Since the summer, I`ve been thinking about the writing process we encourage students to use. I want students to engage in writing and that will only come if they are allowed to follow a process that works best for them in their situations.
Process | What It Looks Like | Tips for Teacher | Assessment Tips | |
Planning | o Rough Notes – not necessarily organized o No expectation that everything written down will be used o Use of graphic organizers to help capture thinking o Examination of exemplars o Inspired by open ended critical questions, inquiry issues, resources, entry event | o Give permission to talk before writing – collaboration brings focus and helps to generate ideas – but provide a time limit (if necessary) o Encourage that everything that comes to mind is written down so that ideas are not forgotten o Provide ‘entry event’ – something to inspire their thinking | o Interview – ask them to talk about what they thought – “what ideas are you moving forward with and what ideas will you outright reject?” o Review of planning – ask them to highlight in colour their strongest ideas. Have them journal about what inspired them o Don’t evaluate for neatness nor organization – if they can make sense of it that’s good enough | |
Drafting | o Students bring structure to ideas o Begin writing o Students may choose to progress in the manner most suited to their learning style – confer as they draft, go back and plan more, proofread and correct as they draft, edit as they draft, revise as they draft, rethink | o Since each writer has different learning styles, intelligence strengths, and writing approaches the drafting process cannot be prescribed o Ask students to track their drafting progress and be prepared to share with you how they progressed | o Don’t request that processes be done in a particular order. Rather, ask students to complete 2 of, 3 of, or 4 of the processes as they draft. o An interview would be best – have them talk about how they write – you can offer feedback and advice | |
Conferring | o After the students have written (some or all of the piece) allow them to confer with someone who will provide feedback o Encourage them to have specific questions for the advisor | o Student showing work to another student/teacher/ adult/ friend o Specific advice being sought | o Get student to reflect on value of the conference o Ask whether they accepted the advice or not and why | |
More Planning | o The student may find that the direction selected is causing writer’s block; encourage more planning o Student does more brainstorming – jotting ideas down on paper o May look at sources to help find focus | o Rather than face defeat with writer’s block, encourage students to start from the beginning again if they are stuck o Come to understand the reason for planning again o Respect students that will plan and write in portions; some students will plan an introduction and draft it and then plan the body of the piece and draft it, and so forth | o Students don’t lose marks for going back and planning more – they are actually looking to be more precise in their planning the second time around o Ask questions, “How did you recognize you needed to plan more?” “How did more planning help?” | |
Editing | o Some students will want to check over work and edit as they write and others will edit after writing the entire piece o Editing involves rearranging ideas and checking for clarity | o Respect students who edit as they write, and those that edit once done 1st draft o Encourage them to print off / make a copy of work before and after editing so you can have a conversation regarding the changes they made | o Check before and after drafts and ask questions, “what major changes did you make and why?” | |
Rethinking | o Rethinking means to change tactics – in writing students may wish to change point of view, thesis, tone, tense, etc. o Students will redraft based upon rethinking their 1st approach | o Rethinking is not a step back, but rather a realization that the writing could be much better if a change were made o Encourage students to print off / make a copy of work before and after rethinking so you can have a conversation regarding the changes they made | o Rethinking is not a step back o Check before and after drafts and ask questions, “what caused you to rethink your work and why is it better now?” | |
Revising | o Some students will want to check over work and revise as they write and others will revise after writing the entire piece o Revising involves examining word choice and sentence structure. | o Respect students who revise as they write, and those that edit once done 1st draft o Encourage them to print off / make a copy of work before and after revising so you can have a conversation regarding the changes they made | o Check before and after revising drafts and ask questions, “What revision had the most powerful effect on your writing?” | |
Proofreading | o Some students will want to check over work and proofread as they work and others will proofread once the entire piece is complete o Proofreading involves checking work over for spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors. o Proofreading can be done by both the author and outside readers | o Strongly encourage proofreading to be the last step before publishing o Strongly encourage proofreading to be done multiple times and by someone other than the writer o Encourage guest proofreaders to circle errors, not correct errors | o Ask that proofreaders leave comments – one point of praise, one point of concern, and/or one question o Ask the writer what he/she learned from the proofreading session | |
Publishing | o If the piece is being shared it needs to be prepared for publishing o Publishing could be either hardcopy or electronic o It should be proofread once more before publication | o When possible provide an authentic audience for the publication (students will be aware of the audience before planning even begins) o If this is for evaluative purposes, a rubric with the success criteria listed should be given before the writing even begins o Provide a checklist for writers before they submit their work | o The final piece should not be a surprise to the teacher because of the collaboration and consultation before hand o Use the rubric previously shared to evaluate the work o Provide useful comments for next steps o Ask question, “Why are you proud of this piece of writing?” | |
Post-Publication Dialogue | o If work is published online using Web 2.0 tools, then the writing process doesn’t end with publication o With online publication, readers and writers can enter into discussions about the published piece. o The writer may revisit a piece of writing because of the feedback from readers, or the writer may take into account the feedback when starting a new piece of writing | o Use Web 2.0 sharing tools that provide opportunities for readers to leave comments o Encourage students to read and provide feedback to each other o Encourage author to respond and engage in conversation with readers who leave comments | o The overall expectation of Reading for Meaning calls for students to analyze texts, evaluate texts, and demonstrate critical literacy – all these expectations can be met by reading and responding to work by other writers o Set the norms/rules for responsible dialogue about writing (polite, constructive, questions-not accusations) o Look for metacognitive reflection in the dialogue | |
