Teaching Strategies
Writer’s Notebook
Students will keep a writer’s notebook to be used throughout the school year. Teachers can encourage students to divide their notebooks into two sections: Mentor Texts and Sentence Imitation and Vocabulary. One purpose of this notebook will be for students to collect mentor passages that inspire them. It will also give them a space to practice the imitation of sentences and an author’s craft. This workbook will be utilized daily throughout the school year and, importantly, will give students a landing place for their writing. Students will be able to revise and edit their writing in these writer’s notebooks. The daily writing that students complete in this workbook may later serve as a source of inspiration for longer writing prompts they will complete throughout the year. Students will also have a section in their notebook where they can track new vocabulary words. When students keep track of new vocabulary words, they can also research synonyms and antonyms for these words. Students will engage in the same practice of finding synonyms and antonyms for words they commonly use in their writing.
Heads Together
In this unit, students will learn how collaboration can support writing. Teaching students to follow a structured protocol helps guide the discussion, making it easier for students to exchange ideas. For this collaborative structure, “Heads Together,” students will form a group of four people. Teachers can assign student numbers or ask students to count off from one to four in their groups. After numbers have been assigned to each student, present the writing prompt to students. Students should be given time to discuss the prompt before writing each crafting their own individual pieces. The amount of time to write will depend on the prompt, but starting with 10 minutes works well for this protocol. After providing students with time to write, teachers will call out a number and ask for students to share within their groups. Students will be able to provide feedback to one another, highlighting the strengths and areas for growth. After each group member has shared, provide students with time to revise their writing based on the feedback from their classmates.
Writing Workshops
Writing workshops will allow students to peer review their writing. This practice will help students learn from their peers and will be another opportunity for students to practice naming an author’s craft moves. Students should arrive prepared to class with a piece of writing for revision, and they will provide positive comments and constructive feedback to their peers through this model. Students will be placed in groups of 4-5 and will have opportunities to read their pieces aloud before receiving feedback from their peers. Teachers can strategically group students based on instructional strengths and needs. Writing workshops could take place for half of a class period, with each student using approximately 4-5 minutes of time to read and workshop their writing. This model can also be used as time for teachers to provide instruction for targeted mini-lessons.
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