Writing Processes & Strategies
What the experts say about writing processes & strategies:
Listening to children – taking lessons from them – is essential to the teaching of writing.~ Lucy McCormick Calkins
Teach the writer, not the writing.~ Lucy McCormick Calkins
The power of writing resides in the many ways in which it can be used. It is essential to school success and has increasingly become a central component of daily life in industrialized societies.~ Steve Graham
Read more about writing processes & strategies!
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OVERVIEW of writing processes & strategies
As adults and “expert writers” it is easy to forget how complex writing is. It involves thinking about and doing many different things at once, like forming letters, spelling, choosing words, and generating ideas. Teachers need to help students as they learn to juggle just a few writing skills at first, and then slowly add others. With practice, writers will be able to do all of this simultaneously.
TEACHING writing processes & strategies
Modeling is a powerful tool in writing instruction. It lets students inside the mind of a writer by explaining thought processes. Modeling can be used to teach aspects of writing like editing and word choice, or to teach strategies like using a graphic organizer. Students then write, applying what they learned in the lesson. Teachers can conference with students, providing feedback to support writing development.
ASSESSING writing processes & strategies
Students need to know what good writing looks like and what the success criteria for a writing task are. It is important to have reasonable expectations based on the task, grade level, and individual student. For example, young students write more when they use inventive spelling. Teachers can gather work samples across the year in portfolios to document the development of students’ writing.
Featured Videos
Picture Writing:
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Why Do Writers Write?:
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Bubblegum Letters:
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All Writing Processes & Strategies Recipes
Procedure Match Up: Building the Foundation for Procedural Writing
Exploring Seasons: Using Interactive Discussion to Support Descriptive Writing
Re-Enacting Procedures: Building the Foundation for Procedural Writing
Bubble Diagram: A Pre-Writing Strategy for Stories
Four Square Writing Method: A Graphic Organizer to Support Paragraph Writing
The Daily Five: Fostering Literacy Independence in Pre-Kindergarten
Party Invitations: Motivating Students to Write Informatively
Starring Details: Helping Writers Revise by Adding Details
Women We Admire: Building Interviewing and Report Writing Skills
The Said Web: Improving Written Compositions by Brainstorming Interesting Synonyms
Diary of a Spider: Writing from Another Point of View
Easy-To-Read Writing: Developing Editing Skills
Using "Fancy" Words: Exploring Synonyms to Improve Writing
Five Senses Graphic Organizer: A Planning Strategy for Descriptive Writing
The Lost Suitcase: Creating a Purpose for Descriptive Writing
Learning About Earth Day: Developing Internet Research Skills
Photo Essays: Using Pictures to Guide Written Compositions
All About Me Autobiography: Writing from Personal Experience
Crazy Comics: Developing Voice by Writing Dialogue
Writing How-To Books: Developing Procedural Writing Skills
Sentence Sort: Organizing a Paragraph (Virtual Tour)
Amazing Authors: Developing a Writing Style (Virtual Tour)
Pocket Research: Organizing Information for Report Writing (Virtual Tour)
Success Criteria: Assessment for Learning in Second Grade (Virtual Tour)
Launch with a Read-Aloud: Initiating an Integrated Literacy Unit with an Engaging Text (Virtual Tour)
V.O.I.C.E.: A Mnemonic to Aid Assessment of Writing (Virtual Tour)
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: Developing Real Writing (Virtual Tour)
Yearbook of Writing: Developing Writing Skills (Virtual Tour)
Countries of the World: Developing Research Skills (Virtual Tour)
Writing Wall: Understanding the Process of Writing (Virtual Tour)
Open-Ended Responses: Providing Students with a Reference Guide (Virtual Tour)
Why Do Writers Write?: Understanding the Purpose for Writing (Virtual Tour)
Home Journals: An Authentic Writing Activity that Involves Parents
What Writers Do: A 5-Step Writing Process
Lucy Calkins' Writing Workshop: A Program for Teaching Writing
Bubble Gum Letters: A Persuasive Writing Activity
Inspiring Charms: Scaffolding Oral Expression and Narrative Writing
Paint That Event!: Supporting Descriptive Writing
Candy Ads: Developing Media Literacy and Persuasive Writing Skills
Working on Writing: A Component Of The Daily Five
Four Square Retelling: A Graphic Organizer for Retelling Narratives
A is for Alphabet Book: Using Alphabet Books to Promote Early Literacy Skills
Building Sentences with Sentence Strips: Understanding Sentence Structure (Virtual Tour)
Student Authors: Developing Voice in Writing (Virtual Tour)
Descriptive Feedback: Engaging Students in Assessment for Learning (Virtual Tour)
Literacy Centers: Developing Skills in Reading and Writing (Virtual Tour)
Revising Tool Box: Understanding the Process of Writing (Virtual Tour)
Non Fiction Fun: Understanding Features of Non Fiction Texts (Virtual Tour)
Vivid Sentences: Expanding Ideas by Asking Questions (Virtual Tour)
Classroom Mailbox: Motivating Students to Write Letters to Friends (Virtual Tour)
Monthly Storyboard: Promoting the Enjoyment of Writing (Virtual Tour)
Making Apple Sauce: Learning Procedure Writing in Kindergarten (Virtual Tour)
Interactive to Independent Writing: Learning and Applying Concepts of Print (Virtual Tour)
Taking a Math Shapes Walk: Interactive Writing about Schoolyard Observations (Virtual Tour)
Interactive Writing in Kindergarten: Sharing the Pen to Promote Engagement (Virtual Tour)
Wonder Box: Inspiring Creative Writing through Unusual Picture Cues
Writer's Workshop: Modeling and Guiding the Writing Process in Kindergarten (Virtual Tour)
How to Make a List: Building Independence Through Modeling and Picture References (Virtual Tour)
The Log Hotel: Launching Reading and Writing with a Science Activity (Virtual Tour)
Writers' Wall: Displaying Children's Work to Motivate and Assess Writing (Virtual Tour)
Kindergarten Writing Conference: Promoting Self Expression using Writers' Workshop Strategies (Virtual Tour)
News of the Day: Using the Morning Message to Build Skills and Confidence (Virtual Tour)
Ingredients for a Poem: Using the Writing Workshop in Primary Grades (Virtual Tour)
Book Creator App: Making Own Books on Laptops and Tablets (Virtual Tour)
Retro Phone and Speech-to-Text: App for Brainstorming on the iPad (Virtual Tour)
Popplet App: Brainstorming Graphic Organizers for Laptops and Tablets (Virtual Tour)
Reading Chart to Track Progress: Promoting Growth Through On-going Assessment (Virtual Tour)
Don't Lose that Thought!: Notebooks to Jot Down Ideas for Writing (Virtual Tour)
Personal Journal Writing: Building Interest and Confidence in Writing (Virtual Tour)
Writing Assessment Tools: Assessing Students' Writing At All Stages of the Writing Process (Virtual Tour)
Lucy Calkins' Writing Workshop: A Series of Books for Teaching Writing (Virtual Tour)
Better than Good!: Selecting Precise and Interesting Words for Writing (Virtual Tour)
Let's Vote!: Learning About Democracy Through the Selection of Classroom Jobs (Virtual Tour)
Read All About It!: Talking About Books (Virtual Tour)
Assistive Technology Resources: Using Computer Resources to Build Success and Confidence (Virtual Tour)
Looking into the Past: Integrating History and Literacy (Virtual Tour)
Inspirational Stories: Using Barack Obama's Of Thee I Sing to Motivate Students to Read and Write (Virtual Tour)
Exploring Writing: Developing and Consolidating an Understanding of Four Basic Forms of Writing (Virtual Tour)
Are You Convincing?: Writing Persuasive Reports (Virtual Tour)
Lucy Calkins Writing Workshop: A Series of Books for Teaching Writing in the Intermediate Grades (Virtual Tour)
Seasonal Art: Integrating Art and Writing in Kindergarten (Virtual Tour)
Writers Workshop: Engaging Kindergarten Students in Writing (Virtual Tour)
Spring Stories: Developing Writing Skills in Kindergarten (Virtual Tour)
Daily 5 Choices: Fostering Independence in Reading and Writing (Virtual Tour)
Literacy in Science: Expanding Vocabulary in the Content Areas (Virtual Tour)
Interactive Bulletin Board: Facilitating Independent Access to Writing Strategies (Virtual Tour)
Student Book Talks: Building Literacy Motivation and Deeper Understanding through Discussion (Virtual Tour)
Predicting and Inferring: Scaffolding Comprehension Strategies using an Explicit Framework (Virtual Tour)
Revising and Editing in First Grade: Using Success Criteria to Focus the Writing Process (Virtual Tour)
Writing a Recount in First Grade: Empowering Students by Scaffolding a Well-Planned Writing Process (Virtual Tour)
Extra! Extra! Read All About It!: Building Community with a Classroom Newspaper (Virtual Tour)
Novel Study Using Teacher Read-Aloud: Building Literacy Skills in Engaging Integrated Unit (Virtual Tour)
An Engaging Read-Aloud makes Science Fun!: Linking Literacy and Science with Stanley's Party (Virtual Tour)
Minds-On Math: Three-Part Lesson for Teaching Measurement (Virtual Tour)
Real-World Math: Co-constructing a Math Problem-Solving Wall (Virtual Tour)
Language-Learning Wall: Creating a Visual Aid Supporting Growth in Reading and Writing Strategies (Virtual Tour)
Figurative Language and Poetic Devices: Teaching Poetry thru an Engaging Multi-Step Unit (Virtual Tour)
Math Investigation Station: Integrating Math, Vocabulary and Media Literacy (Virtual Tour)
All About Me: Building Class Community and a Sense of Identity (Virtual Tour)
Social Studies' Culminating Activity: Performance (Virtual Tour)
The Poetry Nook: Gathering Ideas for Writing (Virtual Tour)
Building Community with Parents: Selfless Minutes (Virtual Tour)
Cross-curricular Learning: The Terry Fox Challenge (Virtual Tour)
The Writing Process: Step-by-Step Writing Procedures (Virtual Tour)
Procedure Match Up: Building the Foundation for Procedural Writing
