When I asked my six year old son what his favorite subject in school was, my heart soared when he answered writing. When I asked him why, his answers included statements like; I get to write about what I love, I get to share my writing, and my teacher helps me make my writing better. His final conclusion was, “It’s just fun, mom!”
As a teacher, my deepest desires for my students are to love writing, to be part of a bigger story, and to have a place where they can share their writing. One of the biggest goals of creating proficient writers is to develop a strong sense of writing engagement.
But, how do we do this?
One component to developing high engagement in writing comes from fostering a community of writers within the classroom. I personally model my own writing, brainstorming, and think aloud frequently; so, students can see that I too, am a writer! (I even bring in samples of my own writing, which can be really intimidating…but my students have to come to love it and even ask when I’m going to share my own stories). Every year I start my writing lessons revolving around some key questions and learning engagements that help to create this supportive atmosphere that is focused on growth in writing and a team of writers helping one another achieve their goals .
Guiding Questions for the First Days of School
*Question: What type of writer are you?
The goal is for every student in the class to realize they are an author and yet, we are all different in how we accomplish our goals.
Learning engagement:
Put your name in the middle of a bubble map. Branch out all the details and descriptions that describe who you are as an author. Share with a partner or your teammates. It’s a great way to build community and learn more about how your students view themselves as writers.
*Question: What genres do you enjoy writing?
The goal is for students to notice that their options are limitless, and everyone can find a genre where they can really thrive. Another goal is that students can realize writers are readers, and readers are writers; these two really do go hand in hand.
Learning engagement:
Give students 2-3 minutes to create a list of all the genres they know. Find a partner to share with and build on to your list. Repeat with 2-3 partners. Come back together to create an anchor chart. Have students circle 3 of their favorite genres and encourage them to start with a genre they love. You can always challenge them to be risk-takers at a later point in the year.
*Question to ask: What topics do you like to write about?
The goal is for students to identify topics and ideas that appeal to them as writers. Everyone has different passions, so it’s a great way to learn about what motivates your writers.
Learning engagement:
Have students create a heart map puzzle. Inside each puzzle piece write or draw a picture of your favorite things. This works as a great tool for generating ideas/topics for writing, and I have my students glue this in their writer’s notebook for future reference.
The first days of school are spent sharing our writing styles, building ideas, and understanding genres. Within this, we make anchor charts about how we can connect our topics and ideas to different genres. For example, I share how I love hiking and anything adventurous outdoors. I model for my students how I could write a poem, an informational piece, a fictional story, a personal narrative, or a mystery all about the wonderful outdoors. Once students make the connection that they can take one topic and write about it in many genres, their writing truly takes flight.
A key to building this community of writers is time. Time showcasing our writing. Time giving specific feedback to each other. Time positively spent encouraging one another. When students are able to create an understanding that we are all writers (even their teacher), we are a set of learners who are willing to take risks, try new things, and delve into our own writing…there is a mindset shift. This shift deepens students’ ability to engage and provides them with a valuable set of classroom peer resources to help them. Fostering a community that supports one another in our writing builds a strong sense of engagement, because everyone knows we are in it to learn and grow together.