Co-op writing class

[momtolgd]

I will probably be teaching a high school writing class at our co-op next year. Leadership would like essay writing and a research paper to be covered over the 20 week class (meets 1 hour each week).

 

Do you have any suggestions for curriculum or other resources to use for this? Thoughts on how to structure the class? Any ideas to get me started would be helpful!

 

Thank you.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Windows to the World does a pretty good job of covering literary analysis and essay writing.  It uses short stories to teach the concepts.  Writing practice starts with paragraphs and moves on to essays.

 

WttW was written by Leisha Myers.  There is a syllabus by Jill Pike that I used when I taught this in coop.  The Jill Pike syllabus has a full year schedule that starts with another curriculum, then goes into WttW.  When I used it, I just started with the WttW lessons.  

 

The Pike syllabus uses IEW terminology in the grading rubrics.  Because not all of the students had done IEW, I edited the rubrics slightly.  For example, I graded on vivid word choice rather than using the phrase "dress ups".  

 

The Pike syllabus also adds in three longer works (To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre, and Hamlet).  I have mixed feelings about Jane Eyre.  If I taught the class again I might substitute O Pioneers or a Jane Austen work.  You could also drop the longer works and use the time for a more structured research paper section.  

 

One suggestion on the research paper is to give them some boundaries for the topic.  For example, rather than write anything about the Roman Empire, tell them that they have to write a paper that relates to Julius Caesar.  Rather than leave it completely open, tell them they have to write about one of the amendments to the Constitution, or a Supreme Court case, or something that people consider when voting.  You might even start them with one of the documents based questions from an AP history exam.  I used to do this with my kids.  Instead of using the DBQ as a timed writing test, I would give them a week to research the topic.  They had to research the documents and use a majority of them in the paper, but they could also use other information they found in their research.

 

But in general, give them a jumping off point for their research, rather than telling them to write a paper about anything.  I would also collect and grade multiple stages of the research paper (thesis, outline, rough draft, final).  You might have them to peer reviews, but that can also cause some issues, so you might want to collect peer reviews yourself and then send them to the original author.  I had one time when a student really savaged the paper he was reviewing.  The original paper wasn't well written, but the peer review was very excessive in calling out the problems as well as in tone.  The peer reviewer deserved and received a stern rebuke for the way they handled the review.

[Lori D.]

From my own experience from the past 4-5 years of teaching Lit. & Comp. co-op classes (with the writing focusing on essays, and most years also teaching the research paper with citations):

 

 

Do you feel comfortable with writing, teaching writing, and grading/commenting on writing? If not -- if you are being assigned a class to teach by the co-op leadership -- now is the time to decide if this is a good idea for you to lead this class or bow out, as teaching writing in a co-op setting *can* be a bit of a "snake pit" area.

 

Things you may need to be prepared for:

 

YOUR Time

I write my own materials, in-class activities, and take-home assignments, which is very time-consuming. However, even if I were using a pre-made program, I would estimate you'll need to spend 2-3 hours in advance of EACH class just in prep work and figuring out how you want to present material, run in-class exercises, make adaptations as needed, etc.

 

And THEN... plan on HOURS per week in grading/commenting on student assignments. I find grading papers to be *hugely* time-consuming. Every new year, it takes me the first 2-3 short assignments to get back "into the routine" of grading and commenting, and to "get to know' each student and their writing abilities. So, at the start of the school year, 1-page short essays (about 150 words) take me about 20 minutes per paper to grade / comment; once I get into the routine, it takes me about 10 minutes per paper. (Note: papers written by a student who is scattered, struggles with writing or who is remedial, are by FAR the hardest and most time-consuming to comment on -- double/triple the amount of time -- because of trying to figure out how to comment. You just can't comment on everything. So you have figure out what are the most important 3 things to focus on to help the student clear one hurdle for that paper.)

 

If you don't have that kind of time, I strongly suggest you set up the class so that you are just teaching the material, assigning the exercises, and handing out the grading rubrics to the parents, and let the parents do the grading and commenting. Or, if you don't mind grading, offer an optional grading service-for-a-fee.

 

Student Abilities

Students will be all over the place in ability -- a few may even be at an elementary/remedial level. You may want to think through in advance how you are going to handle the diversity of abilities. Every time I do high school Lit. & Comp., with 10-12 students, I always have about 2 who are at  a 12th grade level or even college level; 2-3 who are either struggling or remedial, and the the rest in a range from: a bit below average, through average, to a bit above average.

 

In-Class Writing

Because you may have students with LDs, you may not be able to do any in-class writing -- all writing may have to be done at home. What you may have to do is oral work, or working an assignment or exercise aloud as a group, with you writing student con

 

Workshopping

- Judge carefully whether workshopping student work in class will be a help, or if it will be shaming to students with LDs or at remedial level.

- Workshopping is usually "the blind commenting on the blind" at this stage, so if you do workshopping, have a very specific checklist to help walk students through "what are we looking for here."

- I only have us workshop outlines (because they are bullet points/sentence fragments, not full writing), AND I really hammer home before we start that we are workshopping to HELP SUPPORT one another: "How can we encourage  so-and-so through this process? What do we see that is working well here? What is missing? What other insights do you have that will help so-and-so have an easier time of turning this outline into a rough draft?"

 

Grading

Grading writing is not like grading a math quiz -- writing is personal and subjective, and so grading/commenting on writing is subjective and will be taken personally by the students. Parents may be all over the place in their ability to accept your comments and grading of their student's writing -- some may desperately want you to do it, some may argue and disagree with what you do.

 

You may find it works better to just check off whether or not students completed assignments, and have checklists for assignments of whether or not students included all the components for the assignment -- and then let parents grade and comment on their own student's writing. That would certainly be *far* less time-consuming for YOU! ;)

 

Scheduling

With one hour a week for class time, I would probably use that to introduce 1-2 topics, and then practice with in-class oral activities. Especially useful would be a weekly, oral, 10 minute practice of "building an argument" -- as a class, from choice of prompts, come up with:

1.) a thesis statement (esp. the "claim" part of the thesis -- the "position" or "stand" about the overall topic)

2.) 3 points to build an argument for the thesis claim

3.) commentary (explaining HOW or WHY those points support the thesis claim)

 

20 weeks for your total "school year", at 1 hour/week, is a VERY abbreviated time to cover both essay writing AND the research paper. I would recommend focusing on essay-writing in one semester, and then research writing in the other. Maximize your time with as much practice as possible -- so, for each 10-week semester: 4-5 short (like 150-300 words / 2-3 paragraphs) weekly assignments that all work on aspects that will be useful in longer writing assignments, and then 5 weeks spent on one longer piece of writing (say, 800-1200 words, 4-5 pages).

 

Miscellaneous

- Try and cap your class at 10 students. More than that, the quiet ones shut down and don't contribute in group activities or discussion. And if you are going to have to read/grade/comment on papers, you do NOT want more than 10 assignments or papers a week to deal with!

- Make sure families understand that they will need to schedule at least 2 hours a week at home for their students to do the writing that will be required for class.

 

 

Possible Resources

 

Essays

Elegant Essay, Leisha Myers -- see samples: student book, teacher guide

Lively Art of Writing + download the free companion student workbook and teacher guide

 

Research Papers

Writing Research Papers: The Essential Tools, Leisha Myers -- see samples: student book, teacher guide

Edited April 5, 2017 by Lori D.

[mom31257]

Ds just took a class at co-op using Analytical Grammar's Beyond the Book Report Season 3. It's been a good year for him. The program covers literary analysis essays, personal essay (such as for college applications), SAT essay, oral presentations, and two kinds of research papers. The first is a biography and the second an argumentative research essay. Most are focused around literary selections, some books of choice, some stories provided in the curriculum.  None of the students had used Season 1 or 2. 

 

ETA: All the assignments have rubrics, which will make grading much easier if that's part of your job as teacher. 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 5, 2017 by mom31257

[Julie of KY]

Love the advice of Lori D. Here are some of my thoughts:

 

From my perspective (as a parent who outsources writing), I find good feedback invaluable. I agree that you might find some parents who don't like your comments and/or disagree. I'm not sure what to do with that. This year we had a coop writing teacher decide to no longer give feedback. It made my daughter really not care for the class.

 

As a mom with multiple children with learning disabilities - My son could never write in class - still can't and will have accommodations in college. I agree with grading to a standard, but more importantly it is helpful if you meet my child where he is and then move him along in his writing.

 

Handing me a rubric to grade from would not help me at all. It is easy enough for me to find rubrics. It is the good, subjective feedback that I CANNOT do. I can teach calculus; I can correct grammar; I am worthless at asking questions to move my writer along or giving good feedback.

[Lori D.]

Love the advice of Lori D. Here are some of my thoughts:

 

From my perspective (as a parent who outsources writing), I find good feedback invaluable. I agree that you might find some parents who don't like your comments and/or disagree. I'm not sure what to do with that. This year we had a coop writing teacher decide to no longer give feedback. It made my daughter really not care for the class.

 

As a mom with multiple children with learning disabilities - My son could never write in class - still can't and will have accommodations in college. I agree with grading to a standard, but more importantly it is helpful if you meet my child where he is and then move him along in his writing.

 

Handing me a rubric to grade from would not help me at all. It is easy enough for me to find rubrics. It is the good, subjective feedback that I CANNOT do. I can teach calculus; I can correct grammar; I am worthless at asking questions to move my writer along or giving good feedback.

 

Love this, Julie, and I totally agree!

 

That's why I spend hours and hours and hours every week commenting and mentoring, because I really DO think that's the only thing that helps the struggling writers, is to take them where they are, and work to help them take the next step. And getting feedback is really vital to the good writers, too. I can see how they stretch themselves and work hard, because they know "Mrs. D." is going to spend a lot of time reading and encouraging them with her notes all over their papers. :)

 

But good gracious, I can't even begin to tell you how much it takes out of me time-wise and mentally to do it. I do it because I love my students dearly. And because I know some families with students with LDs and writing issues really don't know what else to do. If I broke down the amount I am getting paid by the hours I spend, I make between $0.50 to $2.00 an hour, depending on the semester...

 

I just can't imagine someone being assigned to teach writing at a co-op. Or even how anyone manages to teach writing for a co-op when trying to homeschool their own children, too!  :svengo:

[mom31257]

I think a lot of it depends on the co-op and what it is providing. Our co-op is mutual support not outsourcing. Our co-op only meets every other week and is meant to offer advice and accountability. Our teachers are willing to grade a rubric and make some suggestions and comments; however, parents decide if they want that. We don't pay each other, though. We only give a donation to the church and cover supply costs for teachers. 

 

If parents are paying tuition to a co-op and a teacher is being paid, I would imagine that grading and feedback should be an expected part of the class. 

[freesia]

Have you looked at Sharon Watson's Power in Your Hands? I'm using it next year in my mini co-op. I am not covering all the chapters. It looks easy to use and structure and cover all types of essays and research papers. You could focus on the Persuasive essay part first and then do the research.