Effective Writing Instruction
Lucy Calkins (2013) delineates essential elements of effective writing instruction. All of these elements are based in research on writing.
"Writing needs to be taught like any other basic skill, with explicit instruction and ample opportunity for practice. Almost every day, every K-5 child needs between fifty and sixty minutes for writing and writing instruction" (p. 29). "Children deserve to write for real, to write the kinds of texts that they see in the world-nonfiction chapter books, persuasive letters, stories, lab reports, reviews, poems-and to write for an audience of readers, not just for the teacher's red pen" (p. 30). "Children need to be immersed in a listening and storytelling culture where their voices are valued and heard. Children will become better writing partners and better writers if they are encouraged to contribute their stories, opinions, thoughts, and ideas to a community of writers" (p. 31). "Writers write to put meaning onto the page. Children will especially invest themselves in their writing if they write about subjects that are important to them. The easiest way to support investment in writing is to teach children to choose their own topics most of the time" (p. 31). "Children, early in their writing development, need to be taught phonemic awareness and phonics-the instruction that undergirds their language development and that supports and fosters their ability as writers" (p. 32). "Children deserve to be explicitly taught how to write. Instruction matters-and this includes not just instruction in spelling and conventions but also in the qualities and strategies of good writing" (p. 33). "Children deserve the opportunity and instruction necessary for them to cycle through the writing process as they write: rehearsing, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing their writing" (p. 34). "Writers read. For children to write well, they need opportunities to read and to hear texts read, and to read as insiders, studying what other authors have done that they, too, could try" (p. 34). "Children need clear goals and frequent feedback. They need to hear ways their writing is getting better and to know what their next steps might be" (p. 35). Reference: Calkins, L. (2013). A guide to the common core writing workshop: Intermediate grades. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. |