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I ♥ Writing Part 2

Top Ten Tips

10. Draw, then write to activate the creative right side of the brain.

Allow students to sketch quickly before they begin writing. This gets their pencils moving while thinking about what they want to say. It also helps activate the creative portions of the brain so they have something to write about.

9. Explicitly connect writing to the real-world; tell students why skills are important.

Students need to know why they have to learn skills; making it relevant helps them to know that they have to pay attention. A quick explanation at the beginning of a lesson is all you need: “You are learning how to write on demand because most of the writing we do as adults is done quickly to turn into our bosses, and we don’t have a lot of time to edit or rewrite.”

8. Don’t bleed all over their papers. Require a limited number of changes and occasionally enlist an “assistant.”

Yes, some students make a lot of errors in their writing. They misspell tons of words, and have a single punctuation mark on an entire page. But, pointing out every single error is not helpful. In fact, it can serve to defeat students, making them feel like they can’t do anything right. Pick one or two things to point out and have students to work on.

7. Share lots of examples of good writing.

Mentor texts are a very powerful tool. Show students a strong example of something, such as great introduction or use of description words, and model explicitly how you would use that same technique in your own writing. Explicitly say to students, “Look what this author did right here. I am going to try that in my own writing. When you write, you may want to try this too.”

For great ideas for mentor texts, check out Ralph Fletcher’s books on Craft Lessons or Marcie Flinchum Atkins’s webpage.

6. Break it down into manageable chunks.

Writing an entire story or essay can be overwhelming for some students. Try breaking it down into smaller pieces: write the introduction or hook, and then guide students in writing theirs. (Students who get done quickly could work on free-writing while waiting for you to model the next part.)

5. Tap into technology: dictation, typing, or even apps are appealing.

Kids love technology; why not capitalize on that and use technology to have students produce or enhance their writing? Students could use a Neo 2 (formerly called an AlphaSmart) or personal keyboards, tablets, or dictation software such as Dragon ® to produce writing. Other programs could be used to publish or illustrate writing.

4. Find fun tools: gel pens, scrapbook paper, etc.

Do you have a special writing tool that you like to use? A particular pen or perhaps a mechanical pencil? Do you like writing in a certain notebook? Kids have preferences too! Let them write with some fun pens or pencils to encourage them to write more. Another idea is to allow students to revise in pen; this can motivate them to actually revise. Either way, the utensil and paper don’t really matter; all that matters is getting kids to write.

3. Capitalize on collaboration. Let them talk!

Collaboration is a very powerful strategy for writing and beyond. Encourage students to orally rehearse what they are going to write about. This cements their ideas, and also allows them to play with different ways to word things before committing to paper. Students could also collaborate on products–working together to practice applying a skill from a mini-lesson or to write a story.

2. Topics Matter. Offer choice of things that interest students.

Yes, students have to write about the Revolutionary War, and about other topics that you assign to them. But, in order for students to find their true, inner writers, they must write about what they are passionate about. This may be Minecraft, hunting, or another story about Fluffy the hamster. When students select their topics, it allows them to explore writing techniques in a genre and subject with which they are familiar.

1. Celebrate success!! Hold an authors’ party complete with awards.

This is a great way to make everyone in your class feel like a bonafide writer. Students could publish their works on the computer, or your could enlist one of many programs such as Student Treasures to make their writing look professional. Make the celebration a big event; invite parents and the principal, and have students read selections aloud. For an added touch, give each student an award. I used to give gold seals that I called “Burke-decots.” Everyone got a different award: best illustrations, funniest, best dialogue, and so on.

Some of these tips are techniques mentioned in Writing Next, A Report to the Carnegie Foundation, about methods that have been proven by research to improve students’ writing. See the full report here.

I ♥ Writing

What’s in the bag?

In the bag, I keep anything I think students may need. This could be in a writing station, but I find it handy because I travel to different classrooms.

different kinds of paper–loose leaf paper, little drafting booklets, scrapbooking paper, handwriting paper, etc.
topics chart–a blank chart for students to list people they know, places they have been, things they know a lot about, and things they like to do
variety of sticky notes–all shapes and sizes to use for jotting information, organizing ideas, or adding revisions
proofreading tools–scotch tape, scissors, glue sticks, stapler, erasers, and other tools to use to perform “surgery” on writing (cut writing apart and rearrange)
lots of writing instruments–mechanical pencils and especially gel pens
mini dot stickers–useful for marking the place where students need to add details, change a word, begin a paragraph, etc.
variety of checklists or rubrics–kid friendly tools for students to use to review their own writing
triangle pencil grips–to give the student who has such a funky way of holding a pencil that it causes fatigue or laborious or illegible writing

Where Can I Find Such a Cool Bag?

I found this bag in my basement; I think I got it at a craft shop years ago when I thought I would have time to scrapbook or something (then I had kids…). You can find bags with pockets at lots of different places. A teacher got one at Home Depot that is designed for small tools. Thirty-one is a company that sells great, inexpensive bags like this.

Now, what do you keep in your writing bag of tricks?

The Beauty of “Brief-Search”

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Research and media skills are featured prominently in the Common Core State Standards. They are found throughout the strands of Reading. Writing, Language, and Listening & Speaking. The Standards describe two types of research: long term research, which is most commonly found in schools, and short term projects. According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative (2012), “Research—both short, focused projects (such as those commonly required in the workplace) and longer term in-depth research —is emphasized throughout the standards but most prominently in the writing strand since a written analysis and presentation of findings is so often critical.” The short, focused projects described are what I like to call “Brief-Search”. I see Brief-Search as being a real world, engaging way to get students to dig deeply into text and write about it.

Do you remember any of the research reports your classmates did in school? Most of these are forgotten soon after completion. Instead of a traditional research report, try a fun way to present information that students will remember. Barry Lane (2003) wrote a delightful book about weird, wonderful ways for students to share what they have learned, Wacky We-Search Reports: Face the Facts with Fun. Trading Cards, Cartoons, or other creative products will keep students engaged and help them express what they learned. The key is for students to not only share the information, but to express themselves in a unique way as well. By making the presentation fun, it makes it more likely that students will retain the material. Here are other some engaging, unique ways for your students to present their information:

Talk Show
Trading Cards
Podcast or Webcast
Prezi—an online tool for creating multimedia presentations

Historically, schools have concentrated on in depth research—the research report: five paragraphs on Mexico or Kookaburras or some other topic. Studying topics like these in-depth require students to think critically about a topic, sifting through a great deal of information to synthesize just the right details to include in a report to support a thesis or opinion.

Research projects, however, do not really mirror real-world research experiences. In our adult lives, most of us do “mini-research”—quick investigations focused on a precise topic that take a few minutes to a day or two, from start to finish. For example, last week, my refrigerator died. I spent a few hours online researching different brands on consumer websites, looking at features and reliability and comparing brands and prices. In the workplace as well, we often are called upon to research a topic and share our findings quickly with the boss or our team. The Common Core recognize that we need to prepare our students for these brief research opportunities as well as longer, more developed projects.

Brief-Search topics can be found anywhere. Did you just finish reading Dear Mrs. Larue: Letters from Obedience School by Mark Teague? Students could brief-search whether dogs see in color, or dog training techniques. Are you teaching about weather in science? Students would be very interested in brief-searching the biggest storm your area ever had or how much rain fall your region gets. Let your students take the lead and tell you what they would like to know more about.

Try this Brief Search Organizer for a quick and easy Brief-Search.

Paraphrasing Power

The internet explosion has made it so much easier for students to copy and paste than to read, ponder, and then retool the information in their own, original language. This has led to a plagiarism boom. It’s not that students are natural cheaters; often they don’t know what else to do—how to rephrase or quote a source—so they end up simply copying. Therefore, the skills of paraphrasing and citing sources are found throughout the standards.

We know as teachers that paraphrasing is one of the most difficult skills for students to master. Paraphrasing is not only important for students to learn how to borrow information from a source, it is also helps students link the information to their own understandings and firm it their memory paths.

A Lesson on Paraphrasing

1) Display an original text on the document camera.

2) Read the text to the students. Have them help you highlight or underline key ideas presented by the author.

3) In a different color, highlight or underline distinctive phrases or specific data that the author included that are unique to this piece of writing.

4) Discuss synonyms for some of the key words and phrases.

5) Have students work in small groups to paraphrase the original text.

6) Compare students’ paraphrased versions to the original.

Don’t forget to use quotes if you use exact language, such as a memorable way of phrasing something or specific data.

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