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Research Writing Rewired
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Research Writing Rewired
Lessons That Ground Students’ Digital Learning

Foreword by Peter Smagorinsky

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November 2015 | 264 pages | Corwin

Our students are online constantly, and yet research shows that only half of teachers say digital tools make writing instruction easier. Research Writing Rewired seeks to turn that statistic upside down. 

Or, rather, upside right: If we want to ready students for a globalized world, 100% of teachers ought to consider technology an asset to any kind of writing, assert authors Dawn Reed and Troy Hicks. But the “main wiring” still has to be the ELA standards and the essential questions at the heart of each content area. To that end, the authors show you how to use digital tools within a multi-week inquiry unit to increase students’ engagement as they write-to-learn and share knowledge. Their book a clear model for tech-rich research writing that will inform your own inquiry-driven units. Guiding components include:

  • An inquiry-based, technology-rich unit on identity and culture that provides learners with opportunities to engage with the very same issues that are written about and discussed by citizens of a global society

  • 28 model lessons and a framework including extensions, tech tips, and activities that blend print, image, apps, and video so students build multi-literacy skills day by day

  • Recurring use of best practices like formative assessment, close reading, think alouds and teaching key skills, including analyzing and synthesizing, annotating, checking credibility of sources, discussion, and writing about reading 

  • Dozens of lessons and activities built around students’ favorite technology tools and online destinations, including: Citelighter, Smore, ThingLink, Padlet, and Cazles, Animoto, Mural.ly, and getLoupe, Genius and Lit Genius, Now Comment, You Voices
  • QR codes that take you to video clips on a companion website, so you can see the teaching techniques and digital tools in action

It’s up to us to make the digital learning in school a lot more like the digital learning we all do in life. Research Writing Rewired shows us how to channel students’ passion for digital communication into meeting ELA goals. 

 

 
At-a-Glance Lesson Summaries
 
Foreword by Peter Smagorinsky
 
Acknowledgments
 
Preface: Reading, Writing, and Inquiry With Adolescents
Why “Rewire” Research Writing?

 
The Contents of This Book

 
Our Guiding Principles

 
 
Introduction: Framing Student Inquiry
Considering Our Goals

 
The Big Picture: Broad Curricular Considerations

 
Additional Curricular Components

 
Final Considerations

 
 
Chapter 1. Introducing Research, Inquiry, and Connected Learning
Preview Lesson: Thinking Through a Cultural Lens

 
Lessons for Week 1

 
Lesson 1. Exploring Digital Identities

 
Lesson 2. Cultural Conversations Online: Joining Youth Voices and Reading Collaboratively

 
Lesson 3. Beginning the Cultural Conversation

 
Lesson 4. Exploring Visual Culture Through Food Wrappers and Analyzing Visual Culture

 
Lesson 5. Introducing Ethnography and the Culture Collage Assignment

 
Reflections on Embracing Inquiry in the Connected Classroom

 
 
Chapter 2. Getting Started With Inquiry Work: Visual Literacy and Literature Circles
Lessons for Week 2

 
Lesson 6. Visual Literacy and Design

 
Lesson 7. Culture Collage Sharing

 
Lesson 8. Literature Circles

 
Lesson 9. Fashion and Image in American Culture

 
Lesson 10. Reading Images: Fact or Fiction?

 
Lesson 11. Personal Inquiry Reflections

 
Reflections on Mentor Texts for Analysis and Developing Inquiry Questions

 
 
Chapter 3. Laying the Groundwork for Research Writing: Developing Close Reading Skills and Organizing Digital Spaces
Lessons for Week 3

 
Lesson 12. Literature Circle Meeting 1: Engaging in Active Discussions

 
Lesson 13. Self-Assessment and Reflection

 
Lesson 14. Language in American Culture

 
Lesson 15. Literature Circle Meeting 2: Close Reading of Passages

 
Lesson 16. Questioning and Speculating

 
Reflections on Developing Close Reading Skills and Organizing Digital Spaces

 
 
Chapter 4. Embarking on the Inquiry-Based Research Essay: Collaboration, Citation, and Credibility
Key Features of the Inquiry-Based Research Essay Assignment

 
Lessons for Week 4

 
Lesson 17. Literature Circle Meeting 3: Intertextual Connections

 
Lesson 18. Researching Skills and Tips: Exploring Sources

 
Lesson 19. Researching (Online and in the Library Media Center)

 
Lesson 20. Writing and Researching Workshop

 
Reflections on the Research Process

 
 
Chapter 5. Writing Workshop and Media Projects: Responding, Revising, and Reflecting
Lessons for Week 5

 
Lesson 21. Literature Circle Meeting 4: Final Thoughts and Reflection

 
Lesson 22. Writing Workshop and Peer Response

 
Lesson 23. Media Work

 
Lesson 24. Cultural Questions and Media Literacy

 
Lesson 25. Workshop: Inquiry-Based Research Essay and Media Projects

 
Lesson 26. Reflection and Publication of the Inquiry-Based Research Essay

 
Lesson 27. Exploring Basic Copyright Issues: Copyright, Fair Use, Creative Commons, and the Public Domain

 
Lesson 28. Reflecting, Sharing, and Celebrating the Final Media Project

 
Reflections on the Writing Process

 
 
Chapter 6. Final Reflections and Conclusions
Assessment: A Flexible, Rhetorical Approach

 
Purposeful Technology Integration

 
Conclusions

 
 
References and Further Reading
 
Index
 
About the Authors
Key features

·         28 complete inquiry lessons that demonstrate how students can engage with digital tools throughout the research, writing, and revision process

·         Lesson extensions and adaptations for flexible classroom use to meet a range of student needs

·         Integrated video clips that illustrate the lessons in action

·         Extensive student work samples with accompanying analysis

·          A robust companion website with student handouts, videos and video viewing guides 

For instructors

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