Writing Process w/o HW for At-Risk kids

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Writing Process w/o HW for At-Risk kids

by Ali

Apr 30, 2009

I'm working on revising the curriculum for 9th grade at a school in a large urban district. Our test scores show us to be low-performing. Demographically, we are poor and transient.

Most English students have either tested out of ELD or are the children of parents who don't speak English; few are native English speakers.

On top of that, this year I began teaching in a special program for students who would have been retained in 8th grade, but the District has decided to socially promote them to high school to cut costs and improve test scores at the junior high level.

Assigning homework is usually an exercise in failure. Because of this, my lessons never rely on homework having been done. I reserve HW for enrichment and deepening student knowledge.

I know that students, in theory, should find a process piece highly relevant since they select the topic and be driven to complete it when it's assigned in conjunction with mini-lessons that teach them h...See MoreI'm working on revising the curriculum for 9th grade at a school in a large urban district. Our test scores show us to be low-performing. Demographically, we are poor and transient.

Most English students have either tested out of ELD or are the children of parents who don't speak English; few are native English speakers.

On top of that, this year I began teaching in a special program for students who would have been retained in 8th grade, but the District has decided to socially promote them to high school to cut costs and improve test scores at the junior high level.

Assigning homework is usually an exercise in failure. Because of this, my lessons never rely on homework having been done. I reserve HW for enrichment and deepening student knowledge.

I know that students, in theory, should find a process piece highly relevant since they select the topic and be driven to complete it when it's assigned in conjunction with mini-lessons that teach them how to write. Unfortunately, in the past, process pieces -- if completed -- have not been strong evidence of the topic's relevance to the student who chose it or the skills presented and demonstrated in mini-lessons.

As you can imagine, I am trying to instill a sense of success in students who have rarely experienced any academically so that when they move out of this program in the 10th grade (assuming they're successful) they will want to work for that same success. For this reason, I hesitate to assign anything major without allowing significant in-class time to work on it.

This can seriously limit the amount of other information I am able to present to them, as virtually everything we do must be done during the class period. (We have a block schedule wherein I see the kids 3X a week; 40 minutes on Monday, 89 minutes 2x week.)

Currently, we are expected to complete 4 major process pieces per year - autobiographical, analytical, informative, and persuasive.

What would you prescribe in this situation?

I thank you in advance, esteemed colleagues, for any recommendations you have.

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Adam I thank you in advance, esteemed colleagues, for any > recommendations you have.

Take a look at paragraphpunch.com and essaypunch.com. These are interactive writing programs that guide students step-by- step through the process of writing online.

Jun 16, 2009

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