The Knowledge Gap, Chapter 11 Q/A
Read the following chapter and answer the questions below. Upload your document to canvas. Include the title of the book, chapter, questions stems and your answers. Each question is worth 10 points.
The Knowledge Gap – Chapter 11.pdf Download The Knowledge Gap – Chapter 11.pdf
1. Is written English really “a second language”? If all educators adopted that perspective, how might it change their approach to teaching writing? If you are a teacher, how much training did you receive in how to teach writing? If you are a parent, do you feel your children are getting or have gotten effective writing instruction?
2. “Hochman discovered that writing, reading comprehension, and analytical ability were all connected – and that writing was the key to unlocking the two.” Do you agree? How can writing boost comprehension and lead students to make connections between bits of information? Is the knowledge gap exacerbated by a lack of writing instruction?
3. Judith Hochman and Lucy Calkins began with similar perceptions about what was missing from writing instruction but ended up with two very different approaches. What are the main differences in their methods? Why do you think their paths diverged? To what extent was each of them influenced by the students she was working with?
4. Do see parallels between the standards approach to reading comprehension and the writer’s workshop approach to writing instruction? Does that assumption that skills can be taught independently of content make more sense in one context than the other?
5. Should children be encouraged to write at length about their own experiences or develop their “voice” without worrying much about the conventions of written language? Or do you agree with Hochman that most students will only learn to write if instruction is grounded in the content of the curriculum and they are explicitly taught how to construct sentences and plan and revise paragraphs and essays?
