3 Steps To Closing Writing Gaps In Middle School

 

It was a new school year and I was beginning to realize that I had some students who were struggling to write sentences, some students who were struggling to write paragraphs, and some students who had never heard the word "essay" before.  And they were all in the same room at the same time.

What was I going to do?!

1.  Diagnostic

First I gave a diagnostic so I could clearly see where each student was performing.  The diagnostic easily showed me who was still working on sentence skills, who needed paragraph lessons, and who was ready for essay writing.  

In all transparency, none of my students were ready for essay writing skills.  And essay writing skills are the grade level standards!

It was super clear that I needed interventions right away!

2.  Interventions

So I knew I needed to find lessons to bring my students up to a point where they could work on our grade level standards - which is essay writing skills.

So I broke students into groups and began looking for worksheets that gave a tiny lesson and then some practice.  So for example, I found a worksheet that explained that sentences begin with a capital letter and end with a punctuation mark.  Then there were some practice sentences for them to write.

Meanwhile, I gave the other groups their own worksheets that I found.

Soon finding the worksheets was a challenge and the grading was out of control.

So I started to make all my own lessons.  Students recorded their answers on paper and then entered their answers into a self-checking Google Form.  They recorded their scores on a log and showed them to me in order to advance.  

Now I was able to be a facilitator and checker while they did the work.  And the data allowed for some great progress monitoring that I could show parents.

But the best part was that students were gradually building their skills and confidence and taking ownership of their progress.  By the second semester, most of my students were ready for essay instruction.

3.  Structured Essay Instruction

I believe in a very systematic organizational pattern in middle school for students who struggle.  I even add in a mnemonic so they can remember it when testing time comes:

Text-Based Argumentative Formula:

Introduction =HAT  (Just like you put a hat on the top of your head, you put a hat on the top of your essay.)
Hook (background information about the texts)
Arch (Bridge transition sentence)
Thesis

Body = ACEIT  (Ace it)
Answer with a claim and reason
Cite Evidence
Explain with Commentary
Ingeminate (a fancy word that means to repeat - repeat the cycle of cite and explain with NEW evidence)
Top it off with a conclusion

Counterclaim = FAUCET (turn it up!)
Feature the other side
Affirm the evidence
Underscore the essay's position
Cite Evidence
Explain with commentary
Top it off with a conclusion

Conclusion = ATT (What's the last thing you grab before you leave home? Your phone, your AT & T!)
Affirm the thesis
Trim the point
The call to action

I went on to make notes and videos that match this pattern and I used videos to teach this step-by-step - including the reading process that has to come before you can even write the essay!  

I placed these videos on my Canvas course so that students could watch and re-watch them and then ask questions via email if they were shy.

This was a huge hit with my students who were learning English.  In fact, they scored better on state tests than many classes of general English speakers!

So this is my 3 step system for closing gaps and bringing my students up to grade level standards in middle school.  I know it works and I think it will help you too!

Feel free to email me with any questions:  Lisa@mrsspanglerinthemiddle.com

Thanks for stopping by!

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