Introduction to Prewriting

What is Prewriting?

• Prewriting is the first stage of the writing process, followed by drafting and reviewing.

• It is the time when students brainstorm their thoughts and ideas about a topic to prepare for drafting.

Key Elements of Prewriting

• Students create a plan—an outline or "road map"—for their writing.• The plan focuses on:

• -Content area• -Purpose• -Intended audience• -Goals• -Genre

How Does Prewriting Help Students?

• Helps them feel less overwhelmed by the writing task.

• Reduces their anxiety.• Gives them a focus.• Provides a starting point for drafting.• Builds confidence.

Discussion Questions 1

1. What are the benefits of prewriting for struggling writers and students with language and learning disabilities?

2. How do you describe prewriting to your students?

How Can I Support Students Before, During, and After

Prewriting?

Using Evidence-Based Writing Process Practices

• Provide students with direct instruction• Help students write for a variety of

purposes• Engage students in ongoing assessment

Differentiated Instruction

• Plan instruction that considers students' readiness, learning needs, and interests.

• Use a range of technology tools to:– engage learners at varying levels – engage learners in multiple ways. – offer students options for demonstrating

understanding and mastery

Teacher-Dependent Ways to Differentiate

• By Content– Different levels of reading or resource materials, reading

buddies, small group instruction, curriculum compacting, multi-level computer programs and Web Quests, audio materials, etc.

• By Product– Activity choice boards, tiered activities, multi-level learning

center tasks, similar readiness groups, choice in group work, varied journal prompts, mixed readiness groups with targeted roles for students, etc.

• By Process– Tiered products, students choose mode of presentation to

demonstrate learning, independent study, varied rubrics, mentorships, interest-based investigations

Student-Dependent Ways to Differentiate

• By Readiness– Options in content, topic, or theme, options in the

tools needed for production, options in methods for engagement

• By Profile– Consideration of gender, culture, learning styles,

strengths, and weaknesses• By Interests

– Identification of background knowledge/gaps in learning, vary amount of direct instruction, and practice, pace of instruction, complexity of activities, and exploration of a topic

Discussion Questions 2

1. What do your students include in their online or offline writing portfolio?

2. If your students were writing reports vs. narratives, how would you vary your methods?

3. Depending on the purpose of writing, in what ways do you vary your strategies for direct instruction?

Integrate Online and Offline Tools into the Prewriting

Process• Manipulatives• Interactive whiteboard• Web-based applets• Math drawing tools• Calculators• 3D design software• Graphing and charting software

Encourage Use of Valuable Word Processing Features

• Highlighting• Underlining• Comments• Track changes• Graphics• Text-to-speech• Color coding• Font size

Before Prewriting: Possible Strategies

• Provide students with direct instruction– Introduce tools that help students generate ideas,

such as story maps, outlines, and graphic organizers.

• Help students write for a variety of purposes– Help students understand the role of audience based

on the purpose of writing.

• Engage students in ongoing assessment– Provide guiding questions to help students shape

their prewriting plans.

During Prewriting: Possible Strategies

• Provide students with direct instruction– Generate lists of relevant vocabulary words for

reference, such as action words or descriptive adjectives or adverbs.

• Help students write for a variety of purposes– Use genre-specific questions to help guide students'

thinking about how to organize their prewriting plan.• Engage students in ongoing assessment

– Hold brief conferences to analyze and solve any problems related to the prewriting plan.

After Prewriting: Possible Strategies

• Provide students with direct instruction– Teach students how to review and revise their

prewriting plans.• Help students write for a variety of purposes

– Depending on the purpose of writing, help students develop their ability to ask for focused feedback.

• Engage students in ongoing assessment– Have students begin their writing portfolios.

Discussion Questions 3

1. Which technology tools are most helpful for struggling writers during the prewriting stage?

2. How do you vary your genre-specific questions to prompt brainstorming?

3. In what ways can rubrics or checklists help struggling writers revise their plans?

Disclaimer

Awarded through a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Grant

#H327G090004-10, PowerUp What Works was developed by a team of experts in education, technology, differentiated

instruction/UDL, and special education at the Center for Technology Implementation, operated by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) in collaboration with the Education Development Center, Inc.

(EDC) and the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST).

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