below. Then we read them aloud to one another and gently critique them (according to the guidelines). This practice more than anything has helped my struggling writer! BTW -- I once heard James Stoughbach speak on the SAT essays -- he grades these as a side job. He said he gets only 30 SECONDS per essay to give it a grade, so while they say spelling and legibility don't count -- obviously they DO. He also said write as MUCH as you can, have as many specific examples as you can, and since most of the essay graders are English teachers, try to use LITERATURE examples as often as you can. He also said that if you make a mistake, cross it out -- DON'T erase, as they are given photocopies of the essays, and erasing smears, while crossing out and just continuing writing is legible. BEST of luck in your timed essay adventures! Warmest regards, Lori D. Level A (about 6 weeks) - 10 minutes - 1 paragraph at least 5 sentences long - with an introductory sentence which introduces the topic - at least 3 "body" sentences which support the topic sentence/contention with at least 1 specific example - and a solid concluding sentence ("clincher") Level B (about 18 weeks) - 15 minutes - a longer paragraph, at least 6-8 sentences long, or 2 paragraphs - with a "hook" in the introductory sentence - a topic sentence/contention (can be in the same sentence with the "hook") - the body sentences all support the topic sentence with at least 1 specific example - and a solid concluding sentence ("clincher") Level C (about 12 weeks) - 20 minutes - 3 paragraphs - intro paragraph can be short -- 1-2 sentences -- still must have a hook and topic sentence/contention - body paragraph sentences must all support the topic sentence/contention, and must have at least 2 specific examples all supporting the contention - and a solid concluding sentence ("clincher") Level D -- next year (about 12 weeks) same as C above, but now must add an additional "extra" in the concluding paragraph, not just a restatement of the opening sentences -- add a thought, "reason why", "what this leads to" -- this is something out of the student's own thoughts and reasoning Level E (about 12 weeks) - 25 minutes - 3 to 5 paragraphs - intro paragraph can be short -- 1-2 sentences -- still must have a hook and topic sentence/contention - body paragraphs must have 3 specific examples which all support the topic sentence/contention, AND must include a sentence for each example which explains WHY the example proves or supports the topic sentence/contention - concluding paragraph which sums up the essay, plus adds a little "extra" from the students own thoughts Level F (about 12 weeks) like E above, but must also finish 2-4 minutes before the time is up in order to quickly proof the essay for typos, capitalization, punctuation, run-on sentences, forgotten word, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenn in CA Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 This is great, like a ladder to go up in writing ability! I think I could start this w/my soon to be 7th grader. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenn in CA Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Hahahahahaha! That made me laugh. I don't know what I'm going to do with my ultra-achieving, organized, motivated girl when she gets to high school. I'm too used to dealing with slackers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyThrice Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 Lori D. - Thanks for the great suggestions!!! I'm printing your post. What do you mean by a "hook"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Running the race Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I attribute the idea of practicing timed essays to 8FillsTheHeart, from a post of hers years back. Thanks 8! :) Two DSs here, and below is how we started doing once a week timed essays here, beginning in grades 8/9, and then worked our way up. And when I say we, I do mean "we" -- all 3 of us sit down, select a past SAT prompt from the Online Math Learning website (scroll down about 3/4ths of the way down), and we all write an essay following the guidelines below. Then we read them aloud to one another and gently critique them (according to the guidelines). This practice more than anything has helped my struggling writer! BTW -- I once heard James Stoughbach speak on the SAT essays -- he grades these as a side job. He said he gets only 30 SECONDS per essay to give it a grade, so while they say spelling and legibility don't count -- obviously they DO. He also said write as MUCH as you can, have as many specific examples as you can, and since most of the essay graders are English teachers, try to use LITERATURE examples as often as you can. He also said that if you make a mistake, cross it out -- DON'T erase, as they are given photocopies of the essays, and erasing smears, while crossing out and just continuing writing is legible. BEST of luck in your timed essay adventures! Warmest regards, Lori D. Level A (about 6 weeks) - 10 minutes - 1 paragraph at least 5 sentences long - with an introductory sentence which introduces the topic - at least 3 "body" sentences which support the topic sentence/contention with at least 1 specific example - and a solid concluding sentence ("clincher") Level B (about 18 weeks) - 15 minutes - a longer paragraph, at least 6-8 sentences long, or 2 paragraphs - with a "hook" in the introductory sentence - a topic sentence/contention (can be in the same sentence with the "hook") - the body sentences all support the topic sentence with at least 1 specific example - and a solid concluding sentence ("clincher") Level C (about 12 weeks) - 20 minutes - 3 paragraphs - intro paragraph can be short -- 1-2 sentences -- still must have a hook and topic sentence/contention - body paragraph sentences must all support the topic sentence/contention, and must have at least 2 specific examples all supporting the contention - and a solid concluding sentence ("clincher") Level D -- next year (about 12 weeks) same as C above, but now must add an additional "extra" in the concluding paragraph, not just a restatement of the opening sentences -- add a thought, "reason why", "what this leads to" -- this is something out of the student's own thoughts and reasoning Level E (about 12 weeks) - 25 minutes - 3 to 5 paragraphs - intro paragraph can be short -- 1-2 sentences -- still must have a hook and topic sentence/contention - body paragraphs must have 3 specific examples which all support the topic sentence/contention, AND must include a sentence for each example which explains WHY the example proves or supports the topic sentence/contention - concluding paragraph which sums up the essay, plus adds a little "extra" from the students own thoughts Level F (about 12 weeks) like E above, but must also finish 2-4 minutes before the time is up in order to quickly proof the essay for typos, capitalization, punctuation, run-on sentences, forgotten word, etc. This is extremely helpful. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Lori D. - Thanks for the great suggestions!!! I'm printing your post. What do you mean by a "hook"? So sorry! I didn't define that. :) By "hook" I mean something that "hooks" or grabs the reader's attention so they will want to read more -- things like: - a question ("How would are world be different if ... ?") - a famous quotation - a fascinating fact or interesting statistic - ask your audience to imagine something These are not as workable as hooks for SAT essays, but can be used as hooks in other types of writing or public speaking: - a very short anecdote - a joke - announce your objectives Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommyThrice Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 So sorry! I didn't define that. :) By "hook" I mean something that "hooks" or grabs the reader's attention so they will want to read more -- things like: - a question ("How would are world be different if ... ?") - a famous quotation - a fascinating fact or interesting statistic - ask your audience to imagine something These are not as workable as hooks for SAT essays, but can be used as hooks in other types of writing or public speaking: - a very short anecdote - a joke - announce your objectives Thanks, again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 You're welcome! :) Hope it helps. And really, thanks again to 8FillsTheHeart for the original idea! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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