
A
typical learner can become a writer without much fuss. She sees the way her
teacher models sentence structure, punctuation usage, voice, and the like. She
is able to apply these techniques to her own writing in one form or another.
Throughout her school career she will continue to develop her writing and maybe
(hopefully!) even enjoy it. But don’t let this scenario fool you. This is
certainly not the case for all learners. Not even close.
There
are, and always will be, those students who cannot brainstorm a writing topic.
Cannot transfer their ideas to paper. Cannot apply the style of a mentor text
to their writing. Cannot decide where to go next. Cannot, cannot, cannot. To
change the CAN’T to CAN, teachers must be aware of alternative forms of
instruction that are designed to help those students who need a little extra
push in their writing instruction. The answer: GUIDED WRITING!
Guided
writing is a direct, purposeful form of instruction. In a 20-minute session, a
small group of students partake in a short, high-interest experience that
invites dialogue among the group. Next, the teacher introduces a writing
strategy, encouraging students to discuss ways in which the developing writers can
incorporate this strategy into their own writing. Then, the students are given
time to write independently, using this new writing technique. Gibson (2008, p.
325) refers to the teacher’s guidance as
“leaning in”, or a way to provide immediate assistance and ways to
problem solve to students AS THEY WRITE (not during the revising and
editing stage, not after the student has already given up and moved on
to a ‘safe’ writing choice).
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the students are given an opportunity to
share their writing with the group. Suddenly, writing has a purpose! It doesn’t
go straight from the student’s desk to the teacher’s grade book- it is a tool
to share one’s thoughts with others!
Struggling
writers NEED this. They need the discussion of writing ideas. They benefit from
the cue cards to guide each. and. every. step. They feel safe to write knowing
that immediate support is available if needed. Within the confines of these
close quarters is where writers are made. With each lesson, students begin to
take ownership of the strategies they learn. There is no thought of, “Wow, the
author uses such descriptive language. I could never do that.” Now, students
can think, “Hey, my friend just did a really good using similes in her sentences.
I can do that, too!”
Gibson
said it best when he wrote, “Young writers need instruction. They do not improve their writing skills simply
because teachers require them to write” (2008, p. 324). And in some cases,
writing instruction must be broken down to its smallest units to support the
learning of our struggling students. So I challenge you: select a small group
of students. While the rest of your class is writing independently, pull them
aside to talk, write, probe, and share. Follow the format and refer to the
tools that Gibson provides for you here: An Effective Framework for Primary-Grade Guided Writing Instruction. You and your newly-formed writers will be glad you did.
So I have written 2 long responses that seem to be booted out ..... this is a test....
ReplyDeleteSo maybe I wrote too much before. Here is a succint version. Your argument speaks to my heart and mind, too. The need for guided writing was the conclusion of my dissertation 8 years ago and ongoing action research since then has confirmed again and again its potential to support ALL students. Your voice on this campaign give me hope for the future as STILL, guided writing is FAR less comment than I would hope!
ReplyDeleteJess the picture that you found is absolutely perfect for this post. Students absolutely do need to learn how to write and guided writing instruction can be an essential aspect of teaching them. Thank you for sharing all of the reasons why this is such an important and powerful tool in teaching students how to write!
ReplyDelete