Essay writing is probably one of the most challenging things for ELA teachers to teach since it is such a big process with many moving parts.
So the #2ndaryELA nation came together and shared all of our best ideas for helping all students succeed with writing an essay:
Q1: What is your biggest struggle with teaching essay writing? #2ndaryELA
A1: The biggest struggle in teaching writing is teaching them how to properly embed quotes and provide adequate commentary. #2ndaryELA
A1: I feel like this differs every year. This year, organization. #2ndaryELA
Convincing students that one draft isn’t enough. I now include a section in the rubric for meangful changes but they still don’t #2ndaryela
A1: Time is my greatest struggle. It's hard to give students adequate "think" time with 44-minute classes! #2ndaryELA
My biggest struggle with teaching essay writing is definitely helping students get to the point where they self-edit. So many of them just want to be DONE after handing in their essays! #2ndaryela
A1: Having them not use "I" all the time - i.e. I am going to tell you about... #2ndaryELA
Q2: How do you teach students to plan and organize essays? #2ndaryELA
A2: I help students plan their essays by spending time on the essay outline. I have them outline the topic sentences, quotes, and thesis statement. http://ow.ly/mg3g50kgOcg #2ndaryELA
A2: Multiple types of graphic organizers, outlines, sentence starters, whatever works (and it's always changing)! #2ndaryELA
A2: I use a mnemonic system that I created myself to help students remember the structure. I even made the lessons into secret agent videos! :) #2ndaryELA https://mrsspanglerinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2019/01/writing-instruction-hacks-to-reach-all.html
A2:outlines or graphic organizers. #2ndaryELA
A2: depends on the type. Narratives: guided questions. Everything else: work from the inside out. Intro and conclusion are LAST. #2ndaryELA
A2: I've used the outlines created by @DaringEnglish for the past two years. She organized/ explained each sub-part so perfectly! #2ndaryela
A2: I use TAG & ACE to help them format it correctly. Also, sentence starters, graphic organizers, and etc. #2ndaryELA
Q2- I break it down with one paragraph at a time. I create interactive resources for each paragraph to assist with this. #2ndaryELA
Q3: What types of readings do you use as a basis for text-based essays? #2ndaryELA
A3: For text-based essays, I make sure to use a variety of readings to help students broaden their scope of writing: short stories, novels, poetry, nonfiction, etc. #2ndaryELA
A3: short stories and novels, but lots of nonfiction too. #2ndaryELA
A3: We use non-fiction articles from @Newsela #2ndaryELA
Whatever the kids are interested in. I once had mine write a persuasive paragraph on whether the dress was white/gold vs black/blue #2ndaryELA
Q4: How do you give meaningful feedback to students on these longer pieces of writing? #2ndaryELA
A4: I try to give feedback as the essay is being written if at all possible. OR - I grade just one section at a time so I can give quality feedback on a section at a time. #2ndaryELA
A4: I use rubrics/ conference with each student when handing back the graded essay. I give a graphic organizer to complete: areas where they were successful and where they need improvement for next time... that way they keep it for the next round! #2ndaryela
A4: I have a rubric I made up for each type of essay and I add comments. They can make revisions for more points. At the beginning I usually focus on 1 or 2 concepts then move up, until I can check a whole essay for all concepts. #2ndaryELA
I use goobric to have students complete a self assessment, too. #2ndaryELA
I don’t have many students, so I do 1:1 conferences on their almost final drafts. I show them their potential grade if it’s left as is. I also encourage 2-3 areas of meaningful revisions #2ndaryELA
A4: Sit down and do it... I try to grade five per day. #2ndaryELA
A4: I require essay to be typed in Google Docs so I can easily read them. I look for specific items to grade and include the rubric up front, so student know what is most important for the particular type of writing. #2ndaryELA
A4: I give feedback by using a rubric and writing comments at the end of each essay. I point out what the student did well, and give them an actionable step to improve writing. I also encourage full-credit revisions after the final. http://ow.ly/HsKv50kgOvb #2ndaryELA
Q5: Share your best essay teaching tips and tricks. #2ndaryELA
A5: One of the best things I did with my ELL Ss last yr was to "Build an Essay" using task cards: Ea. Card had 1 sent. from the essay. Ss had to choose the right one and record it on their sheet. In the end they had an essay & many lightbulb moments! You can read about it here: https://mrsspanglerinthemiddle.blogspot.com/2018/03/essay-writing-hack-for-struggling.html … #2ndaryELA
mrsspanglerinthemiddle.blogspot.com
Move up
Q5: I've learned that it is super important to let your students TAKE THEIR TIME! A rushed essay is rarely a polished essay - and some students will need some extra time to really nail it. #2ndaryela
A5: Peer editing with specific task cards is my favorite tool. I give students who have difficulty with thesis statements the task of locating the thesis in other papers. It works well! #2ndaryELA
A5: Modeling - revisions (1 or 2 concepts at a time) - mnemonic devices seem to help a great deal! #2ndaryELA
A5: Do collaborative brainstorming with your class before outlining the essay. This makes sure all Ss have content to write about, which is important for EL Ss and Ss with IEPs. It makes the essay writing process less daunting for them. http://ow.ly/fTmr50kgOB5 #2ndaryELA
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