CWP RESOURCES: DEVELOPED BY CWP TEACHER CONSULTANTS
​FOR EDUCATORS, STUDENTS, AND FAMILIEs

CWP's Award-Winning Handbook for Parents

Because Writing Matters: Helping Your Children Become Confident, Skilled Writers In and Beyond School  ​

The California Writing Project has assembled a handbook for parents, guardians, teachers, and caretakers. It is a booklet filled with writing activities and resources from teachers and project leaders across California for how they work in collaboration with parents to help children become confident, skilled writers.

Filled with over forty writing activities for families that show children the power and pleasure of writing:
Writing connects families and friends.
Writing preserves memories.
Writing as a family teaches the power of collaboration.
Writing helps solve problems.
Writing helps children take a stand.
Writing is everywhere, not just in school.
Writing helps children learn responsibility.
Writing should go public.
Writing inspires creativity all year round.
Writing improves reading. Reading improves writing.
Writing improves with parents’ help.
Writing does not need to be just in English.

​Available in English, Spanish, Korean, Dari/Farsi, Vietnamese, Russian and Chinese.
​​​This booklet provides parents with a way to help teach the writing process, something that is long overdue.”

“Many of the ideas presented are great ways to develop students’ thinking and writing, but they also contain greater life lessons.”

​Link here for info on how to order parent booklets. 

California Standards-Informed Instructional Resources

1.  ELA WRITING TO INFORM, ARGUE, AND ANALYZE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING MODULe

CWP developed the fifth module in the California Department of Education’s series of CCSS modules. CWP’s professional learning resources increase K-12 teachers’ understanding of:

• the College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards in Writing
• CCSS writing standards across K-12 and their implications for teaching writing
• the planning, development, and adaptation of writing lessons, beginning with the end product or writing genre in mind
• formative assessment of and learning from student writing
• the importance of digital tools in CCSS-informed writing, reading, research, and presentation.

The CCSS ELA: Writing to Inform, Argue, and Analyze Professional Learning Module is located on My Digital Chalkboard:
https://www.mydigitalchalkboard.org/portal/default/Content/Viewer/Content?action=2&scId=504695

Unit 3 of the module includes the following lessons developed by CWP Teacher Consultants. The lessons focus on writing to inform, argue, and analyze, on narrative, informational/explanatory, and opinion/argument text types, and on the writing genres that give them audience, purpose, and form. They are organized by four grade level spans: K–2, 3–5, 6–8, and 9–12.

In each grade level span, you will find lessons that include:

• teaching sequences that support student writing, from generating ideas and research, to drafting and feedback, to revision and assessment, including links to the CCSS, discipline-specific California Academic Content Standards, and ELD standards
• recommendations for informational texts and links to digital texts that can be used to increase content knowledge or serve as genre or language models
• annotated student writing samples with suggestions for using them with students, along with formative assessment tools, criteria charts, and rubrics                                                    

​
Informative Writing in Kindergarten

Which is the Best Book: Opinion Writing (Grade 1)
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Recounting and Reporting on My Learning at the Natural History Museum (Grade 2)

Composing Reports of Information in Science (Grade 4)

Californianos Today: Writing Firsthand Biographies to Inform and Reflective Essays to Argue and Analyze (Grades 4 and 5)

Opinion Writing: Building Skills Through Discussion, Reading, and Writing (Grade 5)

People We Admire: Writing Firsthand Biographies to Inquire and Inform (Grade 7)

Wrestling with the Abstract: Learning to Write Reflective/Analytical Essays (Grade 7)

Why People Don't Help in A Crisis: Writing Arguments About Bystanders (Grades 8-10)

Upstanders, Not Bystanders: Writing Reports of Information (Grades 9-10)

Americanization and Success: English Learners Take a Stand (Grades 9-12)

Travel Writing: A Genre Exploration of How Text Types Blend in Real-world Writing (Grades 9-10)

Persuade Me to Purchase: Marketing as Argumentation (Grades 9-10, Special Education)

Keeping Close to Home: Education and Class—Writing Analytical Essays for College Readiness (Grades 11-12)

Uncovering Misperceptions of Living in a Small Town: Writing Analytical Argument Essays (Grade 12)

2. SUPPORTING ENGLISH LEARNERS TOWARD THEIR ACADEMIC, LINGUISTIC, AND WRITING POTENTIAl

CWP EL/ELD Teacher Consultants have created a series of iBooks--Supporting English Learners Toward Their Academic, Linguistic, and Writing Potential— organized by EL context and grade level span and including writing lessons and units linked to the ELD standards and writing text types. Two are downloadable now on iTunes and are being used by teachers across the state.

• Teaching Argument/Analytical Writing to English Learners in Grades 7-12  https://itun.es/us/SwzZ5.l
• Informational Writing in Kindergarten and First Grade:  https://itun.es/us/GgzZ5.l

 
Additional iBooks coming soon:

• Teaching Writing in Elementary Bilingual Classes
• Academic Writing and Learning for ELD Writers and Readers in Grades 4-6
• Teaching and Coaching Collaborations That Support K-8 EL Writers and Their Teachers
• Teaching Writing with Derewianka’s EL/ELD Curriculum Cycle

3. RESOURCES FOR TAKING STUDENT ARGUMENTS, DEBATES, AND DISCUSSIONS DIGITAL​

​Encourage your students to take on issues facing them today and debate or discuss those issues with students at their school, in their communities, or across California. Debating and discussing such issues is an important part of college, career, community, and civic readiness:

To build a foundation for college and career readiness, students must have ample opportunities to take part in a variety of rich, structured conversations—as part of a whole class, in small groups, and with a partner. Being productive members of these conversations requires that students contribute accurate, relevant information; respond to and develop what others have said; make comparisons and contrasts; and analyze and synthesize a multitude of ideas in various domains. New technologies have broadened and expanded the role that speaking and listening play in acquiring and sharing knowledge and have tightened their link to other forms of communication.  
- (CCSS Anchor Standards for Speaking and Listening)

For a start, check out the topics below. Although CWP created these topics and resources for Digital Learning Day, they are applicable at any time in the school year and have proven to be highly engaging for students. For research resources and writing activities, link here: perm.ly/dld-debatestoolkit

• Topic #1—Social Media: Is social media destroying our social skills? 
• Topic #2—Cyberbullying: Should our democracy allow schools to punish students for off-campus cyberbullying?
• Topic #3—Digital Footprint: Should colleges be allowed to take your “digital footprint” (social media presence, Google results, etc.) into consideration when making their admissions decisions?  
• Topic #4—Civic Participation: The public responses that are critical of the grand jury decision to not indict Darren Wilson are effective, justified, and/or productive. 
• Topics of your choosing-- Feel free to develop additional topics that connect with your students’ interests or your curriculum.

 
CWP has posted a collection of debate/discussion videos and podcasts:
 
Topic #1
Kate Hicks’ students from Locke HS and Betsy Ritzman Weber’s students from Dinuba HS chose the Social Media topic, a Lincoln-Douglas debate format, and a Google Hangout on Air collaboration.
Link - http://youtu.be/zLh3pAkvXak
 
Cary Zierenberg’s eighth grade students from Natomas Charter School's Leading Edge Academy and Sean Young’s students from Pleasanton Middle School chose to debate Topic #1: Social Media— Is social media destroying our social skills?  The students and teachers are considering developing their own debate topics and taking each other on again later in the semester.
Link - http://youtu.be/mpjZ0eM8Xeg
 
Topic #4
Marlene Carter’s students from Dorsey High School and Jason Rangel-Torres’ students from UCLA Community School decided to debate, discuss, and even role-play the pro and con perspectives of this racially- and equity-charged topic. In spite of the tech challenges they deal with everyday, they used a Google Hangout on Air to interrogate the issues and explore a wide range of perspectives and biases. Students at both schools are working on their writing, now focusing on their own beliefs, and their teachers are exploring options for follow-up discussions and collaborations.
Link - http://youtu.be/e43G1g5EqKs
 
 
Additional Resources
 
Evidence Sets: 
(Thanks to Larry Jarocki’s AP Language and Composition students at El Diamante High School) 
 
Topic #1
Download - Social Media
 
Topic #2
Download - Cyberbullying
 
Topic #3
Download - Digital Footprint
 
Topic #4
Download - Civic Participation
 
Extension Writing Assignments:
Topics #1, #2, and #4 could all lead to a study of Upstanders, Not Bystanders. This writing lesson— Why People Don’t Help in a Crisis; Writing Arguments About Bystanders— addresses that issue. (download)
 
DML Featured Blog about the CWP Debates: Engaging Students in Critical Social Media Analysis Through Debate by Nicole Mirra, UCLA Writing Project
http://dmlcentral.net/blog/nicole-mirra/engaging-students-critical-social-media-analysis-through-debate/
​

4. CALIFORNIA WRITING: LESSONS AND instructional RESOURCES FOR GRADES 1-5

​When students learn to write about their history and heritage, their neighborhoods and communities, their challenges and hopes, they are better able to read and understand the words and worlds of others. CWP was invited to create instructional resources for a statewide initiative called California Writing. What they developed offers teachers and students a powerful opportunity to read, write, and publish about four provocative themes:  

• Growing up and finding our identity in a changing California
• Understanding how our community, history, and heritage have shaped who we are as Californians
• Grappling with the realities and challenges of life in California
• Dreaming of a better life in California, as newcomers or long-time residents.

 
We invite you and your colleagues to use and adapt the lessons and resources, and to explore the following questions:

• What genres of writing can communicate our students’ own California stories, perspectives, and questions? 
• How can teachers use California stories and essays—nonfiction and fiction— to provide their students a culturally relevant and responsive curriculum?
• What specific drafting, revising, and editing strategies help students improve their writing of each genre?
• How can writing texts for others to read and understand, help student writers improve their own reading comprehension?
• How can California Writing provide all students, especially English learners and struggling students, real reasons to improve their academic writing and critical reading?

Even though these resources were developed prior to the adoption of the California Standards, you’ll note right away how they address the new Writing Standards. Use these instructional materials to help uncover the wealth of California’s stories—those of published authors, of community and family heroes, and especially of our students.

Lessons
Family and Community History Projects
Family Autobiography Projects: An Adaptation of Family and Community History Projects
If You’re Not From Gold Mountain…
Living in California: Examining Languages Acquired and Languages Lost
Solving Problems to Make Our Dreams a Reality
Who and What Defines You? Making Choices in California

Student Work Anthologies
Writing Our Heritage, Our Communities, Our Promise: An Anthology of California Perspectives Written by High School Students Across California, 2004-2005
Writing Our Heritage, Our Communities, Our Promise: An Anthology of California Perspectives Written by Elementary and Middle School Students Across California, 2004-2005
California Writing: An Anthology of California Perspectives Written by High School Students Across California, 2005-2006
California Writing: An Anthology of California Perspectives Written by Elementary and Middle School Students Across California, 2005-2006

Writing, Reading, Research Resources to Support Civic Participation

1. UPSTANDERS, NOT BYSTANDERs

CWP and our partners invite students, teachers, schools, and districts to participate in Upstanders, Not Bystanders: A Call to Write and a Call to Action. 

• Begin by downloading the toolkit of writing prompts, teacher lessons, digital tools, and reading/research resources:  Upstanders Toolkit   
• Choose the writing genres and projects—digital, print, or multimedia/multimodal—that work for your students.
• Target your Upstanders, Not Bystanders focus: writing about historical, literary, public, or personal upstanders or about community or school issues that need upstanders.
• Research and explore issues: bullying, cyberbullying, digital citizenship, intolerance, stigma, bias, or civic participation.
• Participate in the Upstanders, Not Bystanders writing and teaching opportunities created by our partners.
• Follow @CWP and CWP’s Facebook Page for updates and new opportunities during the academic year.

Upstanders, Not Bystanders Lesson Plans:

Grade K Lesson Template - Kim Holsberry
Kim Holsberry, Winters Joint Unified School District, used a number of stories that focus on children choosing kindness and standing up to bullying and teasing. Her kindergarten students discussed and wrote about the behaviors and characteristics of the upstanders in these stories, the problems they solved, and the ways their actions are inspiring. That prepared them for the next step: writing about how they can be upstanding, too.

Grade 2 Lesson Template - Angie Balius
Angie Balius, Garden Grove Unified School District, read Hooway for Wodney Wat with her second graders and then asked them to pick a character from that story, write a letter to that character, and offer suggestions for how their character can solve problems. The problem-solution letters were a part of a digital newspaper. This prepared them for the next step: writing about how they can be upstanding, too.

Grade 3 Lesson Template - Lorena Sanchez
Lorena Sanchez, Tracy Unified School District, read It Doesn't Have to Be This Way with her third grade bilingual students as a starting point for their writing about someone who had to make a hard decision and subsequently faced obstacles because of making that choice. Students reflected on solving problems and making hard choices. They first wrote about what that teaches them about being an ally for those who are in difficult situations and have to make hard decisions. Then they transferred their new learning to writing essays and PowerPoint presentations about a historical upstander.

Grade 5 Lesson Template - Teresa Pitta
Teresa Pitta, Merced City School District, asked her fifth graders to write and informational essay about someone they know who is brave enough to stand up for another person who needs support/help and explain how that person’s actions inspire them. Reading included The Bully, The Juice Box Bully, and digital texts from Time for Kids.

Grade 7 Lesson Template - Liz Harrington
Liz Harrington, San Gabriel Unified School District, and her middle school students drew on their reading of print, digital texts, and infographics about upstanders to write editorials for the school newspaper in which they explained what an upstander is and how their school would benefit from having more upstanders on campus. Digital products included podcasts or digital stories of the editorials and Be an Upstander Public Service Announcements.

Grade 9-10 Lesson Template - Amanda von Kleist
Amanda von Kleist, Hamilton Unified School District, worked with her multi-grade Special Education students to create Glogster posters that explained the concept of upstander and described the actions and traits of a specific upstander from history or the present.

Grade 9-12 Lesson Template - Norma Mota Altman
Norma Mota Altman, Alhambra Unified School District, and her multi-grade English learners wrote informational essays that define what it means to be an upstander, using historical or current upstanders as illustrations and examples. Texts for students’ research included digital texts from news sites and video clips on bullying.

Grade 9-12 Lesson Template - Marlene Carter
Marlene Carter, Los Angeles Unified School District, taught her students to explore their own personal experiences with standing up for themselves or for others, connect those experiences to literary readings about upstanders and speeches by upstanders, and research digital texts that address historical upstanders such as the Freedom Riders. Students then wrote an essay through which they discussed the benefits and risks of being an upstander, using examples from their experience, reading, and research.

Upstanders, Not Bystanders - Complete Lessons:
(Lessons include instructional sequence, texts and resources, annotated student work, and teacher reflections and extensions)

Upstanders, Not Bystanders: Writing Reports of Information (Ninth Grade)
Ninth grade teachers in CWP’s Improving Students’ Analytical Writing program collaboratively developed the lesson and focused on answering this question: How can report of information writing help students learn to convey and analyze information by using historic, public, and personal upstanders as examples and evidence?

Assessment Tool - Middle School

Assessment Tool - High School

Californianos: Writing Firsthand Biographies to Inform and Reflective Essays to Analyze (Fourth/Fifth Grade and ELD)
This pair of lessons was developed for fourth and fifth graders, all of whom are first or second generation immigrants. All are Latino, and about a third of them are English Learners.  Their teacher wanted to answer this question: How can these lessons address the CCSS writing standards, while making culturally relevant connections for students and engaging them in critical thinking, both of which will be for them springboard to a the writing of a report about a historical upstander?

Firsthand Biography - Grade8

Reflective Essay - High School

Bystanders: Why People Don't Help in a Crisis
Middle and high school teachers in CWP’s Improving Students’ Analytical Writing program developed this lesson for students in grades 8-10.  It provides students with multiple strategies for interacting with and making sense of a reading passage and writing topic, “Why People Don’t Help in a Crisis,” which was used as the 1987 University of California’s Analytical Writing Placement Examination (AWPE) for entering freshmen.  The teachers focused on addressing this question: How do we help our students understand and interact with the reading passage in ways that develop their critical reading capacity and prepare them to write to inform, argue, and analyze?
​
Scoring Guide Used for Argumentation

2. WRITING ARGUMENTS AND EXERCISING CITIZENSHIP: LETTERS TO THE NEXT PRESIDENT 2.0

The National Writing Project and KQED hosted Letters to the Next President 2.0, a project that engaged and connected young people as they researched, wrote, and made media to voice their opinions on issues that matter to them in the coming election. While candidates and media concentrated on issues that mattered to voters in the 2016 election season, teachers and students in our nation’s schools concentrated on issues that matter to the next generation of voters.  Explore the student letters and the extensive instructional resources contributed by partner organizations http://letters2president.org
 
As you explore, think about your answers to the following questions:

• How can we use Letters to the Next President to support the mission of schools to engage youth as productive and active citizens?
• How can this digital writing opportunity and others like it empower young people to write, produce, and communicate their arguments and opinions in response to the issues that capture their attention and voice?
• How can this opportunity be integrated into lessons focused on supporting youth civic participation, making change, and examining social justice and equity?
• teachers real reasons to teach their students to research and write about issues that matter to them, their families, and their communities and about issues that need the civic participation of upstanders. Both offer students real opportunities to write for public audiences.

3. ISAW’S I WRITE THE FUTURE STUDENT WRITING AND MULTIMODAL ESSAYs

​In 2010, CWP launched the I Write the Future campaign. With the help of an amazing group of teacher leaders, who are all a part of the Improving Students’ Analytical Writing (ISAW) program, and the input of a remarkable team of students, we set out a lofty goal of supporting high school students to use writing to address intolerances—discrimination, racism, homophobia, bullying, cyberbullying—propose solutions, and advocate for changes that will write a very different future than our present.
 
Thousands of students have submitted their writing for publication and consideration for scholarships. We invite you to explore the student writing selected for publication in the I Write the Future anthologies and the award-winning digital essays that can also be found on the Love, Light, Good Enough Facebook page. Then help CWP shine a bright spotlight on the promise and potential of our ISAW students.

2011-2013 I Write The Future Award Winners: Anthologies and Digital Essays

2014 Award Winners
For I Write the Future Year 4, we invited the students of teachers participating in ISAW programs, to write and go public about the issues of intolerance they were concerned about, that call them to action, that call them to problem-solving. Students could write their own stories and their own experiences, they could write observed experiences, or they could write from research. All could be used to describe the future they wanted to see. They could write editorials, commentaries, “My Turn” essays, argumentative essays, problem solution essays, poetry, spoken word, or reflective essays. But for this year they were invited to transform their written ideas into multimodal, multimedia submissions that addressed an issue and message of their choosing. What follows is a playlist of 25 of the award-winning submissions for 2014.
​

​2015 I Write The Future Multimedia/Multimodal Projects

2016 I Write The Future Multimedia/Multimodal Projects

Resources For Digital Teaching and Learning

CWP-COMMON SENSE EDUCATION LESSONS AND TEACHER LEADER BOARDs

​CWP partnered with Common Sense Education on Graphite, a new educator initiative and open source platform. Resources include critiques of the best apps, games, and websites for classroom use and teacher-developed lesson plans and suggestions for leveraging technology in the classroom. CWP Teacher Consultants developed Graphite resources specifically for writing instruction, critiqued tools that are effective for CCSS-informed writing instruction, and created professional learning opportunities for teachers to learn new instructional practices using Graphite tools and resources.
 
Explore “boards” of lessons and additional resources organized by six CWP cohorts: (https://www.graphite.org/users/jayne-marlink/boards)