PRIMALS 4-6

Pedagogical Retooling in Mathematics, Languages,

and Science for Grades 4-6 Teachers

Session 17.0
Writing to learn

Learning Action Cell Session Guide

English 4-6

Prepared by:

JOAN L. LAGATA
Education Program Supervisor
Legazpi City Division Office
 Department of Education – Region V

Objectives of the Session

At the end of the session, teachers should be able to:

1. Employ varied writing strategies that will improve learners’ understanding of

content concepts; and
2. Craft a lesson sequence that will engage learners in activities that help
them reflect about their learning and write effectively across learning areas.

Key Understanding or Learning Points

1. Some writing activities that facilitate the learning of content concepts

include power writing, shared writing, note taking, mapping and graphic
organizers.
2. There are activities related to interacting with texts such as text marking,
table construction, information transfer, questioning and learning logs.

Materials Needed Approximate Duration

 Powerpoint presentation 1.5 hours / 90 minutes

 Video presentation of Alice M.
Karaan
References

PRIMALS English Chief Trainers’ Session Guide

BEST Teacher Resource Package in Grades 4-6 English
Frayer
Cornell
Gary Rubinstein

Introduction

“Good ______ everyone. Welcome to our LAC session today. In this

particular gathering, we will discuss how teaching WRITING TO LEARN through
the use of strategies and activities facilitate the learning of content concepts
across other subject areas.

At the end of this session, it is expected that you should be able to (Slide 2):
1. employ varied writing strategies that will improve learners’ understanding of
content concepts, and
2. engage learners in activities that will help them reflect about their learning
and write effectively across learning areas.”

ACTIVITY (15 minutes)

“Get hold of a pen and paper. I will mention five words or phrases, and for
each of them I will give you two minutes to write anything about it. You could write

2
phrases or sentences. Are you ready?”

Note to the Facilitator: Suggested key words/phrases:

1. Garbage
2. Classroom
3. Climate change
4. Teaching strategies
5. Marginalized learners

Call on 5-6 participants to share what they have written to the whole group.

ANALYSIS (15 minutes)

“Based on the sharing of thoughts given by fellow participants, let us try to

come up with some reflections:
1. Did you find it easy to write about the words given to you?
2. Was it easy to write about these words? What made it difficult?
3. What particular difficulties do students encounter when they are asked to
write about something that they are not familiar with?
4. During those instances, what do you usually do?
5. What strategies do you employ so that they can comprehensively write?”

ABSTRACTION (40 minutes)

Discussion

“It is important that as teachers, we should understand that our learners

have to be taught skills in writing purposively across different learning areas.
These concepts should be clear to us (Slides 3 and 4):
1. The term “writing-to-learn” refers to writing activities intended primarily to
facilitate or develop students' understanding and thinking.
2. Writing-to-learn . . . build their understanding of subject matter.
3. During the writing-to-learn process, the main focus is on making sense of
the material and NOT on communicating it in a specific format to an
audience.”

Writing to learn is:

1. a tool to promote learning
2. generally a single draft
3. engages students in thinking and deepens understanding of subjects
studied and
4. helps students to reflect on themselves as learners

Typical Features (Slides 5-7):

1. Focus: something relevant to learning and the learner
2. Length - Generally brief
3. Teacher or student prompted
4. Writings collected in notebooks or logs
5. Audience: primarily the student
6. Emphasis: Student thinking

3
 7. Uses different ways to communicate
8. Not scored or marked for conventions

WRITING TO LEARN should include activities in other content areas, particularly

in subjects taught in English (like Science and Mathematics).

To further substantiate the participants’ understanding of the strategies and

activities that can be employed to effectively teach learners to understand content
concepts and write across learning areas, show the following slides along with the
video discussion by Alice Karaan.

Viewing #1. Writing to Learn (Segment 1)

Resource Person: Alice Karaan, PRIMALS 4-6 National Training of
Trainers

Slide 8: Writing to Learn Strategies

1. Power writing
2. Shared writing
3. Note-taking
4. Mapping
5. Graphic organizers

Slide 9: Writing to Learn Activities

1. Text marking
2. Table construction
3. Learning logs
4. Questioning
5. Information transfer
a. Diagram construction
b. Text construction

Slide 10-11: Power Writing

1. Brief and timed
2. Quick
3. Build writing fluency
4. Daily practice exercises
5. Posting of content area words and phrases for 1-minute writing
6. Provides information about student errors
7. Useful in assessing content knowledge
8. English should take steps in integrating content-related fluency building
writing experiences

Slides 12-13: Shared Writing

1. A collaborative 5-20 minute writing between teacher and students.
2. Topic to be drawn preferably from a particular content area.
3. Should focus on students’ needs.
4. Teacher engages students in a discussion of how the text should be
composed
5. Teacher rereads the text from time to time to elicit from students’ further
input.

4
Slide 14: Notebooks
1. Learning logs
2. Journals
a. Dialog journal
 Student entry
 Teacher response
b. Split-page journal
c. Reading-response journal/Reading responses
d. Writer’s notebook (single-entry draft, written exercises, quotes

Slide 15: Cornell Notes (Sample)

Main Idea(s)/Question(s) Details/Responses

What are food and garden waste?
One type of waste we collect.
1. Food taste- cooked and uncooked
Examples: fruit, vegetables, meat, fish
2. Garden waste
Examples: leaves, weeds, grass cuttings

Summary:
Food and garden waste is one type of waste we collect at home. Food may be
cooked or uncooked. Garden waste are uncooked.

Slide 16: Defining Terms and Explaining Processes

Terms to Remember
Term Definition
Environment Everything that makes up our surroundings
and affects our ability to live on the earth-
the air we breathe, the water that covers
most of the earth’s surface, the plants and
animals around us, and much more.

Slide 17: Defining Unfamiliar Concepts and Vocabulary

5
Slide 18: Frayer Model

Frayer Model
Definition in your own words Facts/characteristics

Word
Examples Nonexamples

Slide 19: Activities Related to Interacting with Texts

1. Text Marking
2. Table Construction
3. Information Transfer

Slide 20: Questioning

1. Responding to Teacher’s Questions
2. Student-Generated Questions

Slide 21: Tips for Writing

Tip #1: Start small
Start with just one sentence. Rather than just having students raise hands
to answer a question and you picking one volunteer, have every student in the
class write a sentence. This way, students can be active and can get the feel of
writing about the subject.

Slide 22: Tips for Writing

Tip #2 – Read in class
Have students read articles from any source they can handle. When students
get a feel for what writing about a subject area can look like, they will be able to do
it better themselves.

Slide 23: Tips for Writing

Tip #3: Have students keep a journal
In their journals, students can write about things they are having trouble
with or things that they've figured out. Putting these thoughts into words can help
students get a more concrete handle on the logic of their ideas.

Slide 24: Tips for Writing

Tip #4: Do some of your own writing

6
 To understand the writing process, teachers have to write also. Get
"uncomfortable" as you try to make your writing efficient and interesting. Just as
students are uncomfortable doing unfamiliar subject matter, teachers should
experience that same feeling of being out of their comfort zone, and writing is a
good way to do that.

Viewing #2. Writing to Learn (Segment 2)

Resource Person: Alice Karaan, PRIMALS 4-6 National Training of
Trainers

Reflection
1. From the strategies and activities discussed, what are the ones that you
have been using inside your classroom?
2. Why are they practical to you?
3. What are the text materials you commonly use to engage your learners in
writing purposively?
4. What benefits do learners get in writing purposively?

APPLICATION (20 minutes)

Divide the participants into four groups. Give each group a short expository text
which they will read. Have them apply specific writing strategies that will allow their
learners to understand the basic concepts given in the text.

Closure

“Let us read this line (Slide 25):

If you don’t have the time to read,

You don’t have the time or the tools to write. (Stephen King)

This early, let us train our young learners to love reading, because in the
process, we also teach them how to love writing.

Thank you!”