Can you imagine a classroom of 16 first grade students, heterogeneously grouped and highly engaged in independent quiet writing time for 20 minutes? Can you picture a classroom in which the teacher announces it is time to move on from writing and some students frantically write as if they will never see their journals again, while others sigh as they put down their pencils?

I can. Believe it or not, motivating all students to want to write regardless of ability level is an achievable goal. The classroom I describe is my first grade classroom during writing time. However, my writing time didn’t always look like this!

Towards the end of the last school year, I was introduced to the book Super Core! by Mark Weakland. I have used this book and continue to use it as a resource to make the necessary changes to maximize student engagement during writing time. In order to engage every student during extended writing time, I had to overcome two major roadblocks. I had students saying “I’m done!” or “I don’t know what to write about!” By the time I redirected students to keep writing and worked with others on picking a topic, writing time was over.

Here are a few simple changes I’ve made using Super Core! and they have made all the difference in the world!

Create a Topic List

Discuss topics with your students. Take the time to explicitly teach what a topic is by showing actual examples of authors’ work. Once your students understand the idea of topics, provide mini-lessons on creating a topic list. Explain to your students they will create a list of things that are “near and dear to their hearts.”  Make sure to take your time with these lessons and keep the focus on adding to the topic list each day for one week. Most importantly, students should always have access to their topic list. My students have a writing folder that holds their writing tools. The topic list has become my student’s first writing tool. Now, if a student is struggling with a topic idea they know where to find ideas that are meaningful.  

Provide Extended Writing Time

I am fortunate to have a 30-minute writing block each day. The first 10 minutes is devoted to a mini-lesson, the next 20 minutes involves independent student writing and conferences, and the final 10 minutes provides an opportunity for students to share work in “The Author’s Chair.” This extended writing block is crucial to the development of student writing as it serves to differentiate and provide choice to young authors.

Teach with Data-Driven Mini-Lessons

In previous years I used my core reading program to drive instruction. Currently, my mini-lessons are driven from the data I record during student conference time. For example, if I notice several students using the words and or because at the beginning of a sentence, I form mini-lessons on how to correctly use the words and or because. This becomes more authentic as it addresses real student need.

Provide Choice

Providing choices during independent writing has been the single greatest factor for increasing student engagement in my classroom. At the end of every mini-lesson before students go off to write, I remind my students they may use the topic I chose during the mini-lesson, pick a new topic, or add on to a topic they have already started. This engagement reduces student questions and interruptions. When my students are motivated and empowered by choice, I am free to work with individuals during conference time. Individual conferences serve as a time to differentiate instruction and keep valuable notes about student writing. For instance, during a 10 minute conference, I may find that one of my students needs to work on correcting letter reversals while another needs to focus on using correct punctuation when writing dialogue.

Provide Opportunities to Share               

Finally, each one of my students is provided with the opportunity to sit in the Author’s Chair to share a piece of writing that is important to them one time a week. Students are proud and eager to share with their classmates. It also gives me an opportunity to review specific skills, provide positive feedback, and assess student writing progress.

Renee Dryer is a first grade teacher at Ferndale Area Elementary School in Johnstown, PA.