Non+Fiction+Quick+Write

**Non-Fiction Quick Write**

**Rationale:** I chose this strategy because I wanted to see how much each student knew on snakes and penguins before starting the educational units on them. I wanted to see if they knew facts in regards to each topic or if they were exercising their opinion and expressing the basic knowledge of snakes and penguins instead of more precise and in depth information.

This strategy was used in both a 1st and 2nd grade special education room. A total of 5 students did the quick write strategy however each grade had a different topic. The 1st grade topic was snakes and the 2nd grade topic was Penguins.
 * Courses Implemented:**

**Diverse Learners:** I believe that this strategy reached all learners because they were all engaged in the activity and really wanted to do the writing portion of the strategy. I think the visual learners did best because they were able to see what they were writing and could refer back to it. Since writing is usually a struggle for my students I was surprised that they all liked this strategy and wanted to participate. I received better writing from all of them. The improvement in writing might have been because the topic was of interest to them therefore easier but at least they were writing and enjoyed it. Hopefully this will light a spark to their writing. My tactile and kinesthetic learners had trouble just sitting and writing so they moved around a lot in their chairs but that is acceptable in my classroom is no matter what activity I am doing.  **Procedure:** **Potential Issues:** I would make the strategy a little more formal by giving them lined paper with the topic on the top and then having them write under it. I would also give them another sheet to write on after the unit where they can write what they learned. Another issue is that the student's may not have any prior knowledge which would make it difficult for them to complete this activity. If that is the case then I would have them write on what they would want to know.
 * I introduced the lesson and gave a brief overview of the unit for the next 2 weeks.
 * I told them to think about what they knew about snakes and penguins.
 * I modeled my quick write on a different topic to show them what they were going to do.
 * They performed their quick write on either penguins or snakes.
 * They each read their quick write on their topic.
 * We will then go back after the two weeks and evaluate and expand onto our quick write in order to see if our original was accurate.

Stephens, EC., & Brown, JE. (2005). //A handbook of content literacy strategies: 125 practical reading and writing ideas//. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc.
 * References:**