Donald Graves wrote the introduction to Nancy Atwell's book, In the Middle. When he was asked about writing in the classroom, he states that it is more about the conditions in the classroom, than a certain methodology. What are the conditions that encourage good writing? In his post through the Heinemann blog, he states there are a few conditions to consider when promoting good writing.
- Time-We need to set aside time to write. How much of your students' day is spent writing?
- Choice in writing. Not every writing piece needs to be student choice but students should have some choices in their writing.
- Response- Response to Reading, Response in Social Studies and Science. Students should be writing across the curriculum.
- Demonstration-Teachers demonstrate and model good writing, as well as the behaviors of a writer.
- High Expectations
- Room Structure-Is your room set up in a way that promotes writing?
- Evaluation- How do you evaluate your students writing?
As teachers, we want to encourage writing in our classroom to improve writing. However, writing also builds reading. The two are connected. Time spent writing is time well spent!
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