Ten Simple Activities to Engage the Struggling Writer
Writing is hard work, and not all students love writing. In reality, plenty of students do not like writing - so what do we do with a struggling writer?
As teachers, we want to find strategies for our struggling writers to engage them in writing, create writing independence, and increase stamina and volume of writing, but where do we even begin?
First, determine who is struggling with writing as soon as possible - who is avoiding starting, who is doing “busy work,” who turns in writing that is half finished, who turns in writing with many mistakes, and who is getting started immediately.
Determining engagement is simpler than you think; with a simple chart, some writing time in class, and a keen teacher's eye, you can spot who is struggling and take action with these ten simple activities to engage the struggling writer.
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Melissa Burch 0:00
Welcome to annotated ELA, I am so glad you're joining me. Today we are talking about all things struggling writers and what to do about it, because writing is hard work and not all students love writing. Okay, there are plenty of students who do not like writing. So what do we do with a struggling writer? As teachers, we know that we want to find strategies for our struggling writers that will engage them in writing, create writing independence, and increase their stamina and volume of writing. But where do we even begin? First, let's determine who is struggling with writing as soon as possible, who is avoiding starting, who's doing busy work, who turns in writing that is half finished, who has a lot of mistakes, and who is getting started right off the bat and loves to do all of the writing assignments that you assign. Determining engagement is actually simpler than you think. With a simple chart, some writing time in class, and a keen teacher’s eye, you can spot who is struggling and take action with these 10 activities to engage your struggling writer. And don't forget, having a place for your students to keep writing is an essential tool for all writers and another great way for teachers to be able to get to know the writers in their class. Check out the show notes for a free engagement tracker if you're interested and a link for 60 writing prompts to help with those writers in your classroom. Let's dive in, friends.
Melissa Burch 1:24
So the first activity is to have students think about a space where they get the most work done, what is a space that is productive for them. The students should describe this space in their notebooks or wherever they keep writing, and they can even go as far as sketching the space. Some students may not have a space in mind, and when this happens, there are several options. You can brainstorm productive spaces as a class and make a list. You can view spaces where published authors work. Many published authors will share their writing space on their website, and it's great for students to see that all writers need a space to write. You can share your space and what it looks like with your class. While we cannot recreate the ideal space for every student in our class, we can find ways to include some of the elements that help students be productive. The main point of helping them visualize and figure out what makes them productive is that they start to think about how they work best and then they can take action to make that happen. That puts them in that driver's seat, it puts them in charge and that is always a motivator. If your students are still struggling with getting their creative juices flowing. Here are some prompts that you can ask, "What do you think you need in a writing space?" "Do you like quiet or background noise?" "What helps you write?" "What does a productive space look like for you? Describe it or sketch it." And when they're done sketching it, have them describe the sketch because that is writing.
Melissa Burch 2:58
The second activity is to help students use their surroundings. This activity assumes that the classroom is a space that's filled with reference charts, posters, and all sorts of other items that are helpful to writing. Or that the students have a toolbox as a reference to look for ideas. The toolbox could be in their notebooks, a folder, or a binder; somewhere they all know where to find it. When a student is stuck, and they find their mind is starting to wander, they can look around the classroom and find ideas to get them back on track. Sometimes writers, especially a struggling writer will get stuck and they'll give up. If you notice this happening, come up with a way to remind students. Maybe one of the ways you remind students or the way you prompt them to realize they're stuck, is a quick sticky note on the desk with a reminder to use their surroundings. A tap on the desk to get them back on track, or even a quick little chat that will get them back where they need to be. Watching for the signs and communicating with that student is going to be the best way to get them in the habit of using what's around them and checking their toolbox; just helping them realize when they are stuck. That's key number one is when students begin to realize that they're stuck, they can take charge to then fix that problem. Not all students will catch themselves daydreaming and some may even prefer to daydream, who doesn't? Keep checking in and guiding them. Here are some prompts that you can use when you check-in. "What's causing you to get stuck?" "Is there something in the room that could help?" "What step of the writing process are you on?" "Is there a chart or notes in your notebook that might help you?" "I noticed you caught yourself zoning out or daydreaming. That's a great first step." "What can you do to help yourself get back to writing?" Just keep working with them. Everything takes time and practice. When students are able to realize that they are stuck it will be groundbreaking for them to be able to get themselves unstuck.
Melissa Burch 5:03
The third activity is to help students solve the writer problem. Writers solve problems. But first, they have to identify that there is a problem. And a struggling writer may not be aware of why they are stuck, or what they're stuck on. So brainstorm as a class possible sticking points for writing, and how to get unstuck or solve the problem. This is such an important step in that process. Brainstorming as a class, the types of problems that writers have, and ways to solve them will allow students to start making connections. Solving writing problems creates independence, and it builds confidence when students are able to fix the problem. It opens up a whole new world of possibilities. And it's just such an exciting space for them to be in. So here are some possible prompts. "What is stumping you?" "It seems like you're stuck. Let's brainstorm together some solutions." "Is there something in the room or your notebook notes that might help you?" "Great idea, I agree that chart or those notes will definitely help."
Melissa Burch 6:07
The fourth activity is to create a challenge or set a goal. When we don't want to do something, we often play a game with ourselves to trick our minds into doing that hard thing. For writers who don't enjoy writing or who struggle with writing, filling a whole page can feel really daunting and almost impossible. So setting a goal by placing a dot or drawing a line to indicate how much will be written makes the task feel doable, and it eliminates undue stress. The important part of this is to encourage the struggling writer to write more; increasing the lines or moving the dot to build stamina and confidence so that over time, they can go back and see their progress; to celebrate how far they've come in their writing. So encourage them to always be moving and pushing themselves out of their comfort zone when it comes to the amount of writing they're doing because we're working on building that stamina, and when they can see the progress they've made over time, that can be really, really powerful. Here's some prompts to help. "Prompt the student about the time and encourage them to stay on track." So if they're writing, remind them how much time is left and then prompt them to keep going. "You put your dot or line here, do you think you could slide it down a couple more lines?" "Push further and move your dot or line down a line." "Congratulations, you met your goal. Let's set a new goal for next time."
Melissa Burch 7:36
The fifth activity is similar, but it's to break up the writing time. So instead of trying to get to a certain amount of writing, the struggling writer will write for a set amount of time and then take a timed break. So if the whole class is writing for five minutes, have them write for a minute and then take a thirty-second break, then write it for a minute and take a thirty-second break, and then finish up with writing for a minute. Have the students set a realistic time goal. The break also needs to be timed so that they don't lose interest. It can be beneficial to keep a log of their breaks and what was accomplished. So having the student track their writing allows them to track their progress and celebrate their success. Have them write at the top of the page what they're doing so that they can go back and see how far they've come. Here's some possible prompts to help with breaking up writing time. "How long are you going to write?" "What amount of writing do you think you can accomplish in that time?" "How long will your break be?" "How many breaks will you take during our writing time together?"
Melissa Burch 8:42
The sixth activity is to have an inspiration chart or visuals in the classroom. The chart can be an anchor chart that hangs in the room or a chart the students keep in their notebooks. Most often, inspiration charts are passages from texts you've read, picture books, or novels that were powerful that have been read as a class and analyzed for the writer's craft. Having those passages somewhere where the students can see them and have the highlights or the markings in the margin that remind them of that writer's craft really sparks inspiration if they're feeling stuck. So keep a chart as a class, have students glue the passages in their notebooks to keep us a reference, and if a student gets stuck, they can go and read those passages that might spark an idea or encourage them to try a new strategy. Here's some possible prompts. "Is there a text or passage that might help?" "Why are you stuck?" "Are you stuck on word choice, structure, voice...?" "Is there an author that might help?"
Melissa Burch 9:40
The seventh activity is having a connection to the writing topic. When students make connections to their writing topics outside of the classroom it sparks new ideas and interest in that topic, helping struggling writers make connections to their writing and the world around them. Just like readers make connections, writers have to make those connections too, if we don't feel connected to what we're doing, we lose interest, we don't want to do it, they have to feel connected. So if they're not connected, they might feel stuck or not know how to get started. Most of the time, we have an assigned prompt for students. Choice is the greatest motivator. And I will challenge my students to come up with a new prompt that still fits what we're doing if they're not feeling connected. Oftentimes, just knowing they have that choice, they'll come up with a really great prompt, or they'll just fall back to the one we're already using. But remember, when giving a choice, make sure that both choices are something that you as the teacher can live with, and would be happy and okay with. That is really most important because if we are giving our students choices that we're not comfortable giving, it's not going to be successful for anyone. Here are some possible prompts to help your students if they need to make a connection to the writing topic. "What does this remind you of in your everyday life?" "What can you think about after writing?" "How can you continue your thinking away from your desk or this classroom?" "Does this remind you of a movie or a book or a memory?"
Melissa Burch 11:14
The eighth activity is to get it off your chest. Sometimes our students have other, more important thoughts that are causing writer's block. Offering these students a chance to spend a couple minutes writing about what is bothering them can free up space for the writing assignment at hand. This activity also conveys to students that you understand they have lives outside of the classroom, which builds a relationship and in turn, builds their motivation. Give students a set amount of time for venting, which will ensure that the student is focused, and will get to the assignment before time is over for writing. Oh my goodness, can we say that every student has something else going on in life. And oftentimes, it is the most important thing that has ever happened to them; they're so consumed with it, that they can't focus on what you're doing for the day. I think this is a great strategy for any time a student's not focused, give them a certain amount of time, let them vent and get it off their chest. And then the agreement is that they come back and are focused and ready to work for the day. Such a great community builder, such a great way to build relationships, and get students motivated. Here are some prompts to help if a student needs to get it off their chest. "Get it off your chest now and you can write later." "Now that you've had time to vent or get it off your chest, let's spend some time writing on the topic." "Is there something you need to get off your chest? Spend a few minutes writing about it now and then get to work on the topic at hand." "I can tell you feel better. Are you ready to write?"
Melissa Burch 12:52
The ninth activity is to help students banish the inner critic. That tiny voice in our head is always there telling us that we're not good enough. Not good enough at writing or not good enough at whatever it is we're doing. And if we're struggling, that voice can get really loud. Finding an activity to quiet that voice is going to build confidence and give students a strategy to quiet that voice. Let's help students be realistic about their writing expectations. It takes multiple drafts to publish a final draft, it can be helpful to find interviews that published authors have done, who share how many drafts they had to revise before it was published. It's also helpful to model writing as a teacher because struggling writers, or any writer, assume that it's one and done; but we know that writing is a process and modeling that process shows students that even experienced writers need time to revise and edit. Have a chart or other reference that reminds them to banish those negative thoughts. It's helpful to make this chart together. Have students share some of the negative thoughts about writing, and then brainstorm what they can say to themselves to replace those negative thoughts. Here are some prompts to help out with banishing the inner critic. "Tell me about your writing goal and expectations for writing today." "Is your goal realistic?" "Are your expectations realistic?" "Let's talk about what you could do today." "Is there an obstacle to what you hope to accomplish?"
Melissa Burch 14:25
Finally, the tenth activity is to have writing prompts available. Having some premade writing prompts available will help get them in the mode of writing. And once they're in the groove and in the flow, maybe they can switch to the writing prompt that you're working on. Connecting to the topic that day could be painful and sometimes it can feel impossible. So again, choice and voice equal buy-in and motivation. I know there are students who will take advantage of a lot of these strategies or activities. That's okay. Just guide them back to getting on track, constantly push them to go further and stretch themselves, they'll get there.
Melissa Burch 15:08
And here's two bonus tips, because I just can't stop. Picture writing is such a great writing strategy. Have students look at an image, whether it's a photograph, an art piece, or whatever and use their imagination to write a how-to, a descriptive, a narrative, an argumentative, they could write about anything using pictures. Bonus tip number two is write with your students.
Melissa Burch 15:34
Let's recap. Activity one was to have students describe a writer's space or a space that is productive for them. Activity two was to use your surroundings. Encourage students to use what's around them to help with their writing. Activity three was to solve that writer problem by identifying what gets us stuck and then how to get unstuck. Activity four was to set a writing goal by setting a length goal and, each time encouraging them to write a little bit more. Activity five was to break up that writing time by setting a timer for writing and then a timer to take a break. Activity six was to use inspiration charts from books that have been read that helps students with strategies and writer's craft. Activity seven was to help our students make connections to the topic so that they have something to write about. Activity eight was to give students a chance to get it off their chest. If there is something pressing on their minds, having a minute to vent about it and writing can free up that space to write on the topic in class. Activity nine was to help them banish the inner critic by brainstorming negative thoughts that creep in about writing, and then brainstorming thoughts to replace those negative ones. And activity ten was to provide extra writing prompts. Our two bonus tips were picture writing and writing with your students.
Melissa Burch 16:53
Let's be honest, we're teaching humans and not every strategy or activity works for every little person in front of us. Remember with all things that we take in as teachers, use what works for you and ditch what doesn't. You are the expert. Go out and have fun writing. Don't forget to check out the show notes for that free engagement tracker and a link for 60 writing prompts. Until next time, friends. The magic is in the process.
