Expansion Pack Activities

Assigning Expansion Pack prompts gives students the option to get holistic feedback and scores, and prewriting and grammar guidance as they write -- all visible to teachers too. Though students won't receive sentence-level feedback like they would if they were writing to a Signal Check prompt, the content built into the Expansion Pack tasks is diverse, expertly-crafted, and flexible enough to fit into a wide variety of curricula. On this page, you will find ideas for using the Expansion Pack assignments in the classroom independent of other Revision Assistant assignments. The Expansion Pack activities on this page are organized according to where in the writing process they might occur.

 

 

Pre-Composition Activities

  • Use prompts to practice identifying the key elements of a writing task, such as the verb, topic, task, etc. Have students highlight one of these elements in the prompt using the highlighter tool in Revision Assistant. Ask them to compare selections with a peer, small group, or the class. Discuss how identifying these elements prior to writing helps writers focus on addressing the demands of the prompt.

     

  • Practice deconstructing prompts by identifying similar elements across various prompts within a particular genre. Print copies of the prompts, and ask students to label the key elements found in each (consider providing labels like sources, topic, task, verb, etc.). Have students compare annotations with a partner or small group. As a class, identify whether or not prompts presented these elements in a similar format, which prompt formats are helpful, and why.

     

  • For source-based prompts, have students work in pairs to develop a common claim/thesis (or present one to the class) and type it into their Claim/Thesis boxes in the Prewriting Space. Ask students to read through the sources and, using Revision Assistant’s highlighting tool, highlight the evidence in the text(s) that would best support that claim/thesis. Have students share their choices with a partner or small group, and then review with the class which examples are appropriate and valid. Once the most appropriate evidence is identified, direct students to copy that evidence and paste it into the Support boxes in the Prewriting Space. Extension: For argumentative prompts, repeat this activity with a counterclaim and the evidence that would best refute it.

     

  • For source-based Analysis prompts, focus on the particular author strategies presented in the prompt (literary devices, tone, bias, ethos, pathos, logos, etc.). Ask students to use Revision Assistant’s highlighting tool to highlight evidence of one strategy as it appears in the text(s). Have students share their choices with a partner or small group, and then review with the class. Discuss similar and contrasting choices, which are the most appropriate examples, and why. Repeat with another strategy, if applicable to the prompt.

 

 

Post-Composition Activities

  • Print students’ independent practice essays. Then, in pairs, in small groups, or as a class, deconstruct the prompt with students. Ask them to highlight key elements of the task in different colors (claim, evidence, etc.). Then have students identify those elements in their own essays using those same distinct colors (for example, green= claim, pink= evidence, etc.). This will allow students to see which parts of the prompt they have effectively included and which parts they are still missing.

     

  • Print students’ independent practice essays. Then, as a class or in small groups, highlight examples of rubric criteria or targeted skills and content within their essays. Look for elements such as the thesis statement or claim, well-chosen evidence, explanation of that evidence, counterclaim, etc.

     

  • Print students’ independent practice essays and then have them each cut their individual essays into sentence strips. Have students work in pairs or small groups to move around the pieces of their essays into the most effective organizational patterns. Consider providing a bank of common transitional words/phrases on another color of paper to insert into the essay to enhance the way the pieces of their essay work together for cohesion.

     

  • Print students’ independent practice essays and then have them each cut their individual essays into sentence strips. Provide students with a list of common organizational patterns with definitions and have them manipulate the pieces of their essay to match selected organizational patterns. As a follow-up, have a discussion about which organizational pattern was most appropriate for the task as it is described in the prompt or even consider how they might change the organizational patterns if the task were altered for a different purpose. This activity can be organized for individual students, pairs, or small groups.

 

 

Multi-Phase Activities

  • The prompts in the Expansion Pack Library can be used to simulate independent practice in a testing environment where students will receive no support or feedback from the teacher or Revision Assistant. Extension: This simulation can be expanded into a multi-day activity in order to help students review and revise their writing in preparation for testing.

    • Day 1 -- Test simulation: students respond to a prompt in the Expansion Pack Library with no guidance from the teacher and no feedback from Revision Assistant.

    • Day 2 -- Print students’ essays that they wrote during Day 1. Deconstruct the prompt as a class, identifying the key elements of the task. Then ask students to evaluate their own essays for these key elements of the task or group students to peer review their essays.

    • Day 3 -- Have students return to the Expansion Pack composition space to revise their essays based on changes they made during the Day 2 workshopping time.

       

  • Using a prompt question from the Expansion Pack Library, ask students to work in pairs or small groups to brainstorm possible introductory paragraph elements. When students in each pair or small group have created a collective introductory paragraph, have them access the Expansion Pack composition space to begin writing. Each student from the pair or small group should begin with the same introductory paragraph, but then should work independently to complete the rest of the essay.

     

  • Using a prompt question from the Expansion Pack Library, ask students to work in pairs or small groups to brainstorm possible concluding paragraph elements. When students in each pair or small group have created a collective concluding paragraph, have them access the Expansion Pack composition space to begin writing. Each student from the pair or small group should work independently to write the essay, but should finish with the same concluding paragraph.

     

  • Print students’ independent practice essays. Then, working in pairs or small groups, have students switch papers with a classmate. Students should then review their classmate’s essay, paying attention to rubric criteria, sentence structure, word choice, spelling and grammar issues, etc. These issues can be addressed altogether, or students can focus on one issue at a time. After peer editing a classmate’s essay, have students review their own essays, revising based on peer feedback. Then have students return to the Expansion Pack composition space to type their newly revised essay.

     

  • Have students read a source-based, argument prompt and the associated text(s). Break the class into two teams, based on two positions on the topic. Have teams work to identify the best, most relevant evidence from the text(s) to support the team’s position. Extension: Now, have teams switch positions. Have them search for evidence for the opposing side and work collaboratively to develop ideas for refuting these potential counterclaims. Have each team share their ideas about evidence and counterclaims. Finally, have each individual student take a position on the topic and draft independent practice essays, incorporating the evidence discussed as a class, as well as any other ideas they may have.

     

  • Select one of the Expansion Pack Analysis prompts. Develop examples of summary statements and analysis statements, related to the text(s) and prompt question. Discuss a few examples of each and have students discuss the differences. Now, organize students into small groups. Give each group a set of examples of both summary and analysis statements. Have students work together to categorize summary and analysis statements. Follow-up: Assign a different Analysis prompt and have students write their responses independently. Afterwards, print students’ independent practice essays and have them use two different colored highlighters to identify the summary and analysis statements in their own work and revise as needed.