Writing is a skill. This means that teachers can teach an enormous amount of information about writing and still not improve their students’ writing.
To be fair, informational knowledge about writing is extremely important and valuable:
1. It helps students with reading.
2. It helps students on standardized tests.
3. It helps students with writing.
4. And more!
Although teaching students information about writing is valuable, decades of research show that grammar instruction and isolated skill drills do little to improve students’ writing.
Independent Student Writing
Early in my teaching career, I found that turning pages in writing curriculums and passing out grammar worksheets was easy. But when I examined my students’ independent writing, I didn’t like what I saw. In short, I discovered by experience what the research makes clear.
Lost in theory and confused, I began to focus more and more on my students’ independent writing. Although I still taught writing lessons and handed out worksheets, I evaluated my students’ writing progress by examining three types of independent student writing:
1. daily writing across the curriculum
2. state and district writing assessments
3. The Timed Writing System: Apples-to-Apples Comparisons and Evaluation
Over the years, I developed a repertoire of teaching writing techniques and strategies that focused on my students’ independent writing, many of which I discuss in my free eBook Nine Strategies for Teaching Writing Across the Curriculum.
Writing Is a Skill
When you routinely examine “what’s on the page” in your students’ independent writing, it becomes clear that the skill of writing is only moderately connected to the “information” that you have taught your students. Although “what’s on the page” does reflect knowledge to some degree, it more strongly reflects skill or lack of skill. Doris Lessing, the 2007 Nobel Prize in Literature winner, put it this way: “You can only learn to be a better writer by actually writing.”
Here’s how I see it: As a skill, independent writing is composed of five parts: 1) getting ideas, 2) organizing ideas, 3) applying knowledge, 4) making choices and decisions, and 5) analyzing and improving one’s writing. Students become skilled independent writers by writing across the curriculum while supported and guided by a skilled writing teacher who teaches writing across the curriculum.
To be clear, Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay is an extremely effective foundation and framework for creating writing skill. Teachers stop talking and explaining and get their students writing! In no time at all, students become experts at (1) getting ideas, and (2) organizing ideas. Teachers then build on that skill by having their students write, and (3) apply knowledge, (4) make choices and decisions, and (5) analyze and improve their writing. Teaching writing becomes easy!
In short, if you want to improve your students’ writing, you must stop believing that you are teaching information. You must start to see that you want your students’ independent ON-THE-PAGE writing to improve. Although you must teach your students information about writing, that is not the same thing as teaching writing. Improving your students’ independent writing is teaching writing.
Two Analogies: Teaching Kids Basketball and Cursive
I frequently discuss (1) the research on teaching writing, and (2) systems and routines for teaching writing. But today, I’m going to approach things differently. I’m going to present two analogies:
1. The Teaching Basketball Analogy
2. The Cursive Analogy
Improving student writing is different from teaching most other subjects. As I improved and developed as a writing teacher, I came to see that teaching writing resembled teaching basketball and teaching cursive more than it resembled teaching most of the other subjects I taught.
When you teach students a skill, the progress (good or bad) is so clear that it speaks for itself. Wait! Do you know if your students are making progress in their writing? Do your students know if they are making progress? If you’re not sure, be sure to check out my free Timed Writing System: Apples-to-Apples Comparisons and Evaluation. If you use the Timed Writing System and Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay, your students will soon be telling you, “I finally get it! I can’t even read what I was writing before!” Now, that’s progress!
Most people would agree that basketball coaches are teachers of sorts, but we know that their goal is not just to teach information. They want to improve skill. As writing teachers, we can learn something from them. Over the years, I’ve taught two activities that amounted to teaching an active skill, so I will relate how I taught them.
Although I don’t make a point-by-point comparison, these two stories will help teachers think about teaching writing as a skill. Having said that, teachers will need to reflect on these stories and consider how they relate to teaching writing. For concrete strategies on teaching writing across the curriculum, be sure to read my free eBook Nine Strategies for Teaching Writing Across the Curriculum.
Please Note: In both of these stories, the “Section 1” and “Section 2” refer to sections of Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay.
The Teaching Basketball Analogy
I taught third and fourth graders how to play basketball for several years. I had two amazing resources that guided me: 1) an amazing class on teaching physical education, and 2) an amazing district step-by-step skills book. Teaching basketball comes down to teaching four skills: dribbling, shooting, passing, and guarding.
Step 1: You begin teaching basketball by giving instruction and by having students practice. Doesn’t that make sense? But strangely, the instruction and the practice are done without a basketball! A basketball distracts students from the purpose of the instruction and practice. That’s what I was taught to do, and it works!
Step 2: Once we move on to using a basketball in practice, we use eight basketballs because I want to maximize student activity—i.e., maximum activity for maximum students. Once again, that’s what I was taught to do, and it works!
Step 3: Once my students have practiced all of the skills through dry runs and drills, we now start playing games. During these games, I hold students accountable for using the skills that they have learned while they play. In no time at all, any teacher that walks by stops and comments: “I can’t believe it. They are really playing the game. What grade is this?”
The Basketball Analogy and Section 1 and Section 2: In short, teach Section 1 and keep the skills “in a box.” Then get your students writing in Section 2. As they develop competency, hold them more and more accountable and continue to build on that success.
Keep in Mind: Holding Students Accountable for Basic Skills: Teachers can always hold their students accountable for using all of the grammar, spelling, and mechanics rules that they have taught them or that their students should have learned years before. Just don’t overwhelm or confuse your students.
Are you an elementary or middle school teacher? Do you need to get results teaching writing? Have you taken a look at Pattern Based Writing: Quick & Easy Essay on the homepage?
The Cursive Analogy
I taught third graders to write cursive for many years. As soon as you start teaching cursive to third graders, naturally, they want to start testing out their new letters. Unfortunately, that would bring chaos to our daily classwork. I have standardized tests to worry about and curriculums to teach. I can’t let chaos rule the class.
When I teach cursive, it’s initially “in a box.” Students are not going to be using these letters today. In fact, I don’t want them to think about these letters outside of the time we practice them (easier said than done) because I don’t want it interfering with the rest of their school work. It’s in a box.
I have a lighthearted attitude when teaching these cursive letters. There is no pressure. It’s easy to keep it lighthearted and fun because the kids are not going to be using these letters right away. As we near the end of the cursive curriculum, I start searching for the perfect time to have students begin using cursive in their daily school work. Naturally, I don’t choose the week before a standardized test. Why would I? That would not be a good time to throw cursive into the mix.
When the time is right (or should I say perfect), I require all students to start writing in cursive at all times across the curriculum. To be clear, it’s an exciting and amusing stage. The quality of the daily school work is going to take a couple of steps back before it starts to move forward again. Therefore, I choose a time when I know there will be enough time for their work to get back to normal before we do anything important or that others will see.
The Cursive Analogy and Section 1: I treat Section 1 (including The Perfect Paragraph) much like I do the cursive letters. I don’t want the patterns affecting my students’ daily school work. Although I may talk about the patterns across the curriculum, I don’t ask students to tie everything together. I want them to continue doing exactly what they were doing before they started the program. Keep in mind that I do teach The Perfect Paragraph across the curriculum, but that is actual instruction and practice.
The Cursive Analogy and Section 2: When I finally require students to write in cursive across the curriculum, it’s an awkward stage. Similarly, the beginning of Section 2 is an awkward stage. The level of work is going to take a couple of steps back before it starts to move forward again. As with cursive, I try to make sure we have the time to pull it all together before we do any important writing that others will see.
