In the video on the left, South Oldham Middle Principal Rob Clayton and Literacy Coach Winn Wheeler describe the school's emphasis on writing and the positive impact it has on student learning across all content areas.

In this video, students from South Oldham Middle describe the kinds of writing they do at school and on their own and how writing about something helps them learn. (Featured in the video in order of appearance: Jacob Herald, 8th grade student; Nicole Childress, 8th grade student; Katherine Renick, 6th grade student; Natalie Mfune, 7th grade student; Linn Nix, 6th grade social studies teacher).

WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM: CLASSROOM EXAMPLES

All of these videos feature classrooms at South Oldham Middle School:

In Sara Taylor's 7th grade science classroom, students are concluding a unit of study focusing on physical science. In the first video on the left, students are using writing and background knowledge to respond to several scientific dilemmas. They predict what will happen, investigate, and then clarify and/or revise what they’ve written based on their findings. Also featured in the video is Winn Wheeler, school literacy coach.

In the next video, we visit the classroom of 7th grade English/language arts teacher Michele Holbrook. Everyday when students first enter, they spend time writing in their writer's notebook, either responding to an "invitation" or writing about a topic of their own choosing. After writer's notebook time, students continue working on videos they are creating in response to reading the book Monster by Walter Dean Myers. They are exploring persuasive writing.

The third video features the 6th grade social studies classroom of Lynn Nix. Students are learning about African masks as an expression of culture. After reading a piece about different types of masks and discussing what they've read, students write an artifact display card (like in museums) for a mask they will create to represent themselves.

In the last video, art teacher Beth Watkins describes how she uses writing to guide students to reflect about their work. At the beginning of each class, students write in their journals the answer to the following questions: Looking at the previous day's artwork, what were your successes, what problems did you encounter, and where might you go today with your artwork? Ms. Watkins also describes how she uses writing as a tool to help students understand, self-assess, and direct their artistic ventures through the school year.

The video on the left looks at the ways South Oldham Middle supports teachers through embedded, ongoing professional development. (Featured in the video in order of appearance: Winn Wheeler, literacy coach; Michele Holbrook, English/language arts; Sara Taylor, science; Lynn Nix, social studies).

Lisa Maggard, director of the Mountain Writing Project based at Hazard Community and Technical College, describes how the writing project uses a "train the trainer" philosophy to train teachers to become writing experts in their schools.

PRINCIPAL LEADERSHIP AND SUPPORT

As a former teacher of English and co-director of the Louisville Writing Project, Dewey Hensley, principal of Atkinson Elementary in Louisville, Ky. is an instructional leader in writing for the teaching staff. (Dr. Hensley has since left Atkinson to become Chief Academic Officer for Jefferson Co. schools.)

The video on the left describes the writing workshop Dr. Hensley conducts for the teachers during the summer.

IDENTIFYING EVIDENCE

Evidence can come from multiple sources:

• SBDM documents
• Student work samples
• Curriculum resources
• Student performance data
• Minutes from meetings
• Communication to parents/community
• Student and teacher reflections
• Principal notes

Some examples of evidence are unique to writing programs:

• Writing policy
• Student collections that show evidence of growth
• Documentation of embedded professional development
• Evidence of descriptive feedback to students

When you are analyzing the evidence, keep in mind what it should reflect for proficient and distinguished performance levels:

• Multiple projects, not just a single unit
• Schoolwide collaboration, not a single department or group of teachers
• An integrated curriculum
• An ongoing and embedded program

Use the first box below to write your rationale. Include a list of evidence supporting your decision. In the second box, write your recommendations for improvement. After saving your notes, you can use the review my work links below and at the top of the lesson box to view your saved notes and print them.

Rationale and List of Evidence:

Next Steps:

RESOURCES

For principals, academic officers, and others who monitor and approve professional development credit, we have provided a list of the tasks required for each module. This provides an excellent opportunity for those monitoring and approving PD for credit to gauge participants’ engagement and understanding of the material.

Facilitator Guide for Module 4 (PDF)

MODULE 4 REVIEW

When you're ready, click the link below to open the review for Program Reviews Module 4. The review will consist of five questions. You need to answer at least four of the five questions correctly in order to get credit for this module.

Performance Reviews Module 4 Quiz

Interactive

View

If you pass the quiz, you will be directed to an online survey about the module you just completed. At the end of that survey, click on the link to access a Certificate of Completion ready for printing. If you do not pass the quiz, you will be directed back to this module for a review of content.

If you have any technical problems or questions, please contact Brett Smith, KET Professional Development Division, 800-432-0951, ext. 7268 or bsmith@ket.org.

(Note: If you have trouble opening the survey, please disable the pop-up blocker in your browser preferences menu.)