Writing Process
· Pre-writing- Elements of this first stage of the writing process may include planning, research, outlining, diagramming, storyboarding or clustering.
· Drafting- As children draft, they should start with the assumption that what they are doing is tentative. They will change and shape their writing as they go along. For this reason, children should be taught to cross out, insert new ideas, and draw arrows, invent spellings, use lines, letters or drawings as placeholders when words and spellings are out of reach. I always encourage my students to create multiple beginnings to their writing because it is helpful for those having trouble getting started.
· Revising- One way to engage my students in higher-order thinking is in the revision process. I provide them with tools they can knowingly apply.
Snapshot Tool: Zooming in to enhance the details of a picture and then writing a verbal snapshot with those details.
Thoughtshot Tool: Expounding on the inner thoughts of characters. They can give their characters flashbacks and flash-forwards.
Exploding –a- Moment Tool: Rather than rushing through climactic points in their stories, good authors stretch them out. They build in suspense.
Making-a-Scene Tool: Consider the amount of story time they designate to action, dialogue, Snapshots, and Thoughtshots.
Expansion and Clarification Tools: Developing the attributes related to a topic, giving supporting examples, providing a contrasting point, using organizing temporal words, and adding a concluding sections that sums up main points.
· Editing- When young children reread to edit and check for conventions and mechanics, I believe it is most effective if you have them engage in focused edits. In a focused edit, the writer reads with a focus on a single purpose. For example, the writer might reread once to check for end punctuation. Then, the writer rereads again to check for capital letters. Focused edits with a single purpose for each rereading help writers keep a clear laser beam focus on their purpose. An example of an editing checklist I created to give my students if they were writing narratives is down below.
*For some kids, editing and revising are two steps that sometimes get confused with one another. One of my goals as a teacher during the writing process is to teach them that they are separate and two totally different things.
· Drafting- As children draft, they should start with the assumption that what they are doing is tentative. They will change and shape their writing as they go along. For this reason, children should be taught to cross out, insert new ideas, and draw arrows, invent spellings, use lines, letters or drawings as placeholders when words and spellings are out of reach. I always encourage my students to create multiple beginnings to their writing because it is helpful for those having trouble getting started.
· Revising- One way to engage my students in higher-order thinking is in the revision process. I provide them with tools they can knowingly apply.
Snapshot Tool: Zooming in to enhance the details of a picture and then writing a verbal snapshot with those details.
Thoughtshot Tool: Expounding on the inner thoughts of characters. They can give their characters flashbacks and flash-forwards.
Exploding –a- Moment Tool: Rather than rushing through climactic points in their stories, good authors stretch them out. They build in suspense.
Making-a-Scene Tool: Consider the amount of story time they designate to action, dialogue, Snapshots, and Thoughtshots.
Expansion and Clarification Tools: Developing the attributes related to a topic, giving supporting examples, providing a contrasting point, using organizing temporal words, and adding a concluding sections that sums up main points.
· Editing- When young children reread to edit and check for conventions and mechanics, I believe it is most effective if you have them engage in focused edits. In a focused edit, the writer reads with a focus on a single purpose. For example, the writer might reread once to check for end punctuation. Then, the writer rereads again to check for capital letters. Focused edits with a single purpose for each rereading help writers keep a clear laser beam focus on their purpose. An example of an editing checklist I created to give my students if they were writing narratives is down below.
*For some kids, editing and revising are two steps that sometimes get confused with one another. One of my goals as a teacher during the writing process is to teach them that they are separate and two totally different things.
narrative_checklist.pdf | |
File Size: | 925 kb |
File Type: |
Reference: Hoyt, L. (2008). Mastering the mechanics: Grades k-1. New York City: Scholastic.