Writing/Composition Standards
English Language Arts - Amherst Regional Middle School
Last Revision - 2/5/03

Writing is a recursive process.  Skills are learned and relearned.  Students write often in narrative, informative, and persuasive modes.  Formal composition skills are taught, and students also participate in writing workshops using self-selected writing topics.  Writing assignments include personal narratives, creative stories, poems, plays, short essays, autobiographical sketches, and persuasive essays. Students learn to respond to each other's writing and to revise and edit their own work during writing workshops. Language study is integrated with reading and writing.

English Language Arts Writing/Composition Standards

Concepts (what students should know) appear in bold.   Skills (what students should be able to do) appear in italics.

1. Concept –Writers write for various purposes using stages of the writing process.  Writers produce multiple drafts and revisions in order to communicate effectively.

Skills - Students will:

a.       Show improvement in their final writing product by using the following writing process steps:

Focus/Plan        Draft        Assess/Edit       Revise/Evaluate        Publish

b.      Show improvement in their final writing product by consistently using the following strategies:

-         Using tools to successfully edit for spelling.

-         Editing for proper language usage.

-         Experimenting with language: vocabulary, style, & genre.

-         Using figurative language in their writing.

-         Analyzing a mentor text for style, use of language, etc. in order to improve their writing.

-         Recognizing and developing voice in their writing.

-         Writing for a variety of audiences.

-         Using writing as a tool to reflect on literature.

-         Using webbing/listing prior knowledge.

-         Developing and responding to peer evaluation

-         Use pre-writing strategies such as free-writing and journal writing.

2.  Writers produce works in a variety of genres for a variety of tasks:

Concept - Writing to Learn – Reflective writing allows a writer to explore and clarify ideas.

Skills – When writing to learn students will:

a.      Write an analytical paragraph using evidence from a text.

b.      Pre-write to get initial ideas on paper.

c.       Use journals/notebooks/free-writes to get ideas on paper.

d.      Read, respond, show change in thinking about various topics.

e.       Form original questions and provide written responses.

f.        Create entries in notebooks to develop various points of view.

g.      Write to synthesize ideas and develop personal conclusions.

3.  Concept – Writing to Inform – Writers use writing to explain (expository) or persuade

           (persuasive) 

Skills – When writing to inform students will:

a.      Write an in in-depth response to focused questions.

b.      Write an analytical paragraph using evidence from a text.

c.       Organize ideas within a paragraph.

d.      Develop a thesis and organize supporting evidence to create a well-written essay.

e.       Use comparison/contrast, persuasive, & analytical techniques in their writing.

f.        Read, respond, and show change in thinking about various topics.

g.      Annotate a portion of the text.

4.  Concept – Imaginative/Literary Writing – Students use basic literary elements and techniques

           to create imaginative and literary works. 

Skills – When writing fiction students will:

a.  Organize ideas within a paragraph.

b.      Create dialogue(s) and description(s)

c.       Write alternative endings to stories.

d.      Use perspective and point of view.

e.       Use descriptive details.

f.        Build conflict & resolution into narratives.

Skills – When writing drama students will:

a.  Create scripts that incorporate dramatic conventions: scenes, acts, cast of characters, stage directions, settings, & correct formatting (italics, parentheses).

Skills – When writing poetry students will:

a.       Compose  response poems, name poems.

b.      Incorporate a range of poetic techniques such as alliteration, onomatopoeia, & rhyme scheme.

c.       Use figurative language: simile, metaphor, & personification.

d.      Employ graphic elements: capital letters, line length, & word position.