This course will explore the idea of writing to learn in the context of the Common Core State Standards.

Target audience: U.S. K-12 educators

Prerequisite knowledge/skills:

• Solid knowledge of your grade level and subject area
• An interest in or healthy curiosity about the writerly domains of your content area
• Willingness to write with your students and to explore writing as a tool for deeper learning
• Willingness to share your work and ideas with others

Course dates: Sept. 26- Nov. 4, 2011 (6 weeks)

Course commitments:

Participants should be willing to:

• Share, learn, and teach as a part of this peer learning course
• Write and share their writing and compositions
• Commit to spend 4-6 hours a week on this course (Most of the time will be asynchronous, but there will be 2-3 optional webinars. They will also be archived for later viewing.)
• Attempt to write reflectively about their experiences and learning
• Create and share a writing assignment 

Course goals:

After this course, participants will:

• Have a deeper understanding of what the Common Core State Standards say about writing to learn and writing in the disciplines
• Have experience with writing as a way of learning
• Have explored their discipline/content area for the habits of writing present within
• Be thinking of ways to incorporate more writing into their discipline

Week 1 - Introductions & Overview of Writing & Common Core SS

Weeks 2 & 3 - Writing to Learn - Habits and Ways

Weeks 4 & 5 - Writing Across the Disciplines - Exploring Writing for a Discipline

Week 6  - Sharing Your Writing Activities, Closing Thoughts

Full syllabus coming soon.

Course developer/facilitator:

Bud Hunt is an instructional technologist for the St. Vrain Valley School District.  He is also a certified language arts teacher with ten years of experience teaching writing and working with student writers of multiple ages. Bud writes and wonders all over the Web.