Presented for Edgewood ISD by:
Sean Cain and Mike Laird
Lead Your School
Small Group:
2 to 4 students
Frequent:
Every 8 to 15 minutes
Quick:
30 seconds to 3 minutes
Purposeful:
Seed the question
Purposeful Talk:
Set up and support critical
writing
Requires
planning
Individual
Increases
retention
Students
using the
content
Can serve
as the
closing
question
Tangible
Permanent
The brain moves the
pencil
 Have
and use pre-planned questions
 Use natural transition points
 Instead of one answer at a time, use, “With
your partner…”
 Have, teach and use a cue to start and stop
 Use a timer
 Stay in the power zone
What must I do (as the administrator) to
increase the amount of Frequent Small Group
Purposeful Talk that occurs in the classrooms?
 While observing – have a cue for the teacher
(as a friendly reminder)
 Set a minimum standard for # of talk, so the
teachers can plan for them
 Other
ideas??? Share
 Have
and use pre-planned writing prompts
 Decide when the kids should write critically
(in lesson plans)
 Decide the critical writing format that best
fits the lesson



Write a summary paragraph
Write a clarifying question
Select a quote or fact and expand – What does it
mean to me…
 Provides
proof of critical thinking
 The




4 Point Critical Writing Test
The brain moves the pencil
Designed to force a connection
Designed to force cognition
There is accountability
 Don’t
just write…write critically!
 Multiple






activities
Warm-up
Embedded note taking NOT COPYING – Self
generation of making notes – NOTE
MAKING
Similarities and differences
Summaries
Research/opinion pieces
Exit tickets/Closing question/Clarifying
questions
 Various






Lengths
List
Texts/tweets (edmoto)
Sentences
Thinking Maps
Paragraphs
Compositions
Discuss how your understanding of critical
writing has changed based on what we have
learned today.
First 5
minutes
1.
2.
Student completes warm-up
Teacher Frames the Lesson
Teacher talks for
10/15 minutes
Direct teach/model
One class
period
30 to 40
minutes
Embedded note
making
Students talk 30
seconds to 3 minutes
Guided & individual
practice
Teacher talks some
Students talk some
Last 5
minutes
Student completes the
closing question
Students write or talk
 HOTS
Cards
 Talk like a genius card
 Warm-up card
 Closing question card
 Complete section on thinking map
Bubble
Flow
Map
Flow
Bubble
Bubble
Map
Map
Map
Invisible
Mental
Process
Purposeful Talk
& Critical
Great
Writing
Teacher
Evaluation
Synthesis
Analysis
Good
Teacher
Application
Comprehension
Knowledge
In
Content
Cross
Content
Real
World
 The
most powerful retention strategy is to
close the lesson

When I do not close the lesson, I MAKE A
DECISION that squanders the effort expended in
my classroom.
 The
highest yield instructional practice is
critical writing

The most effective think I can do when teaching
is close my lesson with a critical writing activity.
S. & Laird, M. (2009). The
fundamental 5: The formula for quality
instruction.
 Cain,