Spring Update Vol. 1 Issue 2

Then and Now

HHSD Writing Committee

In January 2016, the HHSD Writing Committee met to commonly score student work from the Fall 2015 LDC pilot.  Pilot teachers walked the committee through the instructional planning and delivery of their pilot modules.  Then, teachers from across grade levels and content areas spent the morning norming student work using the LDC rubric.  During the February district in-service days, the secondary Social Studies, Health and Physical Education, CAR, and Science teachers dove deeper into Collins Type One and Type Two.  Artifacts were collected from across departments that showcased student writing for Type One and Type Two.  KV Math received an introduction to Type One.  The Penn Literacy Network (PLN) teams recently completed their coursework through The University of Pennsylvania. The KV Team published a course in Canvas entitled “Collins Writing and PLN in the HHSD Classroom”.  It will be made available to teachers near the end of the year.  As we round out the year, the writing committee is excited to have new members joining the collaborative discussion about curriculum articulation and instruction in our district.  

FCAs: Focus Correction Areas

What’s next for the HHSD Writing Committee?

Focus Correction Areas (FCAs) are a powerful tool to help students target areas of improvement and allow teachers to grade papers quickly and efficiently. Focus correcting is a selective approach to grading student writing that allows students to concentrate on a few growth areas at a time out of hundreds of possibilities.

There are four categories to FCAs- content, organization, style, and conventions.  FCAs are used in Type Three, Type Four and Type Five writing. Three FCAs are assigned to each writing activity. One of the FCAs is always content, another is organization, and the third is always your “wildcard”. The FCAs are very clearly outlined for students so that there are no surprises.  They are refined, practiced, usually for one to two months, and spiraled throughout the year.

The shifts set forth from PA Core require writing instruction across content areas to step up instruction and assessment in order for students to be able to meet the demands.  The HHSD Literacy Frameworks support the skills and understandings that all students must demonstrate.  At the April committee meeting, teachers will begin to dialogue about the articulation and instruction of FCAs for our students.  The committee will be studying the tenants of FCAs with the goal in mind of drafting a comprehensive district guidance document for grades 3-12.  The district is exploring the opportunity to have Joe Ginotti, from The University of Pennsylvania’s PLN, work with teachers next school year.

Collins, John. “Focus Correction Areas.” Collins Education Associates. N.p., 2015. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.<http://www.collinsed.com/fca.htm>.

Penn Literacy Network University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education Resource Book. Philadelphia: Penn Literacy Network, 2014. Print.