Preventing Writing Struggles for Harlem Students in their first year of College

Ms. Christian-Hutchinson

The Choir Academy of Harlem

9th^th Grade Honors

INTRODUCTION:

More and more students from Harlem are struggling with academic success, especially in writing during, their first year of college. Students are entering unprepared for academic success in college. Students are getting into college, but are bombing out. They find it difficult or impossible to write critically and express their ideas in a coherent way. If you can’t say what you mean, can you really mean what you say? The college professors are saying they can’t understand what students are writing. Students are failing in college because of their inability to write at college level.

TASK:

Your principal has asked you to help. She does not want you to also face the struggles many college students face when it comes to writing during their first year in college. She wants to prevent her students from reaching college and failing. She wants you to focus on academic preparedness for college writing and surviving the first year of college.

You and your team mates are to come up with a program that will help high school students become more prepared for college writing.

Remember, you are looking at the problems and solutions though the lens of the student and the teacher.

PROCESS: How will you get this work done?

You will meet in groups of four. You will be part of a special task force for Dr. Parris to help her develop a pathway for improving writing instruction for better writing in college. This special task force is called, The College Preparedness Program for Writing. (You may elect to change the name with teacher approval)

To successfully complete your quest, to develop a pathway for improving writing, your team or task force must:

* Wage a public awareness campaign to raise the consciousness of college bound students to the consequences of graduating with poor academic writing skills.

* Identify the best strategies to improve writing focusing on what both students and teachers can do.

* Identify and explain how we best prepare high school students to meet the challenges of college writing?

* come up with a proposal/plan of action that you would like to see implemented for The College Preparedness Program for Writing (CPPW),

* Design a program for Choir Academy High School Students who are college bound.

* Present evidence to support the need for a college writing program and ideas for improvement.

*Write a research paper that you will present to your class, Dr. Parris and the school leadership team.

* Identify no less than 2 different writing protocols, steps, and strategies in your research paper that will better prepare students to write more critically and express their ideas in a coherent way.

*Write a one- two page plan of action for what you want to do to improve writing on the part of the students and the teachers; and how the school can support a program that will lead to
preparedness for better writing for college

* Design two posters for public awareness campaign

* Follow the steps of the Public Policy Analyst to complete the task.

Student Responsibilities

Each student will be responsible for completing the following products:

1. Research/Position Paper: 2-3 page double-spaced paper stating the problem and offering several solutions and your recommendation for the best solution. (See process above)Have annotated research embedded into the paper and a Bibliography in MLA format on a separate page. (See resources for help with this). Your group will use the Public Policy Analyst, as an outline for your products.

2.Team writing folder: This will hold evidence that the peer revision work sheets were used Yes, you will use the writing process to write this paper. (Submit Copies of drafts and peer response sheets with comments this in folder as proof of using the writing process.)

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3. An Action plan: 1-2 [age double-spaced paper stating the details of your writing program with specific strategies that will be used, what the teachers and students are expected to do; time, place, personnel, supplies, student participation and school support needed to implement your program.

4. Two (2) public service posters: One poster that will raise the conciseness of the school community about the importance of writing for success in college; and one to motivate students
and teachers to participate in a writing prevention program or to take preventive steps focusing on preparedness for college writing. Your posters should stress the importance of writing as a vital tool for success in college, be colorful, creative, and attention getting. They should sound a call to action to solve this social issue.

Group Roles

Groups will be divided according to responsibilities as follows. The instructor will approve group role decisions.

Student # 1: Organizer/ Presenter-Will Pick group team members and keep the group on track. He/she will assign/negotiate group roles with members and make sure all members are aware of the task, the process, and the group’s responsibilities. Makes sure the group meets teacher made deadlines and schedules, assist in the research, lead & coordinate group meetings to assess and evaluate group progress.

As presenter, this student will be responsible to meet with the teacher and other group organizers and convey their group’s findings and progress. He/she will be the main speaker in the Oral Presentation and will assign others their subordinate roles for the oral presentation. The written report should be used as part of this presentation. The presenter will coordinate the oral report but all members will take part in some form.

Student # 2: Researcher-This student will do the research, with the help of other members and resources provided. He/she will coordinate and lead the research team. He/she will assign research jobs to search the Internet and gather information from the resources that will be used to complete the public policy worksheets. The information gathered will be focused on the problem and impact of poor writing skill on college success and solutions that are student and teacher related. ( If needed the research may include interviewing)

Student # 3: Recorder & Writer-This student will take notes on information gathered by group members and write an outline for the written and oral report. These notes will also be used by each member to write the paper. This student will be responsible for completing the Public Policy Analyst Worksheets and assist with research.

Student #4“Art Editor” / Task master - This student will cover all aspects of layout, design, and art work. He/She will discuss design and layout ideas with the other group members and will oversee the designing of the posters and assist with research.

Each group will complete the following Public Policy steps:

Complete the Public Policy Analyst worksheets which will help you with your project by using the websites in the resources section

#1- Defining the Social Problem

What is the problem that you plan on addressing? After you have read this page, click the hyperlink to the Worksheet #1 page (MS WORD Document) and complete.

#2- Gather evidence of the problem

How do we know that this is a problem? Once again, read this page and complete Worksheet #2 (MS WORD)

#3- Identify the causes of the problem

What causes this problem that you plan on addressing? Read this page and complete Worksheet # 3 (MS WORD)

#4- Identify and evaluate the existing public policies

What policies already exist on your problem? Read and complete Worksheet #4 (MS WORD)

#5- Developing public policy solutions

What new public policy do you want to create? Read and complete Workshop # 5 (MS WORD)

#6- Selecting the best policy solution

Decide with your group the best policy to use for the problem. Read this page and complete Workshop # 6 (MS WORD)

This worksheet can also be accessed through the links of the steps listed above.

Worksheet #1 – Identifying the social issue

Worksheet #2 – Gathering Evidence

Worksheet #3 – Determining Causes

Worksheet #4 – Evaluate Present Policies

Worksheet #5 – Developing New Policies

Worksheet #6 – Choose the Best Solution

Tip: When reading the resources, focus on gathering information by annotating/highlighting information to address the six public policy analyst steps and the task

Topics

1) Memo to Students: Writing Skills Matter “SCARY NUMBERS. … too often, undergraduates enter -- and leave ---school without the basic knowledge needed to write effectively, which can hinder their academic and job success. Now, spurred by low test scores and recruiter demand, some schools are taking action.”

2) Helping college students succeed: a model for effective intervention  By Glenn Hirsch Professionals can assist students to maximize their chances of success by helping them strengthen study skills and motivation by correcting thinking, managing time, and academic anxiety and stress

3) The Crayola Curriculum by Mike Schmoker “kids are given more coloring assignments than mathematics and writing assignments.”

4) Oregon Study Outlines Standards for College Preparedness The pattern emerges every year on campuses with the regularity of homecoming games and parents' weekends: Students who finished high school with strong grade point averages and top-notch test scores struggle upon entering college, buckling under the new rigors of freshman English or entry-level calculus.” This month, researchers at the University of Oregon are unveiling the results of a project aimed at helping students overcome the traditional divide between success at the K-12 level

5) Politics of peer response Active critical reflection is necessary in every aspect of our teaching, not only in front of the class. We must try to reevaluate our own values and experiences as they relate to our teaching. Our assumptions and theories about teaching composition must remain open to inspection, evaluation, and revision, a condition that requires an active inquiry paralleling the inquiry in which we engage our students. (217)

6) The ABCs or the writing process The purpose of this site is to provide a user friendly online resource, for students or teachers, no matter what they are being challenged to write.

7) Teach students to write more-grade less For more than 30 years, Marzano and others have demonstrated that conventional grading practices are not only unnecessarily time-consuming for teachers, but also have a negative impact on student writing performance.

8) How to set up and write your research paper for this assignment using the MLA style Summary: MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities.

9) How to: Presenting Writing 7 Things to remember when making a presentation

10) How to: Essay/Research writing center writing is a good way to stimulate learning and critical thinking. There are numerous forms of writing that students face everyday. This site was designed to help you in achieving better results with your writing assignment.

Your project is on generating public awareness about the problem of writing struggles for Harlem students In their first year of college, and hopefully promoting a solution or improvement of the problem. Depending on how your group chooses to raise public awareness, I will use a rubric for written work and oral presentation to evaluate. In addition, the probable effectiveness of your project will heavily influence this grade.

Evaluation/ Rubric

CATEGORY	4 EXCELLENT	3 VERY GOOD	2 SATISFACTORY	1 UNACCEPTABLE
	100 - 90	89-80	79-65	65-below
Format and Style	Uses MLA format: Clear grammar minimal proofing errors	Adequate use of MLA conventions and standards of academic writing some errors in grammar	Inadequate Formatting, grammar and spelling errors begin to impede understanding. MLA style not followed throughout	Formatting, grammar and spelling errors are a significant impediment to understanding; MLA style not followed.
Originality	Presentation shows considerable originality and inventiveness. The content and ideas are presented in a unique and interesting way.	Presentation shows some originality and inventiveness. The content and ideas are presented in an interesting way.	Presentation shows an attempt at originality and inventiveness.	Presentation is a rehash of other people's ideas and/or graphics and shows very little attempt at original thought.
Content - Accuracy	All content throughout the presentation is accurate. There are no factual errors.	Most of the content is accurate but there is one piece of information that might be inaccurate.	The content is generally accurate, but one piece of information is clearly flawed or inaccurate.	Content is typically confusing or contains more than one factual error.
Sequencing of Information	Information is organized in a clear, logical way. It is easy to anticipate the type of material that might be next.	Most information is organized in a clear, logical way. One part or item of information seems out of place.	Some information is logically sequenced. An occasional part or item of information seems out of place.	There is no clear plan for the organization of information.
Cooperation	Group delegates tasks and shares responsibility effectively all of the time.	Group delegates tasks and shares responsibility effectively most of the time.	Group delegates tasks and shares responsibility effectively some of the time.	Group often is not effective in delegating tasks and/or sharing responsibility.
Effectiveness	Project includes all material needed to gain a comfortable understanding of the topic. It is a highly effective, informative and motivational poster. .	Project includes most material needed to gain a comfortable understanding of the material but is lacking one or two key elements. It is an adequate informative and motivational poster.	Project is missing more than two key elements. It would make an incomplete informative and motivational poster.	Project is lacking several key elements and has inaccuracies that make it a poor informative and motivational poster.
USE OF PPA	Uses all six steps of the PPA in correct order and with factual content	Uses five steps of the PPA in correct order and with factual content	Uses all six steps of the PPA in correct order but lacks some factual content	Does not use the PPA properly as described in the web quest process section
Category Oral Presentation Rubric	4 Excellent 100-90	3 Very Good 89-80	2 satisfactory 79-65	1 Unacceptable 65- below
Collaboration with Peers	Almost always listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others in the group. Tries to keep people working well together.	Usually listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others in the group. Does not cause "waves" in the group.	Often listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others in the group but sometimes is not a good team member.	Rarely listens to, shares with, and supports the efforts of others in the group. Often is not a good team member.
Preparedness	Student is completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed.	Student seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals.	The student is somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking.	Student does not seem at all prepared to present.
Speaks Clearly	Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, and mispronounces no words.	Speaks clearly and distinctly all (100-95%) the time, but mispronounces one word.	Speaks clearly and distinctly most (94-85%) of the time. Mispronounces no more than one word.	Often mumbles or can not be understood OR mispronounces more than one word.
Posture and Eye Contact	Stands up straight, looks relaxed and confident. Establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation.	Stands up straight and establishes eye contact with everyone in the room during the presentation.	Sometimes stands up straight and establishes eye contact.	Slouches and/or does not look at people during the presentation.
Vocabulary	Uses vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Extends audience vocabulary by defining words that might be new to most of the audience.	Uses vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Includes 1-2 words that might be new to most of the audience, but does not define them.	Uses vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Does not include any vocabulary that might be new to the audience.	Uses several (5 or more) words or phrases that are not understood by the audience.
Listens to Other Presentations	Listens intently. Does not make distracting noises or movements.	Listens intently but has one distracting noise or movement.	Sometimes does not appear to be listening but is not distracting.	Sometimes does not appear to be listening and has distracting noises or movements.
Enthusiasm	Facial expressions and body language generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others.	Facial expressions and body language sometimes generate a strong interest and enthusiasm about the topic in others.	Facial expressions and body language are used to try to generate enthusiasm, but seem somewhat faked.	Very little use of facial expressions or body language. Did not generate much interest in topic being presented.
Comprehension	Student is able to accurately answer almost all questions posed by listners about the topic.	Student is able to accurately answer most questions posed by listeners about the topic.	Student is able to accurately answer a few questions posed by listeners about the topic.	Student is unable to accurately answer questions posed by listeners about the topic.

Peer Revision Sheet for Poster

Directions:

1. Ask your partners to listen carefully as you read aloud and show your poster.

2. Ask your partners to answer the following questions.

3. Write down the responses your partners tells you in the space below.

1. What did you like best about my poster? State at least one thing.

2. What did you have the hardest time understanding about my poster? Give one suggestion to improve the meaning.

3. How effective is the graphics of my poster? State a theme or message given by the graphics.

4. How can I make my lposter more powerful and persuasive? Give at least one suggestion.

5. How effective is the message of my poster? How will it move someone to action?

Writer:  ____________________                 Reader: ____________________

Writing Assignment
Peer Response Sheet

Directions: Put your name in the blank labeled “Writer.” Give a peer response sheet and a copy of your essay to each of the readers in your group. They will put their names in the blank labeled “Reader.” This sheet provides a place for readers to record their responses to your essay. At the end of class, writers should take the responses home and consider this feedback as you revise. Do not turn in this sheet or your draft today; instead, turn them in later with your revised essay.

Readers: As you read, respond only to the items on this sheet. Do not hunt errors. Resist the temptation to mark and edit the paper as though it were yours. You may include additional responses directly on your classmate’s paper.

Writer: In the space below, explain what you’d most like help with to develop and revise your essay.

 Readers:

1. First, read your classmate’s essay, and then respond to the concerns described above. Now reread the assignment for this essay. In your own words, briefly explain the goals of the assignment, and then describe the ways you think your classmate’s essay successfully meets those goals.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Are there any parts of the assignment that the writer hasn’t yet fully addressed? Any ideas you’d like to know more about? Describe at least 3 ways the writer could develop the essay further.
   
   
   
   
   
3. What do you think is the main point or controlling idea of the essay? Write it in the blank below. Now ask the writer to point out the focus and underline it. Do you and the writer agree? Look at the essay together, paragraph-by-paragraph. Jot down a rough sentence outline. Does each paragraph help to develop this main idea? If not, talk with the writer about clarifying the focus and developing a pattern of organization that will help to support it.
   
   
   
   

Writer: After you’ve gotten two sets of responses to your draft, study them carefully, then write a short note to yourself and me explaining what you’ve learned from your peer responses and what your priorities for revision are: What do you intend to do now, based on your reader responses?

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Congratulations! You’ve completed the Web Quest study of the problem of Writing Struggles for Harlem students in their first year of college, as introduced in the research you did. Not only have you succeeded in your task of becoming socially aware of this issue, but you have also discovered possible solutions of how to improve it. In the process you have simultaneously learned and used the six steps of the Public Policy Analyst (PPA) to evaluate civics, citizenship, and governmental systems in order to become a public policy creator, consultant, or lobbyist.

This Web Quest addresses the following English Language Arts and Social Studies Standards:

ELA Standards:

Standard 1:   Language for Information and Understanding

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. They will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts.

Standard 3:   Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. They will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria presented from multiple perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.

Standard 4:   Language for Social Interaction

Students will listen, speak, read, and write for social interaction. They will use oral and written language for effective social communication with a wide variety of people.