Sample of group discussion:

Practitioner: When we look at the term planning, what do we need to think about before we write?
Learner (Joe): We need to think about what we are going to write about.
Practitioner: Yes Joe, we need to think about the topic - what we plan to write about.

The practitioner wrote this down on the unit organizer under planning and encouraged the learners to do the same. When the learners were unable to come up with an answer, the practitioner provided the information and demonstrated how it was included in the unit organizer. To encourage group involvement the practitioner also asked the learners how this was reflected in their experiences.

Review:

Once the unit organizer is complete, ask the learners a series of questions on what they will be covering and how the unit organizer can be used to help understand the big picture.

Sample of discussion

Practitioner: Who can tell me what POWER stands for?
Learner (Tom): It is the steps that we need to take to do our writing.
Practitioner: Yes Tom, the POWER model outlines the five steps that we should follow when we write. The P in POWER stands for?
Learner (Frank): It stands for planning and the things we should do to when we plan our writing.
Practitioner: How could the planning steps be used in our everyday life?
Learner (Tom): I could use the steps for my job search.
Practitioner: Great idea Tom. As a group, let's look at how we could do this...

Through questioning and feedback the practitioner can get an understanding of the group's grasp of the writing process content. Each time the group moves on to the next part of the POWER model, they should review the unit organizer and use it to address each individual's learning needs. For Tom, he needs to focus on the editing and revision part of the POWER model. As a result he should choose to use a highlighter to make these two steps stand out on his unit organizer.