I’m sure you are like me, and cannot believe that it is already half-way through July. I looked at the calendar just the other day and I feel like the summer is quickly flying by. The start of the school year is quickly approaching, right around the corner: ready or not…here we go!
Like all good things in teaching, there is great power in the philosophy of ‘we go slow to go fast’ later! Setting up my classroom expectations, environment, and first weeks of learning in writing is no different. I want to build a strong sense of independence, agency, engagement, and stamina in my writers. I know from years of experience that if I set this up adequately in my classroom, things will run smoothly as we get into the deeper levels of content in writing. When we take time in the earliest moments of the school year to develop the necessary frameworks for success, learning can be much more meaningful and enjoyable for students. It creates an atmosphere where students must think critically, problem solve, retain, and apply the information that they are taught. This helps keep student learning at the forefront of all we do!
We have so much to cover in the first weeks of school that oftentimes it seems overwhelming, even daunting. I’d like to break down a few of my personal priorities in my own classroom that allow me to start the year off on the right foot with my writing instruction.
1. Write every single day
We write on the first day of school (yes, you heard me correctly…day 1), even if it’s short.
We start with 10 minutes and build our stamina. I add time daily until we are up to our preferred writing time (for upper elementary, my goal is about 35-40 minutes). This develops strong habits in my writers, and develops a rhythm of routine in our classroom. If you ever try to skip a day of writing, be prepared that your students will tell you.
Your students are not going to become better writers if they are not writing daily with authenticity. Make it a priority!
In the first few days of school, after our mini-lesson, I sit down and I actually write with my students during this time. I want to model for them that I am also an author. I want to build the expectation that during writing time, they are responsible and independent authors (which will be critical once conferring begins). I want to be part of our writing community, and share my writing with them.
I want them to see that their teacher also writes.
2. Create your community of writers
We share, we collaborate, and we give feedback daily.
I want my students to realize that their peers are their greatest asset. We are a team, we are better together, and the help we give each other will help us grow in our writing skills. The key to a community of writers is synergy. This also helps students learn about their classmates and develop a community that is dependent on one another.
In the earliest days of school, we aren’t writing for as long, so we spend more time sharing our pieces, practicing giving authentic feedback, and collaborating on our writing. We also share a lot about our ideas and topics we enjoy to build this community. I sometimes structure our writing time as a catch and release style; we write 10-15 minutes, share and give feedback, and then write for 10-15 more minutes.
3. Build strong mindsets about writing.
I want every student in my classroom to view themself as an author.
I teach mini-lessons on how to be an independent writer/be an agent of their own writing, how to problem solve in writing, how to get feedback, and what to do when you get stuck (perseverance and grit). I want my students to take ownership for their writing and drive their own writing decisions. This is often taught through my own modeling of these mindsets.
In the earliest days, I must explicitly model through my own think-alouds these mindsets. They are not innate in our students, and must be taught clearly and practiced. For example, one lesson is always titled, “Problems we Encounter in Writing.” We brainstorm different scenarios (I don’t know what to write, My pencil broke, I need more paper, I don’t know what’s next in my piece, I need to add something to my writing, etc) and create an anchor chart of options with different solutions to these common writing problems.
4. Develop connections between topics and genres
The first few weeks are open-ended genre writing in my classroom, which means my students can write in their genre and topic of choice.
We spend lots of time building graphic organizers (heart map, puzzle ideas, category organizer) and thinking maps (bubble map, tree map, circle map) about topics that students might write about. Then, we connect these topics to various genres that might inspire their writing. I want my students to see they have so many options. We will get to more structured pieces soon enough, so seeing their passions come out is amazing and builds high engagement in writing.
For example, I always share that I absolutely love hiking! Then, I model how I could take my topic of hiking and I could write in various genres. I could write an acrostic poem, a personal narrative about how we got lost on our summer hike, an opinion piece about all the reasons why I like hiking, a review about my favorite piece of hiking gear, and an informational book all about hiking. My goal is that my students see that their options for writing are endless. I show how through just one topic I can write 5-8 different pieces. Just imagine taking all the ideas you have and how many options you have for your writing time.
5. Get to know my writers.
Once we are in a good flow of writing for 15-20 minutes uninterrupted, I begin conferring with my students. I complete a mini-lesson on the purpose of conferring, and what the students’ role is vs my role. Then, it’s time to really start getting to know my writers. (Just for timing, this usually happens starting the second week of school. Be reminded I teach upper elementary; so primary and intermediate may need more coaching time before implementing conferences).
These earliest conferences are not highly academic and are more coaching style than an authentic teaching point. I am very intentional about finding out who my authors are. I want insight into their mindsets about writing, their passions, and styles of writing they enjoy. I ask questions like:
*How do you feel about writing?
*What kind of author are you?
*What topics do you enjoy writing about?
*What genres are your favorite to write in?
*What do you think your strengths/opportunities for growth are?
Though these first weeks of school are critical for building our expectations and classroom culture, it is still imperative that we use our time wisely. We don’t want to waste any of our precious moments with our students.
These priorities have helped me zoom into developing strong mindsets, stamina, engagement, habits, and routines to lead us to have a wonderful year of growth in writing!
