The Writing Block

8 Pages 1940 Words

he use of an Editor’s Checklist to promote and guide self-checking, peer revision, and editing. This checklist grows as appropriate expectations are added throughout the year.

Example:
- The teacher has the students sit around the overhead. The teacher then brainstorms out loud about what they might write.
- The teacher then writes on lined transparency. Occasionally the teacher comes to word that they have to “stretch out” by the way it sounds. The teacher continues to write their story.
- When the teacher has finished the draft, they read it to the students. The might say something like, “When I was reading my piece aloud, I noticed that I used some short, choppy sentences. I am going to combine some of these sentences to make them a little more interesting. Watch as I try that with these two sentences.”
- The teacher makes the changes and then rereads the piece. They let the class know that they like it much better.
- Students help the teacher edit the piece using the Editor’s Checklist.
- The teacher then dismisses the students to do their own writing.

II. Writing/Teacher Conferencing (20 min.)
• Students write on self-generated topics, individually paced at various stages of the writing process, perhaps working for multiple days on one piece.
• Individual conferences occur between some students and the teacher while the other students write. Each student picks one piece, from three to five good first drafts, to revise, edit, and publish during the conference.

Example:
- The students work at different stages of their writing while the teacher has brief conferences with the students who are ready to publish. When the timer sounds, the children put away their work and come to the sharing area to hear what their classmates have written.






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