Writing in 2nd grade

mariabecht
Feb 28, 2018
2 min read

The writing block in my students’ and I schedule provides opportunities to engage in different types of writing, see a model for writing, work on specific goals, and experience the writing process. In writing I start off with a model. Modeling, liked stated in Strategies that Works, is a way to provide direct instruction. In addition, modeling my work lets my students see proper writing rules and how to follow them, shows high expectations, and how writers think. I show how to plan, think of ideas, craft different sentences, vary punctuation, sound out words while spelling, and use challenging vocabulary.

My model writing lesson fits into numerous pillars of an effective classroom from the Classrooms That Work. These authors state that an effective classroom is well managed, has high levels of engagement, give students numerous chances to read/write and that strategies are explicitly taught. In modeling, I craft my piece with the students and take suggestion from the students. This engages them in my pieces while giving explicit instruction on writing. I use the word wall while modeling writing. Including the word wall in my instruction is helpful as it shows how my students can make active use of it while they are writing. Classroom That Work states that involving the word wall in instruction makes students more likely to use it and reap the benefits from it.

In teaching writing recently, I have exposed my students to a variety of different types of writing and given them chance to write in the formats such as how to pieces, letters, autobiographies, and more. Students often have chance to free write as while. In writing my students has choice on their topic. As stated in Classrooms That Work, offering students choice is a way to increase engagement and make the work students do more meaningful.

I address the writing rules, also know as the Star Writer Rules, before releasing students to write. The students also have these rules in their writing folders. These rules are specific and act as a great guide to use while writing. Reviewing these rules shows lets my students know the expectations while writing. I also address the students individual goals before releasing them to write. Having a specific goals helps my students focus on their writing needs. I track how they are working on their peices while circulating. I also pull student to conference while the other students are working on individual writing pieces. From this, I can learn about my students, figure out their needs, and readjust my instruction to see what they need as a whole!