12) Sarah Pancost's Hallway (Assessing Writing)

Before entering Sarah Pancost's classroom, become familiar with her approach to the teaching of writing, and in particular, to the ways in which writing assessment guides writing instruction. Untitled Document

Watch the video clip linked above to learn about her philosophy regarding the teaching and assessing of writing.

After listening, discuss the following prompts:

1. Summarize Sarah's stance on the assessment of writing. How does this stance contrast with the practices of many of her teaching colleagues?

2. Which of the above approaches to assessing writing align most with researched best practices for the teaching of writing?

3. Based on how your writing was assessed and how youve assessed students writing, how does your philosophy of teaching and assessing writing differ and/or align with Sarah's?

4. Besides the use of rubrics, what else does Sarah do in the classroom to teach writing? What are the benefits of this type of instruction?

5. What other classroom practices might you employ in teaching students to write effectively?

Now, head into Sarah Pancost's tenth-grade English classroom to practice using a rubric with her students' pieces of writing.

Links:
Sarah Pancost's Classroom
Teaching to Exceed Virtual School