Research Writing Rewired: Lessons That Ground Students’ Digital Learning(Corwin Literacy)

Our students are online constantly, and yet research shows that only half of teachers say digital tools make writing instruction easier. Research Writing Rewired seeks to turn that statistic upside down.  Or, rather, upside right: If we want to ready students for a globalized world, 100% of teachers ought to consider technology an asset to any kind of writing, assert authors Dawn Reed and Troy Hicks. But the "main wiring" still has to be the ELA standards and the essential questions at the heart of each content area. To that end, the authors show you how to use digital tools within a multi-week inquiry unit to increase students’ engagement as they write-to-learn and share knowledge. Their book a clear model for tech-rich research writing that will inform your own inquiry-driven units. Guiding components include: An inquiry-based, technology-rich unit on identity and culture that provides learners with opportunities to engage with the very same issues that are written about and discussed by citizens of a global society 28 model lessons and a framework including extensions, tech tips, and activities that blend print, image, apps, and video so students build multi-literacy skills day by day Recurring use of best practices like formative assessment, close reading, think alouds and teaching key skills, including analyzing and synthesizing, annotating, checking credibility of sources, discussion, and writing about reading  Dozens of lessons and activities built around students’ favorite technology tools and online destinations, including: Citelighter, Smore, ThingLink, Padlet, and Cazles, Animoto, Mural.ly, and getLoupe, Genius and Lit Genius, Now Comment, You Voices QR codes that take you to video clips on a companion website, so you can see the teaching techniques and digital tools in action It’s up to us to make the digital learning in school a lot more like the digital learning we all do in life. Research Writing Rewired shows us how to channel students’ passion for digital communication into meeting ELA goals. 

Table of Contents:
At-a-Glance Lesson Summaries Foreword by Peter Smagorinsky Acknowledgments Preface: Reading, Writing, and Inquiry With Adolescents Why “Rewire” Research Writing? The Contents of This Book Our Guiding Principles Introduction: Framing Student Inquiry Considering Our Goals The Big Picture: Broad Curricular Considerations Additional Curricular Components Final Considerations Chapter 1. Introducing Research, Inquiry, and Connected Learning Preview Lesson: Thinking Through a Cultural Lens Lessons for Week 1 Lesson 1. Exploring Digital Identities Lesson 2. Cultural Conversations Online: Joining Youth Voices and Reading Collaboratively Lesson 3. Beginning the Cultural Conversation Lesson 4. Exploring Visual Culture Through Food Wrappers and Analyzing Visual Culture Lesson 5. Introducing Ethnography and the Culture Collage Assignment Reflections on Embracing Inquiry in the Connected Classroom Chapter 2. Getting Started With Inquiry Work: Visual Literacy and Literature Circles Lessons for Week 2 Lesson 6. Visual Literacy and Design Lesson 7. Culture Collage Sharing Lesson 8. Literature Circles Lesson 9. Fashion and Image in American Culture Lesson 10. Reading Images: Fact or Fiction? Lesson 11. Personal Inquiry Reflections Reflections on Mentor Texts for Analysis and Developing Inquiry Questions Chapter 3. Laying the Groundwork for Research Writing: Developing Close Reading Skills and Organizing Digital Spaces Lessons for Week 3 Lesson 12. Literature Circle Meeting 1: Engaging in Active Discussions Lesson 13. Self-Assessment and Reflection Lesson 14. Language in American Culture Lesson 15. Literature Circle Meeting 2: Close Reading of Passages Lesson 16. Questioning and Speculating Reflections on Developing Close Reading Skills and Organizing Digital Spaces Chapter 4. Embarking on the Inquiry-Based Research Essay: Collaboration, Citation, and Credibility Key Features of the Inquiry-Based Research Essay Assignment Lessons for Week 4 Lesson 17. Literature Circle Meeting 3: Intertextual Connections Lesson 18. Researching Skills and Tips: Exploring Sources Lesson 19. Researching (Online and in the Library Media Center) Lesson 20. Writing and Researching Workshop Reflections on the Research Process Chapter 5. Writing Workshop and Media Projects: Responding, Revising, and Reflecting Lessons for Week 5 Lesson 21. Literature Circle Meeting 4: Final Thoughts and Reflection Lesson 22. Writing Workshop and Peer Response Lesson 23. Media Work Lesson 24. Cultural Questions and Media Literacy Lesson 25. Workshop: Inquiry-Based Research Essay and Media Projects Lesson 26. Reflection and Publication of the Inquiry-Based Research Essay Lesson 27. Exploring Basic Copyright Issues: Copyright, Fair Use, Creative Commons, and the Public Domain Lesson 28. Reflecting, Sharing, and Celebrating the Final Media Project Reflections on the Writing Process Chapter 6. Final Reflections and Conclusions Assessment: A Flexible, Rhetorical Approach Purposeful Technology Integration Conclusions References and Further Reading Index About the Authors

About the Author :
Dawn Reed is an English teacher at Okemos High School in Okemos, Michigan and Co-Director of Red Cedar Writing Project at Michigan State University. She earned her MA in Rhetoric and Writing in Critical Studies in Literacy and Pedagogy from Michigan State University, and she continues to engage in teacher inquiry and research. Her research interests include the teaching of writing, digital literacy, and authentic writing opportunities, including writing for civic engagement. Through her work as a consultant with Red Cedar Writing Project, she is involved with supporting teacher professional development through work with schools and the National Writing Project. She has published in various journals and books, including English Journal and Teaching the New Writing: Technology, Change, and Assessment (Teachers College Press, 2009), and The Next Digital Scholar (2014) and on Digital Is (digitalis.nwp.org). Follow her @dawnreed. Dr. Troy Hicks is an associate professor of English at Central Michigan University and focuses his work on the teaching of writing, literacy and technology, and teacher education and professional development. A former middle school teacher, he collaborates with K–12 colleagues and explores how they implement newer literacies in their classrooms. Hicks directs CMU’s Chippewa River Writing Project, a site of the National Writing Project, and he frequently conducts professional development workshops related to writing and technology. In March 2011, Hicks was honored with CMU′s Provost′s Award for junior faculty who demonstrate outstanding achievement in research and creative activity and, in 2014, he was honored with the Conference on English Education’s Richard A. Meade Award for scholarship in English Education. Follow him on Twitter @hickstro.