CA BOCES Success Stories
Stories of Success from School Districts and CA BOCES Instructional Support Services
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I have the privilege to work with administrators and teachers at Franklinville Central School District. During my time there last year, Jaimie Hulin, 7th-grade ELA teacher at TBA, planned and tested a creative idea to support NYS NG ELA standard 7RI8, trace and evaluation the development of an argument. Those who are closely connected to ELA know that this is a “priority standard,” connecting not only to NYS middle-level NG ELA assessments but also the 11th-grade ELA Regents exam. Here’s Jaimie and her students’ story: Students in seventh grade at Franklinville Central School District started their argument unit a bit differently this year. I have found that students struggle to understand the components of argument writing and how to connect them to their own lives. As such, I decided to begin my unit with a mini project that connects to pop culture. I used YouTube videos by a YouTuber named MatPat. He has a series called “Food Theory,” and while not all of his videos are useful for this purpose or appropriate for school, many are. They are funny and students are interested in his topics. We viewed and analyzed the parts of three different videos, highlighting the parts of the argument and how he used different tools to present his argument. Then, students, in small groups, were tasked with making their own argument videos.
They did not have to do a Food Theory style video, but many did do food topics. Students choose topics ranging from whether aliens exist to is bottled water worth the price. They were guided through the process using the same analysis tools we used to look at his videos. While there were things that I will tweak in coming years, this introduction to the unit was a smash hit that really improved students’ understanding of the process for evaluating and developing arguments. By: Anne Mitchell, Coordinator for Curriculum and Professional Development This summer, teachers took advantage of two different opportunities to reflect on and learn more about what goes into skilled writing. Using two different texts: The Writing Revolution and The Writing Rope, participants dove into each book exploring the writing process and strategies that promote student writing. Before diving into the texts, participants explored two of the Science of Reading Literacy Briefs released by NYS in January 2024. In looking at the reading-writing relationship, participants reviewed Literacy Brief 3 and reflected how the reading-writing connection is evident in their classrooms. During the summer workshops both texts were utilized as valuable resources for supporting the reading-writing connection highlighted in Literacy Brief 3. The Writing Revolution strategies focus more on integrating writing into all content areas while emphasizing sentence-level writing as a foundation for more complex writing tasks. The Writing Rope offers more of a holistic view of writing, breaking down the key components that need to be woven together to create competent writers. The Writing Revolution (TWR) The Writing Revolution is a method developed by Judith C. Hochman that focuses on teaching writing skills across the curriculum. It emphasizes the integration of writing into content instruction rather than teaching writing in isolation. The six principles of TWR include:
The Writing Rope The Writing Rope is a metaphorical model created by Joan Sedita, which conceptualizes writing as a complex skill that can be broken down into five interrelated strands. Each strand represents a different component of writing that must be taught and developed simultaneously to produce skilled writers. The five strands include:
 This model is based on the idea that writing is a complex task that requires the integration of multiple skills and emphasizes that all strands must be woven together to produce skilled writers. When teaching, by focusing on each strand, educators provide direct explicit instruction on skilled writing to help students become more proficient and confident writers.
The Writing Rope text offers practical, hands-on activities to help educators learn how to teach these strands effectively, ensuring that each aspect of writing is developed in conjunction with the others. By: Jessica Schirrmacher-Smith, Senior Coordinator for Curriculum and Professional Development |
Our TeamStories come from school districts within the CA BOCES region and are authored by our Instructional Support Services Team. Archives
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