Writing to the Prompt: Preparing Your Students for I-STEP, Jan. 21

Teaching students to be effective writers demands that we help them navigate the requirements of standardized test-taking. But we teachers do not always feel as if we know what advice and guidance to give our students. What can we do to help them feel confident that they have something to write about as they face that ISTEP+ prompt? How can we help them turn out a polished piece of writing within the fifty-minute time limit?

Join Susan Darling, veteran teacher and IWP workshop facilitator, to learn more about how student responses are scored using the Indiana's ELA Rubric, to practice scoring along with your colleagues, and to examine the problem of writing for an unknown reader/grader. These same concepts and activities are also easily adapted for the high school ECA and for SAT preparation.

Spend three hours with Susan in order to take home an especially timely unit on Writing to a Prompt that you can use over the next few weeks to prepare your students to shine on the writing portion of the 2011 ISTEP+ test that begins on February 28. In fact, invite a colleague who can implement this unit right along with you.

Writing to the Prompt: Preparing Your Students for I-STEP
January 21, 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

More info: iwp.iweb.bsu.edu/profdev/saturday.htm

Upcoming Saturday Seminars: Winter 2010

On January 9, 2010, the Saturday Seminar entitled "Writing to a Prompt: Getting Your Students Ready for ISTEP" will be offered from 8:30-11:30AM. This session will aid participants in creating a writing cycle that approaches "writing to a prompt" as a manageable genre. This Saturday Seminar will be held in Room 292 of the Robert Bell Building, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana 47306.

Additionally, on Saturday, April 10, 2010, IWP will host "An Introduction to Writing Workshop," especially for current undergraduates and those new to the concept of Writing Workshop. This seminar will include a 10:00AM-12:00PM session introducing participants to the features and structure of Writing Workshop; then, from 1:00-4:00PM, attendees will observe Writing Workshop in action during a visit to IWP's 'Comp Camp'. All activities for this seminar will occur in the Robert Bell Building on campus at Ball State University.

The Indiana Writing Project is proud to offer a special student registration fee of only $10 for each of our winter 2010 Saturday Seminars. You can register online or by contacting the IWP office via e-mail at iwp@bsu.edu.

Special Saturday Seminar: Writing to a Prompt

A Special Winter Morning for TCs and their Colleagues:

Writing to a Prompt
January 9
8:30-11:30 AM
RB Building, BSU
$20 registration

Several years ago, IWP began to approach ISTEP writing as a genre, a genre we teach like any other writing application in the standards. We developed a four-week writing cycle that prepares students of any age to write on demand. January is a good time to start preparing students for Spring ISTEP testing, so mark your calendars now for the morning of Saturday, January 9.

The lead presenter, TC Susan Darling, helped develop the cycle and uses it in her class every year with impressive results. In one trial of this unit in a rural school, all but one third-grader scored 4,5 or 6 on the language development rubric and the sixth grade class scored higher than the state average. It works so invite your friends and colleagues.

You can register online or by contacting the IWP office via e-mail at iwp@bsu.edu.

Fall 2009 Saturday Seminars

Wes-Del Elementary in Gaston, the home school of IWP Core Council President Shirley Thacker, has graciously offered to host three fall Saturday Seminar sessions, which will run from 8:30-11:30AM. The cost for the series is $100, but only $90 per person if three people register together; single sessions cost $35 each. Details about the sessions and registration information are online at iwp.iweb.bsu.edu. Below is the schedule of Saturday Seminars:

September 12 (two concurrent sessions):

• Kindergarten News

• Making Writing Workshop Work in Your Classroom

October 17 (two concurrent sessions):

• K-1 Writing Workshop

• Writer's Notebooks

November 14 (applicable to all levels):

• Revision: Teaching Writing from Text

TCs: please share this information with interested teachers in your building as word of mouth is our best marketing tool.