Explicit instruction helps students develop agency and confidence as they increasingly understand the purpose of writing strategies.”

- Oregon's Adolescent Literacy Framework, page 87

So far in this module, we have talked about the importance of key writing strategies that provide students with opportunities to build on their writing skills across disciplines. In addition, it’s important to remember that for students to foster a strong writing and learner identity, they must develop a sense of agency and be provided with opportunities to build on their assets when engaged in disciplinary writing. Providing opportunities for students to practice their metacognitive skills supports student agency and allows students to understand the purpose of writing strategies as well as their own evolving understanding of them. When students have agency, they feel motivated to set goals, monitor their goals, and make informed decisions about what is next in learning. Students apply these skills and mindsets as they tackle writing tasks within each discipline.

Spark Activity

How do you create safe and welcoming learning spaces for your students that respect and value their lived experiences, languages and cultures?

You may wish to capture your thinking in your journal space.

Step 1: Read

It’s important that educators create classroom environments that provide students with access to rich and rigorous learning environments. Now, read more about some ways educators create inclusivity and belonging in their classrooms.

Select the arrow to the left of each heading to expand each section.

Setting High Expectations for All Students

Educators set high expectations for all students as they build their identity as writers while ensuring they provide the necessary supports and respond to student learning needs. For instance, educators might provide model texts for students and provide other resources as students understand the expectations of the writing tasks within the discipline.

Knowing Students Well

Educators get to know students well on an individual basis, learning about their strengths, interests, backgrounds, goals, fears and hopes. This understanding gives educators the opportunity to better connect writing opportunities within their discipline to the experiences and interests of their students.

Engaging in Culturally Responsive Practices

Educators engage in culturally responsive and asset-based practices that help students feel a sense of belonging, which increases motivation and engagement. As educators think about engaging students in writing tasks, they think about the curriculum, materials and resources that reflect students’ cultural, linguistic and experiential assets.

Ensuring Relevance in Learning

Educators ensure that the content is relevant and incorporate opportunities for students to explore how their learning will impact them in the future. As students engage in writing tasks, they will make connections on how disciplinary writing supports the development of writing skills beyond the classroom writing activity.

Honoring Linguistic Assets

Educators utilize students’ linguistic strengths, providing opportunities for them to create meaning within language and engage in translanguaging experiences. As students engage in writing tasks, they have opportunities to leverage multiple languages to enhance their written communication about their learning and experiences.

Step 2: Write

Now that you've read about some ways educators can create inclusive environments for students, complete the note-catcher, Ways Educators Create Inclusivity and Belonging in Their Classroom. Think about how you will continue to engage with these practices as you create opportunities for your students to engage in writing within your discipline.

Optional: Go Deeper

As an optional extension activity, you may wish to explore how to create welcoming learning spaces that provide students opportunities to develop a writer identity within your discipline.

"Culturally responsive teaching liberates students to:

Find and use their own voices
Engage in thinking
Examine issues through multicultural perspectives
Become active participants."

— Rapp (2014)

Now, read the Belonging, Motivation and Engagement section of Oregon’s Adolescent Literacy Framework, which provides an overview of culturally responsive and asset-based instructional practices that support literacy instruction. As you read, select one of the following sections to focus on. Think about the ways that the practices described in the section might support students’ agency and motivation as they engage in writing tasks.

Oregon’s Transformative Social and Emotional Learning (TSEL) Framework, pages 27–28

High Expectations, Responsive Teaching, pages 29–30

Culturally Responsive, Asset-Based Practices, pages 30–31

Tapping Community and Cultural Literacy Approaches, pages 32–33

Tapping Adolescents’ Linguistic Strengths, pages 33–35

(PDF) - Oregon's Adolescent Literacy Framework: Belonging, Motivation and Engagement