Lindsey's+Page

__**Motivating Struggling Writers **__



Students who lack motivation in writing find that even beginning a writing piece is a struggle. They procrastinate the work, are apprehensive about putting anything in visible writing for others to see (and have the opportunity to criticize), tension at the knowledge that something either has to be written, or receive a failing grade, and ultimately low self-esteem about themselves as students, as writers, and as individuals. Many times the students who struggle appear to be lazy, distracted, or defiant. However, it is critical to not judge students by one of these all-too-easy stigmas, but rather to find motivation for the students. Find a way beyond the stress, anxiety, and angst over writing, and make it enjoyable, desirable, and ultimately... **possible** .

A learning club is a club which is guided by the students whom are invited to join. The club is organized based upon the needs of the students, but also incorporates student interests, thereby making it something students want to be part of. Both struggling readers and writers can benefit from the supportive environment of a learning club in which all students are actively engaged and are improving their skills.
 * __[[image:http://api.ning.com/files/GEqvCwqXvahxhgfQQj1HYJ0jjdh0HIVO1MUNswi0bLlnqJ*q36IbawRw-TXwJ7nMcCzDJ3WCMPmAtGbbDLwfbEYATCnRZ9*c/Boy_writing_clip_art.jpg width="128" height="128" align="left"]]Learning Clubs __**

Learning clubs are based on reading activities, but promote development through reading and writing. Students are actively engaged in the reading and are required to complete various writing activities throughout causing some of their frustrations to begin to melt away.

Students typically involved in learning clubs are those who have failed repeatedly in the past and therefore are very frustrated with writing. These activities are extremely helpful for middle school aged students, where much of their learning happens through the process of reading and responding. Due to the struggles of the student, as school continues, students find ways to disengage, either through acting out, or passive disengagement, and the achievement gap continues to widen.

  __**One Study of Learning Clubs Ms. Sharon Ailine of Room 212**__ **:** ** Learning Clubs in the Classroom **
 * **__Data__** || **__Class__** ||
 * six 80-minute observations || 7th Grade students ||
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">two semi-structured interviews || <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">19 Students in the class ||
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">Several informal conversations || <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">6 Students identified as struggling
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">eligible for basic skills literacy support
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">based on poor class performance
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">based on 6th grade test scores below 50% ||
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">Multiple documents
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">Lesson plans
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">Photographs || <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">No formal basic skills program within the school ||
 * || <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">Level of support based largely on teacher determination ||
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 11pt;">Students are more motivated when they have choices and can direct their own learning.
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 11pt;">A “menu” of activities is often provided for students to consider
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 11pt;">Each student prepares a visual or a written response to bring to their group
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 11pt;">This activity was developed by the teacher as an additional activity to the original learning clubs
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 11pt;"> It was developed due to the observations that struggling students need extra scaffolding so that they are able to participate in the conversation.

|| ->Connecting students with written text || <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 11pt;">__**How are Learning Clubs Managed?**__ <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">Students are in control of their own work, and therefore take a greater responsibility and pride in their work. Groups are carefully selected so that struggling students are working with stronger students who can take over some of the "lead" roles that a teacher would typically assume. <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 11pt;"> Students are provided with a packet of "menu" items from which to chose an activity before each meeting. This helps to maintain student involvement, but also serves as an assessment tool, because students may choose which activities will best showcase their understanding. To help struggling students, specific focus questions are asked to make them think about what to do, rather than to be told. Students also complete feedback checklists about their work ethic and that of their group. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;"> //**Sample assessment options**// <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;"> //**Possible feedback responses**// <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 15pt;">__**Results**__ <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> Through demonstrating to a classroom full of students that each one of them is important and that each of their ideas are important, all students feel valued and motivated. Students begin to actively pursue their learning in literacy groups. Students move from feeling that they are not readers or writers to wanting to be readers and writers. Each child is set up for success, and therefore builds in confidence and skill. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 12pt;">** __Things to Consider When Implementing a Learning Club__ ** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 130%;">[|Sample Lesson Plan]
 * <span style="color: #800000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">** The Challenge of Learning Clubs ** || <span style="color: #800000; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">** The Solution to the Challenge ** ||
 * Struggling students resist participation
 * Caused by the need to actively participate and construct meaning, rather than passively receive it || Construct a safe learning environment – never tell students they are wrong
 * Struggling students do not typically see themselves as a reader or a writer
 * Causes students to resist activities that involve either of the two || *Begin with open whole-class conversation
 * Introduce literature circles
 * Shift to learning clubs
 * Broaden to learning events
 * __How do you Prevent Students from Feeling Overwhelmed?__** <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Create a final chapter
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Develop a Venn diagram comparing yourself to another character
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Develop a game around the plot of the novel
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Create a multiple-choice test to administer to students
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Describe how the group worked together
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Describe what the student gained from how the group worked together
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Describe how the group overcame challenges and how the challenges could impact future learning clubs
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Consider topics available for students to learn from and how they connect to the students and the school community
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Provide a “topic talk” for students to get some ideas of areas they can investigate
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Choose appropriate books for students to navigate their learning and have various grade-level options available
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Delineate various roles that students will have in an effort to structure the groups and guide conversation
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Create time for class conversation and working together
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Consider possible projects that students may create to help them create meaning and demonstrate understanding
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Create assessment activities to link to the objectives for each group
 * <span style="color: #800000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Provide concrete examples and the chance for students to observe how the areas of inquiry connect to using literacy in places outside of school

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 18pt;">__**The Writing Process**__ <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> There are many avenues for teaching the writing process, but the general stages are usually the same: <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> For struggling writers, none of this comes easy, many times due in part to lack of practice with the writing process. Students who are unfamiliar with the writing process develop a fear of exposure with their writing pieces.
 * # <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13pt;">Prewriting
 * 1) <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13pt;">Writing
 * 2) <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13pt;">Revising
 * 3) <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13pt;">Editing
 * 4) <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13pt;">Publishing || [[image:http://bcsd.k12.ny.us/hamagrael/LMC/12262021582017770699Sephr_Notepad_with_Text_and_Pencil_1.svg.med.png width="103" height="103" align="right"]] ||

Research has proven the importance of practicing the writing process <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students produce higher proficiency scores in writing
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students are better writers when they can identify and define the reason for their writing
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students learn that prewriting is the foundation of good writing

One way to help students improve their writing, is to improve their experiences with the writing process, particularly the prewriting. Prewriting is the student's chance to get prepared to write and have direction for where he/she wants the writing to go.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> __**One Study of Prewriting Activities**__ This study took place in a rural mid-Atlantic state at a Title I Elementary School. The six month study was of 38 fifth grade students living in low-income housing areas. Many lived in a nearby trailer court which resulted in students coming in and out of the school frequently and abruptly. Of the 38 students who began the study, only 29 completed it. The students were randomly selected from fifth-grade classes in which two teachers were guided by the Title I Coordinator, but given little assistance.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16pt; text-align: left;">[|Prewriting Activities.pdf] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 16pt;">[|Examples for Developing Ideas for Writing] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 12pt;"> __**Results**__ <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">Students' attitudes towards writing, strategies to begin writing, their own abilities, and having their work displayed changed dramatically in the experimental group. Students were proud of their work and felt a sense of accomplishment after writing. They enjoyed the freedom of choosing their own topic and discussing it with other students, and realized that writing was an opportunity to express their thoughts and feelings, rather than just an act that they had to do for school. They were able to plan a method to improve their own skills. Many students chose to keep a journal and write on their own outside of school as well.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14pt;">__**Control Group**__ || <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 14pt;">__**Experimental Group**__ ||
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Teacher had strong mathematics background and did not prefer language arts || <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Teacher was a participant in the National Writing Project one summer prior to the study ||
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Modes of instruction were guided to include some writing, but were primarily based on methods used when training to become a teacher. || <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students received direct instruction on the writing process and had a lot of experience with prewriting. ||
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students wrote answers to questions in core classes, did not use complete sentences, and received no formal instruction on the writing process, peer revision, or student-teacher conferences. || <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students were given instruction in prewriting strategies during language arts time and during core subject areas appropriate to the type of writing being performed. ||
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Once-a-month writing assignments were graded based on spelling and grammatical errors and involved no discussion of the writing problems that students encountered in their work. || <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students gained experience in many genres and forms of writing and topics lists were developed through group discussions. ||
 * || <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Students participated in conferences with the teacher and writing pieces were published and displayed. ||

Students commented and demonstrated a drop in anxiety after having direct instruction in prewriting activities, and also found enjoyment in having their work published for others to see and read. Through a stronger belief that they have the ability to be strong writers, students found that their apprehension towards writing was lessened.

Written expression improved greatly throughout the experimental group. Students writing daily, developing focused lessons on writing, and actively participating in the areas of the writing process may have each contributed towards this growth. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 12pt;">


 * __Implications for Practice__**
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">Teach writing strategies with a focus on prewriting activities
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">Gathering and organizing ideas
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">Identifying the audience and purpose for writing
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;">Selecting the appropriate format for the piece
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 10pt;"><span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Include peer review and publication of students' <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">work

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**__Resources:__** Casey, H. K. (2008). Engaging the Disengaged: Using Learning Clubs to Motivate Struggling Adolescent Readers and Writers. //Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy,// 54 (4), 284-294. Fink-Chorzempa, B. Graham, S., Harris, K. R. (2005). What Can I do to Help Young Children Who Struggle with Writing? //Teaching Exceptional Children//, 37 (5), 64-66. Retrieved from []?vid=9&hid= 4&sid=cd1bf3bf-f3ac-44c9-91c7-8da6fdebf3a8%40sessionmgr13 Graham, S.; Harris, K. (2005) Improving the Writing Performance of Young Struggling Writers. //The Journal of Special Education//, 39 (1), 19-33. Schweiker-Marra, K. E.; Marra, W. T. (2000) Investigating the Effects of Prewriting Activities on Writing Performance and Anxiety of At-Risk Students. //Reading Psychology//, 21 (2), 99-114. Tompkins, G.E. (2002). Struggling Readers are Struggling Writers, Too. //Reading and Writing Quarterly//, 18, 175-193. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.tcnj.edu:2417/ ehost/ pdf?vid=7&hid=4&sid=cd1bf3bf-f3ac-44c9-91c78da6fdebf 3a8%40ses sionmgr13.