The vision of Walla Walla Public Schools is to
have centers of learning which meet the writing
instructional needs of all students. In partnership
with the community, we are committed to excellence
in personalized learning which challenges and supports
all students in becoming effective writers.
Below is the link to the district’s Strategic
Plan for the Instruction of Writing, 2005-2008.
It speaks to the need to create a safe and nurturing
learning environment and to ensure a rigorous program
of student that builds a connection between writing
and the “real world” for students in
preschool through grade 12.
| Strategic Plans and OSPI Links |
OSPI Links:
Elementary, middle and high school writing committees
are currently meeting to align writing instruction
from pre-school through Grade 12. They also are
looking at all of the instructional resources currently
used in the district. A partial list includes: Six
Trait +1, Jane Schaeffer, Structure and Style, 4-Square,
Step Up to Writing, High Performance Writing, Adventures
in Language, and Reasoning and Writing.
K-5 Writing Leaders have set goals for the 2006-07
school year. They are sharing each of the Six Traits
(Ideas and Content, Organization, Voice, Word Choice,
Sentence Fluency, and Conventions) with fellow elementary
teachers this year. They are creating a common writing
vocabulary for elementary schools; evaluating the
handwriting curriculum and developing district guidelines;
evaluating instructional practices; and focusing
professional development on effective writing instructional
practices. Students in grades K-5 are being assessed
three times this year, and committee members are
using data from those assessments to evaluate instruction
and make decisions on alternative instructional
practices. Committee members also are revising the
writing sections of elementary report cards to make
sure they accurately reflect classroom instruction.
Middle School Writing Leaders (see list below)
are meeting regularly throughout the year. Their
work includes alignment of writing practices with
the GLEs; developing a master list of instructional
materials for possible purchase; piloting a Grade
6 common writing assessment; completing a timeline
for work in the 2007-08 school year; and making
recommendations for purchase of instructional materials.
The Wa-Hi Writing Committee includes writing instructors
and teachers from each of the content areas. This
year, the Core Committee (writing instructors) created
a Writing GLE survey to identify modes of writing
across all high school content areas (math, social
studies, etc.) and members plan to offer mini lessons
on writing for each high school department. Ninth
grade English teaches have been working on a pilot
writing assessment and scoring rubric during their
Wednesday Late Start collaboration times. Later
in the year, three content area teachers will be
sent to a Six Trait Writing training so that they
can become “experts” in content writing
and mentor their colleagues.
| Six Trait + 1 Presentations
(powerpoint) |
April
2006 Pen Pals Newsletter |
