to the field notes, student’s conversations for editing
revolved around putting adjectives into their
sentences to make them more vivid and checking to
make sure their partners had a beginning, middle, and
end to their story. The class average for this writing
was 3.7.
Evidence of higher-level thinking showed on all
the organizers and final products throughout the
study. Students’ conversations during week one
revolved around personal camping experiences while
filling out their organizer with their group. During
editing in the first week, conversations revolved
around spelling and neatness. Higher-level thinking
was noted on several graphic organizers for things
needed when camping. For example, Karen stated she
needed a clear spot to put her tent and shared this
with her team. This sparked conversations about how
to find a clear spot when camping.
Summary
Archival data collected from instruction of
graphic organizers combined with cooperative
learning and writing projects was analyzed using
attitude surveys and teacher observations made during
regular classroom ins