Stop Overwhelm and See Progress with Writing Instruction: Practices to Implement Now!

Last week I was working in two teachers' classrooms who both had a concern about writing. Although they were dealing with two separate issues, the answer to both was the same.

One teacher was struggling to choose teaching points for her mini-lessons. She had planned out a few, but not enough, and she wasn't quite sure where to go next. The second teacher was concerned that one particular student was not making the progress she had hoped to see. He was working below "grade level expectations" and she felt as though he needed a push, as the year was coming to a close.

Both of these amazing teachers had already put in so much work to create thriving classrooms of writers. They provide choice and allow students to work at their own pace. The students are encouraged and praised often and almost every student in each classroom enjoys writing and stays engaged. When the school year began, they were able to get to know their students as writers through identity work, observations, writing piece analysis and conferences.

However, as the year progressed, the business of the day and the responsibilities and pressures of each teacher has pushed some practices aside or caused them to be inconsistent. Because of this, the teachers were in need of a re-fresh in one major area: Knowing their students as writers!

We won't know where our writers are going if we don't know where they are!

What does it mean to Know Your Writers?

This may seem a bit "la dee da" to some of you, and I get it. I've been there myself. "Why can't I just teach what they need to know?" has previously gone through my mind. It truly is, however, the key to teaching...well...anything!

Driving a car, playing a sport, learning a dance, creating a computer program...

In each case, the teacher needs to know so many things about their learner.

Do they have experience? Are they confident? Do they know the basics? Are they willing to be coached? What is their current skill level?

When the one teacher was unsure of what to teach next in writing, I knew she was lacking in knowledge of her writers at that time. She may be able to speak to a few students' struggles and success, but she was not able to identify where students were as a class on a variety of writing skills or behaviors.

When we know where our learners are, we know what to teach them next.

Here are practices to use to get to know where your writers stand at any given time.

1. Ask Questions.

When you don't know, ask! We can't rely on writing pieces alone to know our writers. We need to know what they are thinking, how they make decisions and what they actually know about the writing process or skills they've been taught. We need to know what is holding them back or why they are doing (or not doing) certain things.

"How did you plan out your writing?"

"Where did this (fact, idea, etc) come from?"

"Did this story really happen or is it imagined?"

"What will you do next?"

"Why did you write this in this paragraph?"

"What did you do well with this piece?"

I could go on and on, but I'm sure you get the idea!

2. Analyze Writing Pieces.

This can be done as you walk around the classroom or after collecting writing pieces

altogether. You may analyze the pieces based on the goals of the current unit, goals

for each individual writer, or the previous few lessons. Or you may choose one

strand of a rubric to assess such as organization, focus, voice, leads/closings, or

conventions.

3. Record the Data.

As you gather information about the writers in your classroom, record what you find in some way. I like to use a table that shows each student in the class along the side and a row for categories of skills at the top. When you are able to see each skill on one sheet you are able to quickly see where students' strengths and needs lie, for the whole class as well as for individual students.

4. Choose a Focus.

Now that you have this information gathered, you can use it to create whole class mini-lessons, small group teaching points and individual writing conferences. It will also help you to see which students are not yet ready for the current grade-level expectation and which are ready for more. Now, instead of wondering what to do for mini-lessons or what to say or do during conferences, you will have a plan!

Don't worry, I did not forget about the second teacher! Remember, although each teacher had a different concern, my answer to both was the same. In order for her student to make progress, she needed to be sure she still knew not only what he was capable of doing, but what he was willing to do. She needed to get "back to basics" and follow the previous steps for this student. When she did, she realized he was still struggling to engage in writing and find meaningful topics about which to write. This was preventing him from producing much volume, and therefore, getting much practice. Unfortunately, any support this writer was receiving was missing this issue and focusing on more than he was capable of doing.

What would have helped this teacher, and consequently this student, would be if the teacher had been practicing number 5 below.

5. Keep Notes!

In order to A-be efficient and B-facilitate growth- it is important to keep notes about your writers. These notes would center around the goal for each student or group of students and would include; what the student is doing well, discussion points during a conference, insights into student writing behaviors and continued areas of need. This practice allows teachers to identify the evidence of progress (or lack thereof) and make instructional decisions for this student.

You can do it!

I understand it may seem cumbersome and time-consuming to complete all of these practices in your writing instruction, but I promise it is worth it. My advice is to start small. Begin with taking notes on students as you confer with them, or after analyzing writing pieces. Give yourself time to gather data, but don't overthink it! Just write what you think and move on. You will get better.

Use a simple sheet with pluses and minuses to quickly assess categories. As you ask questions, know that sometimes you won't get the answer you are looking for, and that's ok. When you look at your data, consider which areas are showing the most need for the class as a whole, and choose whole group lessons from those areas. For students who seem to be outliers, keep their strengths and needs in mind and be sure not to push them or hold them back when conferring with them.

I know these few practices will help you to organize your writing plans AND keep progress moving forward for your writers.

I am happy to answer any questions you may have about getting to know your writers!

You may contact me on Instagram or Email: melissa@teaching-to-transform.com