Teachers Network
Translate Translate English to Chinese Translate English to French
  Translate English to German Translate English to Italian Translate English to Japan
  Translate English to Korean Russian Translate English to Spanish
Lesson Plan Search
Our Lesson Plans
TeachNet Curriculum Units
Classroom Specials
Popular Teacher Designed Activities
TeachNet NYC Directory of Lesson Plans TeachNet NYC Dirctory of Lesson Plans

VIDEOS FOR TEACHERS
RESOURCES
Teachers Network Leadership Institute
How-To Articles
Videos About Teaching
Effective Teachers Website
Lesson Plans
TeachNet Curriculum Units
Classroom Specials
Teacher Research
For NYC Teachers
For New Teachers
HOW-TO ARTICLES
TEACHER RESEARCH
LINKS

GRANT WINNERS
TeachNet Grant:
Lesson Plans
2010
TeachNet Grant Winners
2009
TeachNet Grant Winners
Adaptor Grant Winners
2008
TeachNet Grant Winners
Adaptor Grant Winners
2007
TeachNet Grant Winners
Adaptor Grant Winners
Other Grant Winners
Power-to-Learn
Math and Science Learning
Ready-Set-Tech
Impact II
Grant Resources
Grant How-To's
Free Resources for Teachers
ABOUT
Our Mission
Funders
   Pacesetters
   Benefactors
   Donors
   Sponsors
   Contributors
   Friends
Press
   Articles
   Press Releases
Awards
   Cine
   Silver Reel
   2002 Educational Publishers Award

Sitemap

New Teachers Online: How-To Articles: Use New Technology to Reinforce Instruction

IF U CN RD THS U CN LRN TO RITE:
From texting to producing clear, comprehensible writing
Ann Stephenson

At the beginning of the school year, how many of you will assign the inevitable  “What I did on my summer vacation,” and then start the process of trying to decipher not only what your students wrote “syntactilly,” but also their handwriting as well?

Why not begin with something they already know. No, not where they left off in the previous grade, but text messaging, since this has probably been their mode of writing all summer.  This form of communication developed from chat rooms and bulletin boards where users would abbreviate words in order for them to be typed more quickly and thus save time.  Cell phone users who do not have a keyboard expanded this shorthand.

Write the prompt on the board or Smart Board. If you don’t want to hear about their exciting summer then ask them what they expect to achieve this year or any other prompt to get them interested. The only difference is they must write it in text. For those who may not be familiar with text writing, elicit samples from the class and write them on the board. Explain that this is a shortened form of communicating, but does have a place in the scheme of writing. It can help them throughout the year when taking notes, writing a rough draft, etc. If there is a Smart Board available, allow a student to type a text message and have the class read it aloud. Be sure the texting is generic and understandable by all, including the teacher. The students may copy these text symbols or make up some new ones.

Examples:  U R N 5 GRD = You are in the 5th Grade.
txt msg = text message
thx = thanks
UR welcm = you’re welcome
smmr vacashn = summer vacation
dsny wrld = Disney World

After the students have finished it’s time to ask them to “translate” their writing to a different form called prose, business writing, formal, essay, copy, or composition, to name a few. In essence, it is a clear, developed form of writing with understandable syntax, spelling, and punctuation. These three competencies would be sufficient to begin the year, depending on the age level of the students.

This would be a good time to review with them the meaning and use of a Rubric. This sample may be used or write one to fit your purpose. It doesn’t necessarily have to count for a grade yet. To further assist the students, allow them to use dictionaries to look up the spelling and meaning of words and review simple punctuation with them.

Writing Rubric

 

1

2

3

Grade

Syntax

Sentences are incomplete

Sentences contain subject and predicate

Sentences are varied: simple and compound

 

Punctuation

Little, if any punctuation is used

Some punctuation is missing

Includes periods, question marks, capital letters

 

Spelling

Many words are misspelled

Some words are spelled correctly

Most words are spelled correctly

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

Keep the assignment short as most of the students will want to read their stories aloud.

As the year progresses, the Rubric may be enlarged and even hung on the wall so the children are aware of what is expected of them each time they are given a writing assignment.

And the reward for you is that you will finally learn how to text.

Do you have a question or comment about this article? E-mail me.

 

Come across an outdated link?
Please visit The Wayback Machine to find what you are looking for.

 

Journey Back to the Great Before