Scaffolding Beginning Writers using Power Writing

We are 19 days into school (woohoo), and I want to share how I am supporting my beginning writers. As most of us are experiencing, writing is an extra struggle this year because most kids did not use paper and pencil last year.  My kiddos are at all levels, from not knowing how to hold a pencil to writing complete sentences. So my first thought was I need to build their writing fluency. One of the best parts of 1st grade is seeing the fantastic growth students make in 9 short months. As I said above, they enter writing single sentences (sometimes single words) and leave writing cohesive paragraphs- it's incredible! BUT, students need daily, explicit writing instruction and practice for this to happen with chances to write every single day.

As I model writing throughout the year using grammar, writing traits, structural analysis, and mechanics, my students learn all the technical parts of writing a paragraph. We use what we learn to write about the stories we read using thinking maps and then turning them into paragraphs. See this previous blog post for more information- sequence-retell-and-write, but what about building writing fluency and creative writing? This is where Power Writing comes into play.  

Power Writing is a writing fluency activity. It is structured free-write where the objective is quantity. The idea is for students to write as many words as they can as fast as they can. Students are more likely to write if given a topic to write about rather than thinking of their own. This strategy helps writers free up space in their memory by eliminating so many choices in the planning stage. Power Writing is also an important part of building a community of writers, beginning with believing that we are all writers.

This will be my 4th year incorporating Power Writing, and as I sat down to plan, I had to scaffold the way I was going to introduce it because of the wide range of levels my students are at. If you don't teach primary, you would never know you need to start by teaching your students how to write in a journal. Believe me, it's important!  

How do I write in a journal?

I always start with a "how to write in a journal" mini-lesson on the 2nd day of school.  

• Open to the first page.
• Date in the upper right-hand corner.
• The top empty box is for your illustration.  
• Your letters should fit on two lines, Lowercase letters fit below the first line.
• Leave the empty space blank between your writing.  

As you'll see from my examples, our journals are not perfect nor shall they be.  BUT, progress is being made.  Plus I am super proud of my kiddos.  They have been working SO hard on their writing and I already have some fabulous writers.

2. Introduction, Brainstorming, Oral Language Practice

Students begin by sitting at their desks, and I have my document camera open to:

• Introduce the topic- I have been using Journals with premade topics. 
• Students then get time to think of anything they can think of about that topic. 
• Then students' partner shares their ideas based on the topic. I walk around throwing out ideas in case students need talking points.
• After students brainstorm, I write a word bank using their ideas on paper under the document camera.  

3. Student Independent Writing Time

• Student takes out their journals and a pencil.
• They write the date.
• They say the Mantra.
• Students then write for 5-7 minutes while I play music.
• I walk around the classroom while students write/draw silently. My students know that this is a quiet time where no one talks and everyone stays in their seats.  

• Students finish up their thought when the timer goes off.
• Students are then given 2 minutes for a quick draw.
• Students then use "Magic Headphones" (plug their ears) to read their writing to themselves.
• Students then count how many words they wrote and write that number on top of their paper.

Mantra

4. Troubleshoot

 

So what do you do about the kiddos who are shouting out, "I don't know how to spell_____, How do you spell? What letter comes next?" If you give in to these demands once and your quiet writing time turns into a Spelling Bee. As a whole class lesson, I model writing by sounding out words. I then underline words I am not sure of. My students learn that an underline means - "Hi Mrs. Muehlen, I tried hard to stretch out this word, but I still don't think it's right, and that's okay!" Underlining is a sanity saver!

 

5. Sharing and Feedback 

With writing journals, students need to be evaluated and encouraged. In these beginning weeks of writing, I teach my students to share their writing and give feedback. This has been the biggest motivator for my kids; they LOVE sharing their writing. I usually have 2-3 shares a day. Keep track of who shares. Our share routine looks like this:

• Encouragement/Building Community- I say "I choose ________." (in a sing-song voice) Students say, " Let's go _______!" (in a sing-song voice that matches mine). Students may not want to share, and that's okay. Believe me; they usually want to...

• Sharing the work- The student puts their writing under the document camera, so it projects for everyone to see. They share their work with the class.

• Specific Feedback- The student sharing chooses a friend (using a stick) to give a specific compliment ("I love how you told me _________." You did a great job of ________." " I really liked how you_______.") These have been modeled numerous times by myself first before students begin to use them.  

• Class Cheer- The presenter may then choose a class cheer to receive. Our favorites- Oreo, roller coaster, and Hip Hip Hooray. Click for Cheers

Friends, I am so excited to see how my first graders grow this year. I feel like we've devoted time to writing, and it's already paying off.  

Positively Teaching,  

Randi Muehlen