Components of Effective Writing Instruction

Components of Effective Writing Instruction:

Writing-Aloud

During Writing-Aloud, or modeled writing, the teacher demonstrates the writing process. S/he models the “in-the-head” thinking that occurs when a writer composes a text. The teacher demonstrates how writers go back and reread what they have written in order to make sure that their writing makes sense. S/he shows how writers revise while they are writing. In primary grades, s/he may show the class how to say words slowly in order to hear the sounds in each word. Modeled writing occurs in a whole class format. The teacher demonstrates various genres of writing such as writing narratives, lists, opinion letters, historical “documents,” memoirs, etc.

Shared & Interactive Writing

During Shared Writing, the teacher and the children share the responsibility of composing the text. The teacher continues to write the words as the children help decide the content. The goal of Shared Writing is to guide children in the selection process that occurs when writers write. “How can we say that?” is a question that occurs frequently. The children offer exciting and interesting words.

Sometimes, particularly in the primary grades, instead of a basic mini-lesson that names just one clear teaching point, it might be more appropriate to use Interactive Writing to teach students how to put multiple strategies together as they write. During Interactive Writing, the teacher and the children control both the content of the text and the writing. Children are given opportunities to “share the pen” and demonstrate proficiency in conventions, such as: letter/sound correspondence, spelling high frequency words, writing consonant clusters and digraphs, and other phonetic principles. When each of these is taught in isolation in separate micro-lessons, it’s very clear and explicit and helpful for students to learn how to do each thing–but there comes a time when it is ALSO necessary to put it all together and have students “share the pen” and write with the teacher in an interactive writing session. Then in the writer’s workshop, the child has the opportunity to apply the specific skills s/he practiced during interactive and shared writing.

Mini-Lesson

A mini-lesson is a focus lesson in which the teacher typically explains or demonstrates ONE skill or craft of exemplary writing for students to study. Teachers help students better understand what makes good writing. Teachers may offer explicit instruction on: parts of the writing process, procedures, routines, craft, strategies, content, or conventions. Teachers should teach the traits of writing (ideas, organization, voice, word choice…), and how these traits apply across all genres. Students then return to their works in progress and apply what they learned in the mini-lesson to their own writing. Teachers will later reinforce the mini-lesson concepts during conferences, small-group guided writing, and share times, or in a series of subsequent mini-lessons. Where appropriate teachers should involve students in helping to lead mini-lessons when the teacher observes that a student has successfully implemented a skill or strategy.

Mini-lessons are typically 5-10 minutes. Teachers should encourage students to evaluate many examples of writing, including:

Mentor texts (highlighting portions of books previously read to the whole class or books students are reading);

Student-led Explorations: the teacher provides several texts and sends students to find certain traits or techniques used by the writers.

Student writing: show students samples of writing by other students (remove names, and not your current students’), read the writing and ask students to focus on evaluating one trait.
Teacher’s own writing: teachers show students their writing from various stages of the process (not just final drafts), and at other times they MODEL writing in front of their students, thinking aloud and demonstrating the series of choices writers make while composing.

Assessment is an integral, continuous part of the teaching of writing. The writing teacher begins the writing workshop with a small, focused mini-lesson of a principle or concept that s/he feels most writers need. S/he decides upon this teaching point after examining students’ writing. Teachers should not omit this step. This cycle of teaching, evaluating, and using this information to plan for the next teaching is crucial. Authentic assessment should drive instruction, rather than vice versa.

The architecture of a mini-lesson includes:

Connection: Remind students of something familiar that will connect to today’s lesson.
Teaching Point: Tell the students exactly what you are going to teach them today. Be explicit and direct!
Teaching and Demonstration: Demonstrate the teaching point with one very clear example. Use your own writing, a piece of student work, a class story, or a published mentor text (but not all four!). The teacher should also do some actual writing on paper, and think aloud as s/he writes.
Active Engagement: Make sure every student tries the teaching point before ending the lesson. Invite them to try something quick and small for no more than one or two minutes. Each student MUST try it. After this, the day’s teaching point will become one of many choices students can pull from as they work on their own independent writing. The teacher can plan to pull students who are having trouble in a small group after the mini-lesson to follow-up or make accommodations.
Link:This is where the teacher makes it very clear to students what the choices are for their ongoing work. Today’s teaching point is now just one of the many strategies they can choose from.

Status of the Class

The Status of the Class is very brief and occurs as students transition to independent writing. This short, 3 minute ritual gives teachers the opportunity to assess where each student is in the Writing Process each day. It allows teachers to monitor progress on a day-to-day basis, and it keeps the students (and teacher!) accountable for moving through all parts of the Writing Process. The status of the class can be determined in many ways: through a show of hands, roll call, smart board, clip chart, etc. Knowing at the start of the workshop where each student is in the process, helps teachers to determine who may need conferencing, to quickly assess which students are stuck in certain parts of the process (such as never moving beyond brainstorming), and to know how to proceed with the next day’s mini-lesson.

Independent Writing

Independent writing time should be provided for students daily, and should be a consistent, uninterrupted period of time to draft, compose, and take part in the process of writing. During independent writing the child has the opportunity to practice and apply the techniques and skills s/he has been taught in whole group and small group settings as s/he writes about self-selected topics. Students should be provided with choices of a variety of paper and other materials as needed to satisfy their purposes for writing.

Small Group Instruction & Conferring

During independent writing the teacher spends time both circulating through the room for short conferences, and sitting down to confer with small groups or individual students. The teacher’s role is to primarily listen and coach students. The teacher should ask questions to guide writers, allowing adequate time for students to think and respond. S/he keeps conferences simple: offering one teaching point to the writer, demonstrating how to achieve this goal, and giving clear examples of how to begin.The teacher should make notes after conferring and use what s/he assesses about students’ needs to inform her future mini-lessons, small groups, and conferences. In Guided Writing, the teacher works with a small group of students and provides explicit teaching while remaining close by for immediate feedback. Guided Writing is a time for teachers to teach strategy lessons and interventions to students with similar needs.