Writing Instruction in PK-6 Judith Dunkerly-Bean Old Dominion University

Writing Instruction in PK-6

Judith Dunkerly-Bean

Old Dominion University

Reflection Questions

– What is challenging about helping students become strong writers?

– What is challenging about building community

and helping students learn to work together?

Dual Goals of a Writing Program– To teach students to write skillfully,

creatively, abundantly, and with motivation in various genres

– To teach students to work together and to help them develop socially and ethically

Core Elements of Any Writing Program

– Building intrinsic motivation– Providing time to write– Learning from published works and authors– Guiding students through the writing process– Learning skills and conventions when most

helpful– Developing writing in the primary grades– Collaborating, sharing, and conferring

The Writing Process

– Prewriting– Drafting– Revising– Proofreading– Publishing

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Writing and Sculpting Process

Molding Clay Writing a Story

Providing Time to Write

To be a good writer, students need to do a lot of writing.

Students need to independently write daily – anywhere from 15-25 minutes a day.

You build up to this time.

First 5 minutes – no walking / no talking

Building Intrinsic Motivation

Students must really want to write to grow as writers.

Ways you can build intrinsic motivation:– Use of intriguing read-aloud texts– Choice of writing topics, even when exploring different

genres– Membership in a safe, caring community that

takes writing seriously

Guiding Students through the Writing Process

Students should:– Keep a writer’s notebook– Use quick-writes to try out writing craft– Participate in guided reading of their drafts– Self-assess and confer with partners

The teacher provides guidance through:– Careful questioning– Modeling when appropriate– Providing tools such as word banks and proofreading

notes

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Writer’s

Notebooks

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A personal repository for:IDEASMEMORIESMEMORABLE LINESARTIFACTSIMAGESINTERVIEWSLISTSPLAYING WITH LANGUAGE

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Filling the Notebook

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Writer’s Notebook “Do’s & Don’ts”

• DO:– Encourage kids to

take their notebooks where ever they go

– Invite kids to share ideas

– Celebrate both the “gems” and “diamonds in the rough”

• DON’T– Push students out of their

notebooks to quickly– Over-structure the

notebooks with assignments ( it’s theirs, not ours)

– Write in them (except on post-its)

– Feel responsible to read every page

– Censor…except as last resort.

Learning from Published Works and Authors

Students learn to write from published writing.

Students should encounter compelling examples of writing in various genres to:

– Use as sources of inspiration– Examine specific features of genres, writing craft, the

author’s purpose, and conventions– Learn about the writing habits and lives of professional

authors

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A Brief Example…Wishful Thinking

Tom had all he ever wanted. And he still had one wish left. “I can’t decide. Can I use it later?” he asked.

“You da boss. I’m just the genie.”

“Cool.”

As he walked down the streets, he searched for a tune to express his joyous feelings.

“….Oh I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Weiner –”

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Give Students Success with Mentor Texts!

• Scaffold Opportunities• Fun (really!)• Innovations of

existing stories• Explore Traits

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Trying it Out…

• With a partner, draft your own innovation of Fortunately

• The more outrageous the better!– Encourages risk-taking

in writing.

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Writing Traits

• Ideas• Voice• Organization• Conventions• Sentence Fluency• Word Choice

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Strategy: Quick-write• Think about a special memory

when you had some alone time with a family member. This could be a parent, a grandparent, a sibling, or a family friend. Think about what you did with this person and why you consider that time to be special.

• 15 minutes to draft 8-10 sentences

• Remember to “write small”

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• After my daughter Camille was born I wanted to be a perfect mom. I wanted to share with her the happy traditions from my childhood. Every Easter for as long as I could remember, my Grammy would make a lamby cake. This was a wonderful cake that was molded into the shape of a lamb. She would decorate it with coconut wool and jelly bean eyes. All around the lamby cake there were chocolate eggs and sometimes little yellow Peeps. I wanted to make lamby cake for Camille’s first Easter. It did not go well. No matter what I tried, what recipe I used, the lamb’s head would not stay on. I tried again. And again. My kitchen soon resembled a Lamby Cake French Revolution – heads were rolling everywhere! I threw all of the cakes away and went over to my grandma’s house. As she held Camille, I cried because I felt like such a terrible Mom….I couldn’t even make a cake! Grandma listened patiently and then went to the kitchen without saying a word. When she returned, she put a small jar of toothpicks in front of me. Patting my hand she said, “I could never get the heads to stay on either!”

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Learning Skills and Conventions When Most Helpful

Skills are not taught during the prewriting and drafting phases of the writing process.

Skills are taught during the revision, proofreading, and publishing phases when students should be focused

on communicating clearly and correctly to their readers.

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Common Beginning Words (average class sample)

How could you

use a mentor text

to address this?

Developing Writers in the Primary Grades

Students should be given opportunities :– Draw and tell their stories before writing– Participate in shared and modeled writing

The teacher provides guidance through modeling:– Thinking aloud about writing ideas– Drawing illustrations to tell a story – Using basic writing skills – Rereading his or her own writing

Collaborating, Sharing, and Conferring

In order to grow as writers, students need opportunities to collaborate and receive feedback.

Students should have opportunities to:– Talk in pairs, in groups, and as a class about

their writing– Learn cooperative structures and discussion prompts– Confer with partners and learn to give and receive

feedback– Present published writing from the Author’s Chair

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Primary Lesson

• Book Share• Talk• Model• Time to Write

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Intermediate Lesson

• Book Share• Quick Write• Time to Write• Share / Reflection• Guided Revision• Surgery ( interactive Revision & Editing)

Possible Genres for Grades K–2

– Getting Ideas– Telling More– Writing Stories About Me– Fiction– Nonfiction– Letter Writing– Exploring Words Through Poetry

Possible Genres for Grades 3-6

– Personal Narrative– Fiction– Expository Nonfiction– Functional Nonfiction– Persuasive Nonfiction– Poetry– Letter Writing– Test Taking Unit

Lesson Structure– Getting Ready to Write (15 minutes)

• Whole-class instruction• Shared and modeled writing• Preparation for partner work

– Writing Time (20-30 minutes)• Teacher confers and assesses

– Sharing and Reflecting (5 minutes)• Students share their writing• Students reflect on social interactions

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Next Time…

• More Mentor Texts• Interactive Revision

and Editing• Conferring • Assessing Writing• Celebrating Writing