Teaching Writing Fast and Effectively!

I’m going to give a rundown of pros and cons as well as a list of ideas of how to get the most out of your Daily Oral Language. (It’s also referred to as DOL, D.O.L., Daily Language Review, DLR, and D.L.R.)

Daily Oral Language was so hot for so long… but it has fallen on some hard times. It’s still popular but it seems there is quite a backlash against it. It hasn’t really panned out according to “the research.” That being said many, many teachers simply love it. You’ll find out why.

I’ve personally always liked it. Why? Because it’s fun! Read on to find out how to make it more than just fun and MAXIMIZE your D.O.L. time. 

If you are really serious about creating “a class of writers,” be sure to find out about the “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” writing program on the homepage.

Why Daily Oral Language is Fun – Have you ever seen someone beautifully dressed… and what did you notice? The tiny stain on their shirt! Psychologically we are wired to like to “find what is wrong.” It’s fun for us. It’s fun now… but “back on the savannah” this ability served a real purpose. It was life and death. If you couldn’t figure out what was wrong with a situation… you didn’t last long. I’ve heard some people say that Daily Oral Language is boring. For higher grade levels it could be. There are Daily Oral Language programs up through at least Grade 12. I could see it get a little boring… day after day… year after year… My students have always thought it’s fun. Me too!

Research Pro Daily Oral Language - Regular skills practice improves skill retention and delivers the message to students that the skills that they are developing are important. Allowing students to build understanding over time with continuous review has proven to be an effective way to maintain skills and an understanding of critical concepts. Content delivered incrementally promotes continuous learning and understanding thus building and maintaining knowledge. (Baratta-Lorton, 1994).

Research Con Daily Oral Language - Teaching conventions in isolation is ineffective at best, because students need opportunities to apply their knowledge of conventions to their writing. Even daily oral language activities are a waste of time for students without procedural knowledge of how and when to use conventions in writing. Consequently, the most effective way to teach conventions is to integrate instruction directly into the writing process. (Kathleen Cali, Learn NC)

Can we agree with both? Because I do!

The Mathematics of Time - Does it work or doesn’t it work is always a mathematical equation involving time. If you’re spending an hour on Daily Oral Language, it is probably not a good use of time. If you get it done and discussed FAST … you are probably getting a lot of bang for your buck. You want to make sure that you get your implementation system down to a science. Daily Oral Language is intended to be a quick daily review… 5, 10, 15… 20 minutes max.

The Perfectionist Time Trap and Solutions – Perfectionists are going to want to give direct instruction on every concept covered. If you give a lot of direct instruction on every concept covered, it’s going to take a lot of time. This is the wrong way to use Daily Oral Language. There are other, better direct instruction ways to teach grammar skills. Avoid this perfectionist time trap! (If you are falling into this time trap keep reading because I offer lots of solutions.)

Grammar Instruction or Proofreading Practice – A common criticism of Daily Oral Language is that it really only teaches proofreading while what it is supposed to be doing is reviewing and teaching grammar skills. This analysis is quite valid, however not exactly true. Lots of teachers and lots of students have been thrilled with the results they have gotten. It fits into their day just perfect and they know how to get the most out of it. The better a teacher understands ALL the grammar rules… the more they can get out of Daily Oral Language. The better a teacher is at teaching grammar off of the top of their head… the more teaching moments they will be able to find and maximize.

How Can You Review Skills that Students Haven’t Learned?  – Another common criticism of Daily Oral Language is that the exercises contain too many skills that students have not yet learned. This leads to too much time being spent on direct instruction for which there are better resources other than a teacher’s sheer brilliance and sweat. Here are three solutions.

•  Solution 1: You pre-teach weeks ahead. Know what coming up and make sure you have given direct instruction on important concepts. You probably won’t be able to get to all of them… but you can greatly increase the effectiveness and reduce frustration this way. (It would be great if there were a daily oral language grammar direct instruction program that quickly pre-taught the daily oral language skills a few weeks ahead. Spiraling is a MAJOR key to both learning and teaching!)
• Solution 2: You pre-teach right before you do the Daily Oral Language. There is not much point in doing an exercise for which a large majority will fail so why not pre-teach a rule or two. You can even bring some fun into it by making it a challenge. (Ex. Here are two grammar rules. Just one of them is in today’s assignment. See if you can figure out which one it is.) 
• Solution 3: You go down a grade. Lots of people do. The key to Daily Oral Language is that it is a fast review. If you can’t do it fast you shouldn’t be using Daily Oral Language. You are better off with a direct instruction grammar program that spirals the learning. Daily Oral Language has value if you can do it fast… so go down a grade. 

Bridging the Gap to What’s Important With Teachable Moments – There is a “game” aspect to Daily Oral Language and that’s what makes it fun. “Find the mistake” is a little different than “memorize this rule.” The teacher will need to bridge the gap to the state test and to real writing. Half of Daily Oral Language’s success is about having the opportunity to find lots of “teachable moments.”

Busy Work or Real Benefit – Teachers have a lot to do! As such, teachers often have a task that they like to get done while students do the Daily Oral Language. A real complement to Daily Oral Language is that teachers know their students will be ENGAGED enough so that they can get something done. The effect of this is that some teachers may use D.O.L. in a way that may be considered “busy work.” I don’t mean that exactly in a bad way, though. There are things that teachers need to get done… such as taking role… and you need a routine that has value and for which you know kids will be engaged in. My experience is that like most things, you get out… what you put into it. Are you prepared for the day’s D.O.L. lesson? Have you looked over the lesson and studied the errors? Will you be able to teach and maybe give an extension on each and every rule… or at least one? Do you pre-teach any rules? Even though the teacher is getting something done, they can still be fully prepared beforehand and maximize the benefits of Daily Oral Language.

Daily Oral Language in Elementary Vs. Middle School - There is a definitely a difference between elementary & middle school when it comes to Daily Oral Language. Most of the criticism I see is coming from middle school teachers. That makes sense. When you have an hour with students… and you spend 15 minutes on Daily Oral Language…. It is hard to justify the time. Furthermore, middle school students likely did Daily Oral Language in elementary school. They may see it as doing the exact same thing they did in elementary school… and they don’t like that. A key difference between elementary school D.O.L. and middle school D.O.L. is that elementary school teachers are with the same students all day. Elementary school teachers need to break up the day. There is an art to this. For elementary school teachers D.O.L. can easily serve its purpose and with time to spare!

It’s Too Easy for My Kids – Two simple solutions. One, move up to a higher grade level. Two, pick up the pace. D.O.L. is meant to be a quick review… so see how quick you can make it.  

Classroom Management – D.O.L. is a very good classroom management strategy. This is no secret. Teachers have the kids come in and get started on something that will engage them and get them settled down. I think this reason alone has played a huge part in D.O.L.’s popularity. In many student populations… it’s a great success and a great start just to get the kids to come in and get focused on learning. D.O.L. has the power to achieve this!

The Answers Vary – This may be more common with Daily Language Review (D.L.R.) and it may be more common at different grade levels. If you have 30 students with 15 different correct answers and a few more incorrect answers… and everyone wants to know if theirs is correct… this can be a problem. That can take a lot of time. Remember, D.L.R. is supposed to be a fast review. Your 5-10 minute lesson just turned into a 25-45 minutes lesson. Establish an understanding with your students that you will look at a few answers and then move on. They need to compare theirs with the correct answers.

State Testing – How frustrating is it when it’s test time and you have worked so hard, and you discover that there are areas that you neglected, skipped, or did not think were that important. D.O.L. is a good guard against this. D.O.L. simply brings… peace of mind. 

Built in Spiraling for ESL Students – A great thing about Daily Oral Language is that very few skills fall through the cracks. Not only does it spiral the concepts but it spirals them fast. Having learned a second language, all I can say is that when learning a second language you want to spiral, spiral, spiral… the learning that is. It is the only thing that keeps a person sane. Teachers can harness the power of the built in spiraling of D.O.L.!

Daily Oral Language Vs. Grammar Books Vs. Grammar Supplements – The purpose and intent for each one of these is different. Don’t confuse these different purposes and don’t try to make your D.O.L. time more than it is supposed to be. Each day you need to supplement your D.O.L. with a little direct instruction, but D.O.L. is not a direct instruction program.

Disconnected from Real Writing - This is a big, big con and this is why you want to make sure you don’t invest too much time in it. If “Daily Oral Language does not work”… this is the reason why. However, skilled teachers can bridge the gap, and gaps will need to be bridged. Children will not transfer the skills over the way teachers would like them to. 

Success Now Vs. Success Over Time – It’s incremental progress. You are not going to see mastery of any one skill anytime soon. If you are looking for overnight success it is not going to happen. You do need a little patience and faith.

Daily D.O.L. Vs. D.O.L. From Time to Time – Yes, I know it is called Daily Oral Language and I know the premise is based on the premise that reviewing skills consistently over time leads to success over time. However, even if you don’t use D.O.L. daily… it can still be one more tool in the tool belt. I know some teachers feel they get benefit doing it once a week. I know one teacher that uses a grammar program four times a week and on Friday they do a whole week’s worth of Daily Oral Language.  She calls it “D.O.L. Day.”

“Daily Review of Skills Theory” – Like a lot of “theories” people get too caught up in the “theory.” The “daily skills practice people” would have you practices a quick set of skills for every subject across the board. The “workshop” people would have you doing a “Writer’s Workshop” type workshop for every subject across the board. I’m one of those “balance, balance, balance, and the art of teaching” teachers. I can’t imagine that doing a “Daily Review of Skills” program for every single subject is a great use of time. 

Three Ways to Implement Daily Oral Language:

1. Teacher writes it on the front board. Students write it correctly on paper or in a journal. The class corrects it and discusses it as students come up to the board one by one adding proofreading marks and correcting errors.
2. Use an overhead projector, projector from the computer, or an ELMO Projector. All three of these technologies do allow the teacher to mark-up/correct the D.O.L. With some it’s easier than others. Don’t have students copy it from the source the wrong way first and then correct it. Have them write it out the correct way only.
3. Teacher makes copies and passes it out. Have it waiting on the students’ desks when they return from recess or hand it to them as they walk in. They add proofreading marks and write it out correctly.

A Good Recommendation for Parents Who Want to Help Their Children – From time to time parents ask you how they can help their child. D.O.L. is an excellent recommendation. For a parent, it’s the right amount of work and it sends all the right messages. In a way it’s neutral. Parents aren’t looking for their own child’s mistakes. Together they can correct someone else’s mistakes. Parents like it.

Practicing Errors – Some say it doesn’t work because it’s putting the focus on errors. Well, that same theory would say “don’t proofread because when you find the mistake you will be focusing on errors.”  On the other hand I strongly believe that in life one should focus on where one wants to go instead of what they want to avoid. “Billy, don’t step in that puddle.” What does Billy do? He steps in the puddle. I would never have students write anything the wrong way. If that’s what people are doing… STOP!

Builds Community - Here’s another psychological reason for D.O.L.’s success. They call it the “common enemy” or “us against them” mentality.  With D.O.L. teachers and students alike are all united together against “that silly mistake maker.” “Oh… can you believe THEY did that? WE would never do that! We’re better than that! We’ll fix it!”

Daily Oral Language (D.O.L.) Vs. Daily Language Review (D.L.R.) – There is a difference between these two programs. You will likely prefer one over the other. D.O.L. in particular seems to continue to come out with new programs and new versions, so be sure to check out samples from all the programs before you decide on one.

Authentic Daily Oral Language

Common sense lets us know that when you attach real meaning to something it has more value. When we have “a class of writers” why would we want to spend time with fake mistakes when we can grow from examining our own writing?

I know this is the direction I have been headed for many, many years… and it is the direction for which the research supports. Even still, I like to have a Daily Oral Language or Daily Language Review handy. Why? Because it’s fun, it can break up the day, and it can create community by focusing on THEIR mistakes and not ours!  

If you are really serious about creating “a class of writers,” check out the “Pattern Based Writing: Quick and Easy Essay” writing program.