Following up from my last post, another strategy to help eradicate a string of quotes in student writing is to evaluate/ rank evidence.  The idea is that not every piece of evidence needs to be presented within the argument, but rather the piece of evidence that packs the most punch.  So in this small group you are working with students to evaluate the evidence they included in their writing and helping them rank it from strongest to weakest.  This allows students to present the evidence that best matches their point.

As always, this small groups began with a teaching point:

Then I showed a piece of my writing for demonstration:

Next, using the chart that goes along with our unit of study (from The Reading and Writing Project’s 7th grade Argument Unit- The Art of Argument), I worked with students to rank each piece of evidence.  To add a kinesthetic touch, I have students sort text evidence strips– putting the piece of evidence that works best at the top (closest to the reason) and the weakest at the bottom.

 

The beauty of this teaching tool is that there is no right answer.  I let the students come to whatever conclusion they decide on as long they have sound reasoning that they can explain.  Too often kids are hung up on figuring out what “our” right answer is and they don’t have the confidence to productively struggle through the process.  It is important that we give them open-ended opportunities to build those muscles.

Finally, students try this work on their piece.

Give it a try.  Let me know how it goes! 🙂

I hope that you all have a happy and safe holiday.  I’ll be back with more strategies after the New Year!

Let’s keep the conversation going-

Lindsay

Sometimes in student writing you will see a string of quotes, where students move from one quote to the next to the next without a break in between.  These students are usually struggling with how to create variety in their inclusion of text evidence or how to evaluate and choose the most effective piece of text evidence.  So this tool is actually two strategies that would be taught separately.  Students could use either strategy to eradicate a string of quotes.

In this post, I’ll share the first strategy to create variety (you can see the second strategy to rank and evaluate evidence here).

To begin, the teaching point is:

I demonstrated this strategy by modeling the process with my own writing.  First, I shared a piece that portrayed the problem.  My first try has 5 quotes back to back, which all essentially say the same thing– that competitive sports cause injuries.

Next, I referred to the String of Quotes teaching chart (the first image from above) to show some of the ways that students can create variety when including text evidence into their piece.  I modeled how to change each of the quotes using ellipses, paraphrasing, listing/citing sources, etc.  My new paragraph looked like this:

I used small sticky flags to point out the different techniques used to create variety.   I also shared a teaching chart with the students that exemplifies those same techniques.

Finally, students worked on adding variety in their own piece by finding a paragraph that had a string of quotes, choosing a technique to try, and revising their piece while I coached in.

What do you think? Try this out in your room.  Let me know how it goes! 🙂

Next time, I’ll share how you can help students avoid a string of quotes by evaluating and using the most effective piece of evidence.

Like what you see? More tools to come- Follow along!

Let’s keep the conversation going-

Lindsay

 

 

A common struggle for students when incorporating text evidence into their arguments is they choose quotes that are too long.  Then the piece becomes dominated by a voice other than the author’s.  It’s important to strike a balance between one’s own voice and that or the article quoted.  In argument writing, the author should highlight his or her opinions and reasoning.  A good rule of thumb is that the evidence should only be about 5-10% of the piece.

To help students strike this balance, I put together a small group titled, “Allowing Your Writing to Shine”

At the start of the small group, I began by sharing the teaching point:

Then I showed students my first try with the original text evidence/ quote highlighted.  This allowed students to see just how quote heavy my original work was.  Next I modeled how I reread to pull out and focus on only the key portions of the quote.  Right in front of students, I used a sharpie to strike out the extraneous parts of the quote– all the while demonstrating my thinking process.  Finally, I unveiled my newly revised second try, which portrays a much better balance between my voice and the quote.

After my demo, I had students point to a paragraph in their own writing piece where they felt text evidence outweighed their voice; and right in front of me, they began the work that I just modeled. While they did this, I coached into their work. Finally releasing the students when they seemed to get the hang of it.

I shared a teaching chart to help students visualize this strategy:

 

So in my kit, I house all pieces of the lesson in a sheet protector, which I then keep in a binder that I carry with me around the room.  The writing samples always stay the same.  I pull  out “clean” versions each time I need to teach the lesson, and I make the same teaching moves.

Try this out in your room.  Let me know how it goes! 🙂

Like what you see? More tools to come- Follow along!

Let’s keep the conversation going-

Lindsay