"Quill is a service that provides an updated take on the old writing worksheets that most of us used in elementary school and middle school. The service offers more than just the writing practice activities, but that is its core feature."
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Eclectic Technology
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Tech tools that assist all students to be independent learners & teachers to become better teachers
Curated by
Beth Dichter
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In 2008, Fran Simmons, an English teacher at NewDorpHigh School in New York—at that time one of the lowest-performing secondary institutions in the nation— devised a simple test for her students in an effort to keep district officials from pulling the plug. First, she asked her freshman class to read Of Mice and Men. Then, using information from the novel, she asked them to answer the following prompt in a single sentence: “Although George …” She was looking for a sentence like: Although George worked very hard, he could not attain the American Dream. What Simmons received was alarming in the truest sense of the word. Some students wrote passable sentences, but many could not manage to finish the line. More than a few wrote the following: “Although George and Lenny were friends.”
Beth Dichter's insight:
This in-depth post explores the issue of language impacts our ability to think. After an introduction the post is split into three sections. The first section explores "the psycholingusitic case for writing education." It is noted that the Common Core states that students in grades 6-12 "should demonstrate increasing sophistication in all aspects of language use, from vocabulary and syntax to the development and organization of ideas, and they should address increasingly demanding content and sources.” What follows is a look at language, where we see that the language we learn impacts us in many ways, that some cultures have many words for a word like snow while others do not, that cultures whom have language that have "gendered objects" impacts how people view the objects. The second section explores "Can you teach better math and science be teaching writing?" Information is provided about New Dorp High School (in New York). The school implemented a program that included "writing-to-learn" across the curriculum (except for math) and discovered that major gains in writing were apparent by the second year. The third section "highlights ten features of writing education that can be used to enhance student learning across all subject areas, ultimately resulting in higher academic performance." The first two suggestions are below (all are quoted from the post). 1. Vocabulary Across The Disciplines: Emphasize that the concept of a word may change depending on the context in which it is used. 
Ann Kenady's curator insight,
February 5, 2014 11:23 PM
This article gives compelling evidence that the ability to write effectively is closely linked to the ability to think coherently. The author writes, "Students’ inability to write was contributing to their inability to think, severely impeding intellectual growth across many subjects." |
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Infographics are modern, written artifacts about collected resources in a dynamic, visual format. Infographics should be viewed as complex, standalone texts, not simply a text feature or graphic element.
Beth Dichter's insight:
This paper looks at digital literacy, specifically how infographics can be used to meet Common Core standards. A well designed infographic will have: * A Purpose * A Style * Evidence * Format The paper also includes a section "How can I teach comprehension with infographics?" This section includes two infographics and has the students critique them using the following questions: * What is the author's purpose or question? * What evidence supports the author's claim? * What are the strongest elements of this design? * How could the design be improved? You could use these same questions and have students in your class critique their infographic and their classmates. And last but by no means least they provide a list of locations where you can create an infographic. Infographics support reading comprehension and writing skills. They also allow students to strengthen their critical thinking skills and synthesis skills.
niftyjock's curator insight,
January 19, 2014 7:12 PM
I often get very bored with infographics, but these techniques will help me not only read them better but have a go at c reating my own 
Greenwich Connect's curator insight,
January 20, 2014 7:28 AM
Slightly overblown tone, presumably to help what is a useful overview of infographics sound more "academic" - read between the lines for what students should think through and how they should approach their own infographic production 
Kerri Schaub's curator insight,
January 20, 2014 8:10 AM
Visualizing is a powerful multisensory technique.
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"As an English teacher, I’ve had numerous conversations with college professors who lament the writing skills of their first year students. But not all writing. Most students are capable of solid expository writing. It’s their skill with persuasive writing that’s the problem. Specifically, they’re weak at writing a thesis statement that can be argued." Would having students create blogs be a way to teach persuasive essays? This post explores this possibility.
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Do your students need to practice with grammar and punctuation? Quill provides worksheets for students in Grades 1 - 8 that have spelling and grammar errors. Students have to correct the errors. Quill corrects the papers, showing students what they did correctly, or what needs to be corrected.
Create your own classroom, provide students a code to sign-in, and pick your assignments. Students work at their pace and you can view their work through the dashboard.
As Richard Byrne states in this post "Having the pre-made activities at your disposal and having the opportunity to quickly see how your students did on each activity will free up some of your time."
There is a video that explains the site in more detail, or you may go directly the the website: http://www.quill.org/