How to Get the Most from Shared & Interactive Writing Lessons
Hands down, shared and/or Interactive Writing are phenomenal teaching tools. It’s why many books have been written about them over the years. Both a crucial part of any strong balanced literacy classroom. In a previous post I explain the difference between the two and why you NEED to include them in your instruction, no matter what grade level. But knowing what they are is one thing.
The question quickly becomes Ok, WHAT do I write? WHAT do I teach?
The answer is anything and everything.
Morning message is an easy go-to, and a great starting point. But think bigger: anything can be written (summaries, retells, stories of shared experiences, science how-tos, class rules, letters, reviews, explanations for solving a math problem….). Literally anything can be turned into writing. And almost everything can be taught through writing (phonics, grammar, word choice, organization, a writing genre, etc).
But no one could possibly teach anything and everything. We need a focus.
Where to find your focus?
Two places.
- Your curriculum and standards.
If you know, for example, that your upcoming writing unit will be focused on writing narratives, then it would be smart to start introducing this through shared or interactive writing before officially beginning that unit.
Everything can be taught here–how to think of an idea, how to plan, word choice, transitions, elaboration, editing…the sky’s the limit!
Do your students need to explain steps in a process? Try sharing the pen to tell how you followed the steps to solving a division problem, a fun game your class played, or a cool science experiment you did together.
By leveraging this “we do” teaching tool before you ask students to do it themselves, you have provided a scaffold, given them an example, and talked them through how to do it.
In essence, you’ve given them a leg up.
- Your students.
Are you noticing their summaries aren’t so hot? Share the pen, and write about a recent read aloud or video short you used in class.
Are they having trouble remembering to punctuate those run-on sentences? Share the pen!
Do they need to boost the level of the types of words they’re using? Don’t download an isolated skill worksheet or task cards that don’t actually ever ask kids to apply the skill…share the pen instead!
Do some of your kids need to firm up hearing all phonemes in words? Or isolate the correct vowel sound or pattern? Or apply the rule about adding a word ending, like “ed?” Interactive writing is the perfect platform for providing supported practice with any of these skills.
Once you’ve really come to know what your students’ needs are, you’ll quickly see how shared/interactive writing can become the perfect vehicle for teaching into their needs.
Even more awesome?
After you’ve written something together, as long as you’ve used good old-fashioned chart paper, you can now get even more leverage by:
- Using the finished product as text for shared reading
- Taking a picture of it and sharing it with families (this is especially great for explaining those “new math” concepts that parents have a hard time understanding)
- Display it in your small group work area to use as an anchor chart
- Using it as an exemplar piece–consider using sentence strips to label each part (like transitional phrases, introduction, a “hook,” and metaphors that help the reader visualize)
And if you’ve used something like a Google doc to create a piece together? Not a problem! Print it and blow it up to become an anchor chart. Or keep it 8 ½ x 11 sized, and use a tool like Kami or Jamboard to add annotations just like you’d use sentence strips on a larger chart…then print a few for your own conferring or small group toolkit, and share with students as needed so they can add it to their own toolbox.
How might you use shared or interactive writing in your classroom this year? I encourage you to try using shared and/or interactive writing this year. If you’re already using it, how can you use it even more? How can you get more bang for your buck with it by using it in your content areas?
Once you see how powerful this teaching tool is, you’ll never look back!
Want some help determining how you can leverage small group work efficiently for the greatest student impact? Contact me to set up a coaching call, so we can think it through together! And, join my private FB group for immediate support from like-minded educators!
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Related posts: Getting to Know Your Readers and Writers to Save Time Later, Why You Need to Do Shared and Interactive Writing, Lesson Planning Tips That Help You Do More, Better [in Less Time]
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