Writing in the LOTE Classroom

Writing in the LOTE Classroom The LOTE Department agrees to focus on the writing process over time and understands the following: “Accuracy is a destination, not a starting point” John DeMado The writing process is a complex process, especially in a language other than English.

Good writers evolve over time.

Common rubrics must be agreed upon and used district-wide at the same level of proficiency.

Students need assistance in order to transfer their writing skills from their first language (L1) to the second language (L2).

Modeling is essential and the first writing task (practice) should be written by the entire class in order to provide students with what is expected at their level. In addition, writing samples from the previous years may be shared so that the class may grade the work with the rubric as a guide.

Students are aware of which rubric will be used for the writing task since it will provide them with feedback about their writing and areas in need of improvement.

Some form of editing/revision needs to take place to allow students the time to reflect and improve their writing.

A minimum number of writing tasks per Quarter and per level will be discussed and agreed upon at future department meetings.

In order to improve writing at each level of language proficiency, we agree that the following stages are critical to assist students in becoming better writers: The task that is developed must be clear and appropriate to the level of proficiency, but differentiated when necessary for those students who are struggling or for those with a strong command of the language.

Students are aware of which rubric will be used and must have it out when the writing process begins in order to refer to it during the process.

Teachers will assist students during the brainstorming phase. A Venn diagram and/or other graphic organizers will be used to help students organize their thoughts.

Students will write their first draft in class. Teachers will ask students to revise/edit their first draft. There are numerous ways to implement the revision/editing process and teachers will explore and implement best practices in this area to assist students in becoming better writers.

Students can not be expected to correct every error, so therefore, it is best to focus their attention on what they can correct given their level of proficiency. During the editing/revision process, students will be provided with specific areas to look for in their classmate’s work: Subject – verb? Noun – adjective agreement? Word order?

Besides syntax, student-editors may comment on whether a classmate has achieved the task and at what level, organized their thoughts with an introduction and a conclusion, used task related vocabulary and has the required word count in order to successfully complete the task; a further revision may be necessary based upon any feedback a student receives from a classmate and/or teacher.

Students will either rewrite their final draft or they will type it with accents marks.

Accent marks are not to be added afterwards by pen/pencil if typed.

Collect and grade the writing and provide students with a breakdown of their grade in all the categories listed in the rubric. Return in a time that is beneficial to most students.