Predictable Routines + Writing = Powerful Results
Written by: Anna Cook
As Pam Allyn so eloquently stated, “Reading is like breathing in and Writing is like breathing out. Readers who write, read better. Writers who read, write better.” (ILA Blog, July 16, 2015)
However, teaching writing in the classroom has forever been a conundrum for teachers, especially those whose students take the ILEARN assessment! While Checkpoint assessments have strengthened our focus on daily standards-based instruction, they have also unintentionally reduced the time and attention devoted to writing instruction, which has now taken an even further back seat on the educational bus. Teachers know writing must be taught and will be tested on the ILEARN assessment, but when and how do we teach it? As a former teacher myself, I struggled with not only taking the time for my students to write, but my writing assignments always seemed to be an afterthought. The concept of teaching writing didn’t become clearer to me until I became a literacy consultant, traveling all over the US and seeing some teachers teaching reading and writing with much success and others still struggling. It seemed as though my view on how to teach writing was broadened with every mile that I traveled.
As literacy teachers, our goal is to help our students become better readers and writers and what I have observed was those teachers who were able to teach reading and writing during the literacy block focused on a more asset-based approach rather than a deficit-based approach. Those teachers used books/stories/texts that they were already using during their reading block as the foundation for their writing. Also, marrying literature with writing and utilizing a workshop model afforded the teachers time to truly teach both reading and writing with fidelity! Let’s face it, the texts that we use predominantly fall in the writing category of Informative and Narrative, which is the foundation for the three types of writing on the ILEARN assessment.
In the first part of this two-part series, I’ll share an overview of how to approach reading and writing through a more collaborative lens. In part two, we’ll dive deeper into the intentional moves teachers can make to help students reach their fullest potential
“As teachers of literacy instruction, we should be creating everyday practices of reading, writing, studying, creating and sharing.”
As teachers of literacy instruction, we should be creating everyday practices of reading, writing, studying, creating and sharing. Thus, every day, in both reading and writing, there should be a:
1. Mini Lesson – A mini lesson “sets the stage” for learning.
It should last no more than 5–7 minutes and center on what you, as the teacher, want students to clearly understand about a specific skill or concept. The mini lesson is brief, direct, and intentionally taught. Because it’s concise, you can easily include one each day. Mini lessons clearly communicate the day’s learning goal to students.
2. Genre Study – Sharing many different texts that focus on that genre
This is the time that you as the teacher provide your students with not only the primary text for that week but many texts that will “hit home” the genre, concept or skill that you want your students to learn and know. This should be an entire week of nothing but mentor texts that focuses on the writing style that you are studying. When we take the time to study mentor texts, our students begin to observe, question, and make connections. When this work is grounded in purposeful thinking, students can transfer those habits to any learning task.
3. Focused time to write like the style we have read – As a class – then independently.
This phase involves the teacher modeling a reading or writing strategy for the students to practice. As a class, you can explore the nuances of that writing type by creating a shared composition, with the teacher modeling the writing while students contribute ideas by using a document camera or a projected document. This approach allows the teacher to gauge students’ understanding of the genre and to reinforce key elements that may have been overlooked. After that classroom composition is completed, or at least well underway, it is time for each student to start writing their own composition. This is the time for the teacher to provide the students with the Indiana state writing rubric for that type of writing and to talk about that rubric, explaining every bit of information that is on the rubric.
4. Share, last revisions, share again – As the teacher, we need to regroup and review the lesson objectives, assuring that our students are given the time to share their learning and together, we need to reflect on what worked or did not work.
This is another very important time, and one we as teachers sometimes skip or quickly go through… to share what has been written with the teacher or their peers. We cannot assume our students know how to share their writing with others, thus, that too needs to be directly taught through a mini lesson or the teacher modeling with another student. Students sharing will take time to perfect, but it is so beneficial to solidify the students as writers and presenters. Last revisions can be done in many ways. Either by the teacher circulating the room conferring with students or in small groups. The teacher is constantly taking notes, making informal assessments and providing one-on-one support to students who are struggling. The last part is for our students to share again. It is a time where more students “step up” to read what they have written and to begin gaining confidence as being a reader and writer.
In the second part of this two-part series, I will break down the timing of integrating reading and writing during the literacy block as well as giving more detailed moves that we as teachers can make in creating a more seamless literacy experience.
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