Critical Writing... How Much is Enough

When I present to teachers I am often asked, “How often should I have my students engage in Critical Writing?”

The short answer is... Every period. Every day.

The long answer is slightly more nuanced.  In the typical classroom, critical writing occurs around 4% of the time.  That is not a typo and that includes reading and writing classrooms. And 4% is not a LYS finding. Mike Schmoker (one of the REALLY big brains in education) was the first to point this out.  Others have since documented similar findings.  So, we will accept 4% as typical.

At the best Fundamental 5 campuses, Critical Writing is observed 15 to 20% of the time.  So, it still does not occur all the time, but look at it this way, 20% is just a 400% improvement over the typical classroom.  That is significant.  But I also think it is reasonable. 

Let’s break this down to make the practice a little more actionable.  If we were to assume that the typical class period is 60 minutes long, then 20% of class time would be 12 minutes. Which means that I believe a reasonable goal in any core content classroom would be to embed a minimum of 8 to 12 minutes of Critical Writing in every lesson.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Upcoming Conference Presentations: The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

The Official Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan and Note Taking Developers

The use of The Fundamental 5 (Cain & Laird) has spread like wildfire in schools across the country.  Thousands of teachers have been trained by the Lead Your School coaching staff and tens of thousands of teachers have read the book and then worked independently to improve their craft. It is truly humbling to consider.

With all these teachers working on implementing The Fundamental 5, there have been some that have shared the tools they have created in this pursuit.  Some of these shared tools have been incredible, and some of them... Well, they’re trying.  With lesson plans in particular, I have seen a lot of “Fundamental 5” lesson plans that are onerous, convoluted, counter productive, and just plain bad.

Since these lesson plans were built because of teacher need, we decided to cut out the middle man and any dubious profit motive and provide The Official Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Developer to any and all school districts, schools, and teachers, for free.

Also, we at LYS, recognize that Critical Writing is the most powerful of all instructional strategies. We train instructional leaders to facilitate a campus culture of literacy and train teachers (all teachers) to embed critical writing activities in their lessons. In support of this, we have built The Official Fundamental 5 Note Taking Developer for use by any and all school districts, schools, and teachers. Once again, for free.

All we ask is that you remember us if your ever need any assistance and drop us a line and let us know how the tools work for you.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

And That's Not All... The Fundamental 5 Note Taking Developer

(SOUND OF MORE TRUMPETS)

As if THE FUNDAMENTAL 5 LESSON PLAN DEVELOPER wasn’t enough...

You asked for it...

And we built it... We’re LYS, it’s what we do.

THE FUNDAMENTAL 5 NOTE TAKING DEVELOPER!!!

This easy to use tool, allows the teacher to build a customized note take tool for any (may we suggest, every) lesson. Appropriate for almost every student, grade level and class, building a habit of good note taking is a key step in creating a campus culture for critical writing.

Once built, the teacher and save, edit, print and share the form.

And again, all this instructional goodness for the low, low price of... F-R-E-E!!!

To use the tool, just go to LeadYourSchool.com

Here’s an example.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5

Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); PowerWalks CLC (Networked Formative Observation Tool)

Upcoming Presentations: National Association of Secondary School Principals Conference (Multiple Presentations)

Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook

Write It Down

I read recently (I wrote down the idea, not the source) that you increase your chance of achieving a goal when you write it down, BY HAND.  This is much more powerful than verbalizing the goal or even typing it. For as crazy as this may sound, it makes sense based on what we know about critical writing. 

Critical writing is the process of connecting subconscious concepts and ideas and making those connections, concepts and ideas conscious, real, and tangible thru the physical act of writing.

So here is the critical writing effect on goal accomplishment.

I think I want to do something; I get distracted and that thought evaporates.

I say I want to do something: I get busy and what I said becomes open to interpretation.

I write down that I want to do something; Even if want to change my mind the commitment is “real” and my permanent written record holds me accountable.

If it is important, meaningful or critical... Grab a pen and write it down.

Think. Work. Achieve.

Your turn...

• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “The Fundamental 5: The Formula for Quality Instruction.” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/Fundamental5 
• Call Jo at (832) 477-LEAD to order your campus set of “Look at Me: A Cautionary School Leadership Tale” Individual copies available on Amazon.com!  http://tinyurl.com/lookatmebook 
• Now at the Apple App Store: Fun 5 Timer (Fundamental 5 Delivery Tool); Fun 5 Plans (Fundamental 5 Lesson Plan Tool); PW Lite (Basic PowerWalks Tool); PW Pro (Mid-level PowerWalks Tool) 
• Upcoming Presentations: The Fundamental 5 National Summit (Keynote Presentation) 
• Follow Sean Cain and LYS on www.Twitter.com/LYSNation  and like Lead Your School on Facebook