What is the best way to teach writing? Read this post to find out ways that I teach writing with my students and have great success!
Teaching writing can be tough, but over the years I have found that there are a few things that seem to work well with my students.
Mentor Texts
I use mentor texts in almost all of my writing lessons! Mentor texts are great because they show students wonderful pieces of written work that students can base their writing on. They are written correctly, don’t have errors, and give students an opportunity to hear a good story.
Check out my mentor text posts to get ideas for each kind of writing prompt. Fictional narratives, opinion, & personal narratives.
Bulletin Board Crafts
Most classrooms are going to have a bulletin board or two, so why not use your students’ work to decorate it? I love making writing crafts with my students to display for each month or season.
I find that students will work really hard to make a good writing piece if they know it is going into the hallway or on the wall for everyone to see. They take a little more time and complete neater work. That’s a win-win for you!
Check out my these free writing crafts!
Writing Centers
Writing centers are a great tool for teachers to keep students engaged and learning at the same time!
You can incorporate them into your daily center rotations or make a special time for writing centers that are focused on what you are studying at that time. Once students are in the process of writing, I like to make revising and editing centers so that students can practice editing their peers’ work.
Anchor Charts
When I was in the classroom, I ran out of wall space because of my love of anchor charts. I think they are the perfect tool to show students on a larger scale the expectations or important features that must be included in each type of writing.
Grab some bright and bold markers and get creative! I know that can be hard for some people but just have some fun with your anchor charts. Include all the important information that you want students to remember and then make it eye-catching!
Modeling/ Scaffolding
This is a teaching tool that we all know about but sometimes we forget the power that it has with our students.
When I begin a new kind of writing, I always spend a lot of time modeling, modeling, modeling! Students don’t know how to write like authors; they need someone to teach them and that is you! Don’t be afraid to spend a day or two writing a piece together so that students can see all the steps that you take when creating a piece.
Once students have a draft, spend time scaffolding their learning by taking the time to show them how to revise and edit their pieces of work. Rubrics are handy so students know exactly what is needed to get a good score. But, I think time spent with the teacher discussing how to improve their piece is important!
And I know, meeting with each student will take a lot of time but that is a great way to include writing centers in your classroom. While students are working in the centers, you can be meeting with students individually, providing them with the scaffolding and modeling they each need!
Whole Class Writing Project
Get students involved in a whole class writing project to get everyone excited and learning! In the past, I have had great success with students working to write one page of a story that will be put together to make a wonderful tale. We pick a theme and title and then I write the first page with their help, of course. Then, each child is given time to write the next page of the story. Put them all together and you have a funny and quite imaginative tale!
Another option is getting pen pals. Students love learning about a new person from somewhere else in the world and getting mail is rather fun too!
A third option for whole-class writing projects is to write a piece completely together. Get their ideas and compose a piece that shows all your student’s personalities.
Teaching writing doesn’t have to be overwhelming! Make it fun and stress-free with my writing prompt bundles! Click each picture for the grade level that you need.
Each bundle contains prompts for informational, procedural, opinion, and narrative writing pieces. It includes all you need for the whole year! There are 100 writing prompts and 20 blank writing templates for you to use with your students.
The writing prompts have varying levels of scaffolding to give your students exactly what they need to be successful in the classroom!
Grab an informational writing prompt FREEBIE here!
I hope this post was helpful in explaining the best ways to teach writing and what has worked in my classroom! Comment below and tell me your best ways to teach writing.
Have a terrific day,
P.S. If you need some Informational Writing Prompts for kindergarten, first grade, second grade, third grade, fourth grade, or fifth grade, check out my post here!
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