Instructors who use Step Up to Writing (SUTW) strategies have an ally in Vantage Learning programs. Instructional tools such as color coding, word lists, outlines, and examples are embedded in both MY Access! and Step up to Writing. Overall, the Vantage Learning Literacy Solution contains many features and tools for process writing that can be used in conjunction with SUTW elements such as:
Pre-Writing Outlines. MY Access! interactive and printable graphic organizers help students develop and plan their ideas. Vantage Learning outlines let students work step-by-step to create interesting and organized essays, but they also are easily adapted to the color-coding or framing strategies that SUTW supports. These critical thinking tools can be saved or printed through MY Access! so teachers can evaluate not only the final draft, but all parts of the writing process. For an example of a useful Vantage Learning graphic organizer, see the Organizing Your Essay outline.
Color-coding: Both Step Up to Writing and MY Access! help students plan, organize and revise through the use of color-coding. This strategy, an essential component of MY Tutor feedback for each trait guides students to color-code words, sentences or whole paragraphs to make sense of their writing. Either MY Access! or SUTW color coding standards can be used in revision plans where students think about goals and strategies for revision.
Sentence and Paragraph Building: Exercises and feedback in MY Access! help students plan and clarify their ideas just as with Step Up To Writing. These tools highlight the importance of preparation as a way for students to become more confident, proficient writers. For example, the “Thesis Builder” Handout assists writers who are creating main ideas or thesis statements.
Consider how this MY Tutor feedback guides students to build more effective
paragraphs:
• Highlight, in green, the details in your essay. Details are those words that answer the questions who, what, when, where, why, and how.
and sentences:
• Underline the words or phrases you used too many times and replace them with synonyms (words that mean the same) or more precise words. Use the Word Bank or thesaurus to help you!
Word Lists - MY Access! provides multiple types of word lists, including options for vivid verbs, awesome adjectives and transient transitional devices as a way for writers to improve their sentence structure and overall clarity. These word banks apply to different patterns of development and pinpoint different sections of the essay. For example, transitional phrases for conclusion paragraphs are available in “Transient Transitions.” Furthermore, Vantage Learning’s multilingual visual thesaurus, Lexipedia presents words with their semantic relationships displayed in an animated visual word web to support all types of learners.
And with student models available for all Intellimetric prompts in all genres, students and teachers have access to a large variety of student writing that can be used for any writing lesson. For those using the Step up to Writing with MY Access!, we would love to hear your comments about how you have used Vantage Learning Literacy Solutions to support Step Up to Writing.
This entry was posted
on Monday, October 18th, 2010 at 2:59 pm and is filed under Because Writing Matters, Because Writing Matters... At Home, Lesson Plan: Prewriting, Lesson Plan: Revising.
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