Tag: teaching writing

Start with a Warm-up Quick-Write:

“What kinds of writing do you do every day?”

Have class make a list of all the things they write during each day (e.g. email, Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, grocery lists, to-do lists, memos, notes, etc.)

Make a list on board of everyday writing.  Note which are informal and formal modes of writing.

Explain the Writing Process (include chart)

This was developed out of the massive British Writing Project in the 70’s and 80’s on how people learn to write and improve their writing.  This research found that most good writers go through this writing process adapting it to their own individual styles.  Thus, as teachers, we need to help students use the process, but help them find their own individual way within it IF they want to be competent writers.  Addenda:  American educators took the British research and did more research.  From this most states have developed their own writing projects, based at universities, to do more research and to educate teachers.

Step I in the Writing Process: Getting Ideas Down – Generating Ideas

Some people make a list of their ideas.  Some think of ideas while jogging, walking, exercising, driving, doing chores, etc.  Others talk out their ideas with someone else or talk aloud to themselves.  THEN – they go to paper and pencil.  Others need to “scribble” those ideas down on paper in some way and use that as an organizer.

Give list of topics and tell class to choose a topics that they want to write about.

1. Clustering – demonstrate on board with a topic. Ask class to do the same on paper.
2. Do the same with the other strategies, using a different topic for each one. Demonstrate on the board for each one.
3. When finished ask students to decide which strategy worked best for them – that they felt most comfortable with. They should use this strategy for the first step when writing assignments.