I'll share one of my favorite writing strategies from my classroom.
I always ask teachers to think about the challenges ELLs face in their classrooms, and almost all of the time anxiety is a concern. I think this is especially true with writing tasks; what could be worse than struggling over a large assignment only to get it back bleeding with corrections.
Krashen's Affective-Filter Hypothesis tells us that learners need to be receptive to our input for maximum learning to take place. Things like anger, boredom, and anxiety, reduces the learning for students, and can make writing instruction tedious for both teachers and students. The real challenge then, is which comes first? Are struggling students unsuccessful because they are anxious, bored, even angry? Or are they anxious, bored, and even angry because they are unsuccessful?
There are several strategies that we can do as teachers to reduce anxiety in writing like modeling and explicit expectations. One of the easiest to implement though is quickwrites. Quickwrites are just what they sound like, short, timed, writings. When I do quickwrites in my class, I tell students not to worry about spelling and mechanics. Just get their ideas flowing and write the entire time.
Writing for 1 minute or 3 minutes sure seems a lot easier and less stressful than an intimidating, blank sheet of paper. It can also be turned into a game - have students count their words and have some friendly competition.
You can also string quickwrites together to create longer works. There are a number of ways to do this, but I always like to start with Gretchen Bernabei's 11-minute essay. It's a basic structure for expository writing and asks students to find evidence in a variety of forms.
Start by showing students a picture and giving them a truism (broad statements that are generally universally true, and they are arguable) ex: Sometimes good things don't last very long, Some things are worth fighting for, The bad times make the good times better.
Ask students to think about the statement, if it is true or not, and copy it onto their paper.
Students write for 1 minute explaining the truism, what it means, and their own interpretation.
Students think about novels or short stories they have read, ask them to find an example of the truism in a story. Have them write for 3 minutes about how their example is an example of a truism. Remind them to start their new paragraph with "In the story..." and include title and author.
Students think about movies they have seen, ask them to find an example of the truism in a movie. Have them write for 3 minutes about how their example is an example of a truism. Remind them to start their new paragraph with "In the movie..." and include the title.
Students think about history or current events they have heard or studied, ask them to find an example of the truism in an event. Have them write for 3 minutes about how their example is an example of a truism. Remind them to start their new paragraph with "In recent events (or history)...".
Students write for 1 minute about what the truism and their writing leave them wondering about. Begin new paragraph with "All this makes me wonder..." or "I wonder"
Students, and adults in my workshops that I illustrate this with, are always amazed by how much they write. This lends itself well to discussions about revision in a stress free environment. Students who spent a long time drafting a piece are rarely willing to go back in and revise - until they learn about and internalize the benefits.
I get asked all the time by teachers about modifying this with extended time for students with that as an instructional modification. The point of doing the quickwrites is to reduce anxiety and write for short amount of times. It is not to produce a polished piece of writing to be turned in and graded as such. Sure if you need to add a minute here or take a minute away go for it. But do not add so much time that is seems difficult to fill with continuous writing.
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