Let me come out and say it; teaching writing in 4th grade without a plan is a total nightmare! The good news is, you have all the information you need to develop a plan to teach writing.
As teachers, we question our ability to teach writing because writing is subjective. The fear of teaching writing became real for me when the school did not have a writing curriculum.
Chances are, if you are reading this, you might be in the same boat as me.
Before you continue to read, I want you to know; you can teach writing!
In this post, I will share what I did to develop a writing plan when I had none.
Look At Writing Standards
The first place to look for guidance is your state’s standards. There is more information there than you think.
Now it doesn’t tell you when or how to teach writing to your kids. Instead, it provides you with a list of writing skills the kids should do by the end of the year.
Also, many states a few years back implemented the Common Core Standards or a version of it. You can check out the Common Core website to find the writing standards for your grade level.
So, how do state standards can help you teach writing?
First, read your writing standards and make a list of writing skills related to each standard.
With a list of writing skills and genres, you can use this as a guide to help you teach writing. You can group the skills by writing genres or in a sequence to fit your class’s needs.
Some examples of words you will encounter are introduction, elaboration, and conclusion. Trust me when I say these words will pop out at you as you read them.
Below are the questions that helped me determine the writing skills I needed to teach.
| Questions | Possible Answers |
| What genre of writing should I be teaching? | Popular writing genres for elementary students are narrative, opinion, informative, and research reports. |
| What characteristics should a piece of writing have? | Writing can be in a form of essays, multi- paragraphs, sentence writing, and story. |
| What writing skills should the kids do at the end of the year? | A standard containing the phrase “with adult help” or “guidance” are writing skills new to a grade level. |
Also, many states provide what I like to refer to as “add on” writing standards. You can find these sentences below the primary writing standard.
These sentences go further in-depth and list the writing skills you want to target. Here is an example of one of my writing standards for writing an opinion essay.
As you can see, the primary standard is at the top, and below are the related standards. These standards provide information on the skills kids should show in their writing.
Understand the Writing Process And Teach It
One of the best strategies to teach writing is to model the writing process to your kids.
The writing process is a series of steps writers go through to complete a writing task. It’s also a recursive process, which means that you can go back and forth between steps.
To teach the writing process, you must go through the writing process yourself.
To do this exercise, take out a sheet of paper and write sample pieces for each writing genre you will be teaching.
Then reflect on the writing process by thinking about the steps you took to complete it.
If you get stuck in any steps, note that because chances are, your kids will get stuck too!
By doing this, you can use these as lessons to add to your writing plan.
Look Over Writing Samples
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a writing sample is worth a million! Check to see if your state provides writing samples you can look over.
These model writing samples make excellent reference materials for you and the kids. One way to get a grasp of your grade level’s writing expectations is by using writing samples.
You can collect student writing samples throughout the year if your state does not have any. My best tip for you is to save a range of writing samples.
Writing Samples are excellent to show kids how writing can improve over time with practice.
Find Your Writing Teaching Style
We all have a way of teaching in our classroom. It is a skill we learn through trial and error.
One way to improve our writing instruction is to explore different teaching strategies. So give them a try, tweak them, and reflect. Keep what’s working and change what’s not.
There are many frameworks to teach writing, and they all work!
You have to find the balance between what works for you and your kids. Through teaching, you will make shifts to make your writing instruction better.
Wrapping It Up
If your school doesn’t have a writing curriculum, don’t frown! You can follow these steps to make your writing plan for the year.
First, look at your state’s standards to determine your grade level’s writing expectations.
Then, go through the writing process to generate a list of writing steps your kids would need to do as well.
Next, analyze writing samples to broaden your understanding of your grade’s expectations.
Last, find your teaching writing style to make your writing instruction better.
