Writing instruction is one of the most challenging aspects of teaching. No matter which subjects or grade levels we teach, we all assign writing tasks for a wide variety of purposes. We spend a good deal of class time helping our students develop the skills needed to tackle these tasks. For example, we might need to teach skills like proper paragraphing when writing an essay, using evidence to clarify a point, or how to use transition words and phrases, to name a few.
As teachers, though, we can get so caught up in teaching and assessing these very specific writing skills that we forget why we teach writing in the first place. If what we want is to develop writers who can write for a variety of audiences and purposes, then our instruction should mirror this. When students only write for the teacher, they may see writing as just another assignment rather than what it is: a craft that develops continually over time and that has the power to affect others.
I’ve had the pleasure of teaching at all levels of the typical school: elementary, middle, and high school. Whether I happened to be teaching multiple subjects in an elementary classroom, middle school math, or high school science, I’ve always found my students to be the most motivated writers when I and other teachers weren’t their primary audience for their writing. When students know their words on a page will be seen by others, they more readily see themselves as authors, rather than students who are practicing to write.
Most importantly, students become less focused on meeting the criteria in a rubric and more focused on their effectiveness as writers. They start to get a sense of writing as a craft and the myriad ways we can use words to share information and impact an audience.
Not sure where to start? Here’s a small sampling of ways to include a wider variety of authentic writing experiences for students. If any of these ideas spark your interest and you’d like to learn more about how to implement them, just ask. I’m happy to chat about how these writing experiences might be incorporated into your lesson planning.
100% agree – more powerful learning experience and total student engagement and ownership when you open the doors to a global audience and not just the educator.