Dr. Louis' Blog

Question:

My school uses the Jane Schaffer Writing Program for 7th-8th grades both in history and in English classes. We teach about thesis statements in 7th grade, and other teachers on campus begin teaching them in 6th grade and even 5th grade. With your expertise, what age/grade on average is the developmentally appropriate age/grade to first introduce thesis statements? – Mindy R.

Thank you for sharing any wisdom/expertise with us!

Hi, Mindy,

I have worked with elementary teachers for many years, and I find that third grade is the year that teachers require students to write multi-paragraph essays, which require an introduction and, therefore, a thesis statement (sometimes known as a “controlling idea” in the elementary setting). I instruct third and fourth grade teachers to write a one-sentence introduction that is the thesis statement. When students come to fifth grade, we create an introduction with two sentences: a thematic sentence that provides a broad idea related to the topic and then the thesis statement.

Middle school and high school students learn my ten percent rule: an introduction should be ten percent of an essay. In other words, if a teacher assigns a 2,500 word essay, students should write about a 250-word introduction. The same advice goes for the conclusion.

Introduction10%Body80%Conclusion10%

I start by teaching the framed thesis. A framed thesis names the topic of each paragraph. For example, if my essay is about what I like most about April, then I would name what I like most in my thesis statement.

The month of April is special because it is the time when flowers bloom and the weather warms.

My first body paragraph would be about the colors that come from budding flora. My second body paragraph would be about the weather allowing me to wear lighter clothing. The framed thesis is a good way to start because it helps students organize their essays and begins instruction about structure and logic.

In upper level grades, or after students have mastered the framed thesis, I introduce the open thesis. An open thesis is more thematic. It does not identify the topics but rather guides the essence of the essay.

The month of April makes me feel young again.

I will still discuss the colorful blooms and the warm breeze, but I don’t name them in the thesis. The open thesis leaves a little more to the reader’s imagination.

The more exposure to the thesis statement, the better. Each academic year, literary and nonliterary texts become more sophisticated as do writing prompts. Naturally, then, the thesis statements become more sophisticated. If you have a multi-pronged prompt, you will have a multi-pronged thesis.

Many high school English language arts and social studies teachers like debatable thesis statements. That thesis statement lends itself to the art of teaching argumentation.

As the students get taller in their heads, the thesis becomes more complex. I had a wonderful mentor, who taught high school seniors, tell me years ago that a thesis is a compound-complex thought and, therefore, it should be a compound complex sentence.

The thesis statement is a promise, an agreement, and some would say a contract between a writer and her reader. Every word, every phrase, every sentence, and every paragraph in an essay should strive to support and prove the thesis. The thesis statement is that important!

Keep reading and writing!

Warm regards,

Dr. Louis

Carl Glickman (Glickman et al., 2013 p. 234) provided a compelling mission statement to guide professional development within schools: “Education is a human enterprise. The essence of successful instruction and good schools comes from the thoughts and actions of the professionals in the schools.” Consequently, the goal for professional development is to strengthen a teacher’s knowledge base and skill set to improve instruction within the classroom and school. For professional development to be successful and have a long-term impact, it cannot be a capricious “one and done” but a carefully crafted learning plan for the school to ensure teacher growth and student learning.

               Glickman (Glickman et al., 2013) identified several key attributes of well-designed and thoughtful professional development programs. It is critical that teachers within the school have significant input into the design, implementation, and assessment of the professional development program. This collaboration will yield a comprehensive program characterized by participant ownership focused on student learning.

An important aspect of a successful professional development program is the establishment of school-wide goals that allow for individual adult self-directed learning, a key tenet of successfully embedded professional development. The professional development plan must carefully scaffold the investigation of research-based effective instruction strategies as teachers collaborate and share their best practices to provide for a common knowledge of effective student learning strategies. To address individual adult learning needs, the professional development program must incorporate a variety of strategies to organize for adult learning. This menu of services might include job-embedded training, individual coaching for self-directed learning, or study groups of teachers to gain, process, and strategize new learning. The intent of a multifaceted menu is to create an optimum individual and group learning environment focused on the attainment of the school’s strategic plan.

Another critical attribute of  a professional development program is the understanding that not all adults learn at the same pace; thus, professional development organizers must adhere to the three stages of professional development: (1) an orientation phase where teachers gain an awareness and information about the specific professional development constructs; (2) an integration phase characterized by teachers applying the learned knowledge into their classroom and/or professional practices through a trial and error process; (3) a refinement phase when teachers possess a firm routine management of the professional development learning and possess the ability to transfer or adapt that learning into their own teaching and/or professional behaviors.

A professional development program is a school’s instrument for teachers to increase and apply new knowledge to improve student learning.

Glickman, C. D., Gordon, S. P., & Ross-Gordon, J. M. (2013). The basic guide to supervision: And instructional leadership. Upper Saddle River, NJ, NJ: Pearson Education.

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The Gradual Release Model, or guided instruction teaching strategy, ensures that students are supported in their acquisition of the skills and strategies necessary for successful writing. Implementing the gradual release of responsibility model requires time and careful instructional planning to ensure student success in independent writing.

The goal of guided instruction in the gradual release of responsibility model is to guide students toward using different skills, strategies, and procedures independently. Hence the student will continually assume more responsibility with less support from the teacher. Lessons are created to ensure student success.

The Stages in the Gradual Release Model

Stage 1: Modeling – “I do it.”

The teacher establishes the purpose of the lesson and models his or her thinking. The purpose should be based on the expected learning outcomes, such as standards, and be clearly communicated to students. Teacher modeling should provide students with examples of the thinking and language required to be successful.

THE TEACHER

• Provides direct instruction;
• Establishes goals and purpose;
• Models desired outcomes; and
• Utilizes the “Think Aloud” teaching strategy.

THE STUDENT

• Actively listens;
• Takes notes; and
• Asks for clarification.

Stage 2: Guided Instruction – “We do it.”

The teacher strategically presents questions, prompts, and cues to facilitate student understanding. This can be done with whole groups of students but is probably more effective with small groups that are convened based on instructional needs. During guided instruction, the teacher focuses on releasing responsibility to students while providing instructional scaffolds to ensure that students are successful.

THE TEACHER

• Creates interactive instruction;
• Works with students;
• Checks, prompts, clues;
• Provides additional modeling;
• Meets with needs-based groups; and
• Asks and responds to questions.

THE STUDENT

• Works with teacher and classmates; and
• Completes the process alongside others.

Stage 3: Semi-Independent Work — “You do it together.”

Students work in collaborative groups to produce something related to the topic at hand. To be productive, the collaboration must involve students using academic language and being individually accountable for their contribution to the effort. This phase of instruction should provide students with an opportunity to consolidate their understanding before they apply it independently.

THE TEACHER

• Moves among the groups;
• Clarifies areas of confusion; and  
• Provides support.

THE STUDENT

• Works with one or more classmates;
• Collaborates on the authentic task;
• Consolidates learning;
• Completes process in the small group; and
• Looks to peers for clarification.

Stage 4: Independent Work — “You do it alone.”

Students apply what they have learned in class and outside of class. Many independent learning tasks are used as formative assessments, designed to check for understanding and to identify needs for reteaching. Of course, independent learning tasks should not come too soon in the instructional cycle since students need practice before they can sufficiently apply knowledge in new situations.

THE TEACHER

• Evaluates student work;
• Determines level of understanding;
• Provides feedback; and
• Intervenes as appropriate.

THE STUDENT

• Works independently;
• Relies on notes, activities, and classroom models to complete the assignment; and
• Takes full responsibility for the outcome.

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It is precisely because

Cherry blossoms scatter

That we find them appealing.

Does anything endure for long

In this world of sorrows?

– “Tales of Ise” 125

Mother was sitting at her Singer sewing machine nestled in the corner of our formal dining room when she called Alicia and me into the room.

“Girrlsss!” Her beckoning, soulful tone filled the hallways of our home.

To our mother’s loving New England voice, I, a ten year-old tomboy, and my sister, a twelve year-old genius and my hero, scampered from our peach-colored bedroom with twin beds placed against a beautiful and broad bay window where lightning bugs visited on warm, southern Texas nights. When we arrived, the reliable whirr of the sewing machine stopped. We hadn’t a clew of what she wanted: perhaps she would assign another Saturday chore of housecleaning, perhaps she would announce an upcoming evening event at which I could wear the new Easter dress that I had been allowed to wear only once, the delicate white fabric scattered with red cherry blossoms. She had not called for Jimmy, our little brother, so maybe it was just a girl thing, something about dinner fixings, a fitting, or maybe—a secret. She continued peering at the unmanifested fabric as she quietly said, “Girls, I need to tell you something. I have leukemia.”

What? What did she say? What . . . did . . . she . . . say? I stood there listening, but I didn’t hear. She didn’t cry, so I wasn’t afraid. She didn’t elaborate, so I didn’t understand. What was she telling me? What had to be for her and what should have been for me, a heart-wrenching revelation, was stated so matter-of-factly, that it felt like she was announcing a typical afternoon appointment or an errand to run, and Alicia and I would be expected to watch over Jimmy. And where was Dad? If this were really important, wouldn’t Dad be with her, with us?

I don’t remember what else she said, really. I only remember that spring was gone, summer had begun, a cool Saturday afternoon aired before me, and I should be out in it, riding my blue bike around the neighborhood or finding the tallest oak tree to climb.

It has been more than fifty years since that day, and I still seek the tallest oaks to climb; but, every once in a while I remember that afternoon. Like last night, after a memorable day at Pacifica Graduate Institute of Dr. Miller taking me “down and into” convex and concave mirrors, leading me forward and backward with images of Caravaggio and Picasso, of altered kaleidoscopes and rippled reflections, as I lay on my twin bed in the solitude of my private chamber, overlooking a garden where hummingbirds visit me on cool Santa Barbara nights, I cried for my mother’s comforting New England voice and the beautiful, scattered cherry blossoms.

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“If there is anything we wish to change in the child, we should first examine it and see whether it is not something that could better be changed in ourselves.” C.G. Jung, (Collected Works, Vol. 17, para. 287)

Introduction

For the past sixty years, my life has been a part of the psyche and psychology of the American teacher in public education, and particularly, in the English language arts classroom. I was born in the 1950s to high school teachers: my mother taught high school English language arts; my father was a Physical Education teacher, as well as a tennis coach, football official, and basketball referee. At ten and for the next twelve years, my father hired me as a swimming instructor, teaching students whose ages ranged from two years old to seventy.

At twenty-two, I lost my mother; at thirty-two, my father. So my journey continued without the two greatest teachers in my life.

I worked as a high school English teacher for fifteen years, an adjunct professor on occasion, and a consultant for the College Board, Advanced Placement Strategies, Laying the Foundation, and others. Today, I have an educational consulting firm, Louis Educational Concepts, which provides professional development to elementary and secondary teachers. I am a Teacher. And as a Teacher, I believe that changes and challenges in education are normal in an industry that revolves around what is best for children, what is best for our future.

However, over the past two decades the acceleration of changes and unrelenting challenges to teachers are telling signs of a period of struggle which historically precedes transformation while also manifesting clearer and discernible phenomena that typically lie beneath the surface. The purpose of this 2022 blog series is to analyze the current state of flux in both the macrocosm of American education and the microcosm of the English language arts classroom and, from an archetypal and depth psychological approach, to provide insight into the underlying causes of the flux and solutions to the challenges that it poses for teachers.

For teachers and students to implement the Jane Schaffer Academic Writing Program® with a high degree of fidelity, school leadership teams, grade level professional learning communities, and individual teachers must commit to a simple but key process.

The process is quite straightforward:

The teacher-student cycle of practice and feedback is a continuous cycle needed to embed the JSWP® process into curricula and internalize the process into the minds of teachers and students.

• PRACTICE – Teachers and students must practice the JSWP® scaffolded process to internalize their thinking about the process and to create “automaticity.”
• FEEDBACK – Students not only need timely formative feedback sessions, but also teachers need regular constructive feedback. The JSWP® Scope & Sequence, the JSWP® Rubrics, and the JSWP “Look Fors” for Leadership Guidelines (JSWP® Essential Tools) provide teachers and their administrators with user-friendly guidelines designed to assist in planning and lead to program fidelity among teachers and their students. Using the JSWP® Essential Tools, the feedback cycle has a two-fold purpose for both teachers and their students: (1) to promote writing efficacy, and (2) to identify areas of difficulty or nonalignment within the JSWP® process.
• PRACTICE – Students and teachers practicing the JSWP® process through modeling, collaboration, and independent work will yield fidelity and progress if both students and teachers receive positive reinforcement.
• FEEDBACK WITH JSWP® IMPLEMENTATION INTERVENTIONS AS NEEDED – As warranted by the feedback cycle and an expected occurrence in the cycle, teachers and students may need additional training and instruction to correct any JSWP® process missteps that may occur along the way.
• CELEBRATION – Affording time to celebrate the successes and gains for both teachers and students alike reinforces the efficacy of embedding JSWP best practices and provides FUN for all!

At Louis Educational Concepts, we work collaboratively with schools, leadership teams, departments, and individual teachers to ensure JSWP® fidelity. We can assist in the implementation of the JSWP® Essential Tools and provide focused professional development interventions and add-ons as needed. Our goal is your goal: to have students and teachers successfully implement this outstanding academic writing program so that they experience academic success throughout their school years.