Eugene Talbot

Writing Ideas
EN 454: Content Area Literacy
Writing Ideas:
1. I will provide students with a word bank at the end of a section that includes
all the essential words for that section. Students will then have time to write
a paragraph to a page or what they learned that section while including those
words
2. Exit slips will be used throughout the week in which I will be asking the
students to write down at least one question that they had about any of the
material covered so far that week along with one thing they found to be
interesting
3. Quick writes will be used at the beginning of a chapter or section in which the
students will have time to write down what they already know about material
in the coming chapter or section and what they might like to learn about the
material.
4. At the beginning of a section, I will have the students start a set of
vocabulary cards with that sections important words. They will work on these
card throughout the section, filling in definitions, their own understanding of
the word, as well as a picture to help them remember or understand the word
or concept better
5. After the completion of a couple of sections/chapters, I will have the students
create Venn diagrams in which they will be better able to see how different
parts of the material fit together or dont
6. For concepts/material that has a process, I will have students create a
timeline with a description for each step along with an accompanying picture
to help with understanding that step
7. As a start-up to the week, I will have the students write about one thing that
they did over the weekend that they are able to tie to something scientific or
mathematical. Two to three sentences long and then have them share with
the class those who care to share
8. Throughout the year, I will have the students working on a longer term
writing project of creating their own information pyramid. I will have them
gather all the concepts, words and ideas that we use throughout the
semester and have them create a pyramid in which they place all that
information in a pyramid and then provide explanations as to why they put
information in its respective spots.
9. Students would be asked to create one side of flash cards of important
concepts, ideas, and definitions and then have their seat partners fill out the
other side of the flash cards. They will continue to use and update these
flash cards as a section progresses and end up being able to use them for
studying for the section test
10.As a treat, I would like to have the students create a cartoon strip for the
section or couple of sections that have been presented already. This would
give them an opportunity to do more writing but also show a little more of a
creative side when dealing with math and science topics