WTL

So I made it into the third chapter of my book, it's actually a very easy read.  This chapter was great because it started giving specific examples of writing to learn, or WTL activities.  These are short writing prompts designed to help students actively think about whatever topic or concept is being covered.  They are not full lessons, just ideas that can easily be incorporated into teaching pretty much anything.  I could write pages if I covered each idea in detail, so I think what I'm going to do is list the ideas given with a very brief overview of each.  If anyone has a question about one, or if you want further elaboration on one, please just let me know, I just don't want to write pages and pages of blog that no one will read, or that will take anyone too long to read.  So, here they are:
Exit Slip - in the last one to five minutes of the day, have students write a response to a prompt over the day's learning on an index card (or a slip of paper, I've had kids halve papers with a neighbor).  On the slip, students respond to the prompt, which can be simple recall, Why did..., a prediction, What else do you think we need to cover..., an explanation, If you were going to teach this to someone else, what would you add to your notes, or a check-in, How can I help you learn this concept better?  I'm sure there are numerous other ways to use this quick, simple method.  I've used exit slips before, but after reading this explanation, realize I had been missing a piece, which was to address what kids have written often to help validate their work/concerns.

Admit Slip - opposite of the exit slip, this method is used either as homework, where they kids complete is as a part of homework, or at the start of class to either review or set the stage for the day's lesson.  It was recommended that for many of these ideas, we pair students up with a peer, and they can switch papers and either comment in writing, or discuss what they've written.  Also important is to address what students have written in whole class discussion, to help students feel that the work is meaningful and valid.

Drawing and Illustrating - "students can make quick drawings, sketches, or diagrams to illustrate ideas, events, science experiments, real-world situations involving math problems, and so on, in order to help themselves and others understand something they are trying to learn" (pp. 48).  The idea behind this is that students, especially our visual learners will understand complex ideas better if they've drawn/sketched about the idea.

Clustering - "non-linear brainstorming" (pp. 55).  Now wait, before you think, I'm not an English teacher, I don't need kids to brainstorm, this idea is not only for English teachers.  The concept asks kids to write down a key word in the center of a page, and write words connected with that word around the key word.  Depending on how far you want to take this idea, kids could then add on to that second strand of ideas, or maybe see connections between two ideas they hadn't seen before.

Mapping - this is something I alluded to with the clustering, as it requires kids to arrange groups of ideas visually and find relationships.  One basic map that many of us have probably used is a Venn Diagram.  The book has a great example of a math mind map on factors that one student created.

All of these ideas help teachers get a quick check in during a unit, rather than waiting until the end of the unit test to see where learning gaps are.  As I mentioned, the important thing with any of these ideas, is to use the data you receive on where students are and where you need to go, validating that they are doing meaningful work, even though they don't take more than a few minutes to complete.