1. Why Is Writing So Difficult for Kids?
Three Devastating Reasons

2. Spelling
Sentence-level composing
Organization and structure
Appropriate choices of language for a particular audience
Knowledge of the genre
1.Writing is about production, and requires coordination of multiple systems of meaning

3. 2. Teachers typically assign writing but don’t teach it
Enuf said.
2. Teachers typically assign writing but don’t teach it

4. Enuf said ditto.
3. Assessment typically focuses on surface-level features rather than ideas and what’s WRONG rather than what’s RIGHT.

5. Writing looks to most kids like a scheme to catch them at their worst and expose what they don’t know, rather than an opportunity to show how smart they are.
ERGO,

6. HOW CAN WE TURN THIS AROUND?

7. Give engaging, open-ended assignments that EVERY student can respond to
Do PREWRITING activities as a whole class
Do the writing IN CLASS
SHARE and CELEBRATE your students’ brilliance
HOLD ONTO what your students write—it can be the possible beginning of more formal and exciting writing processes (but that’s for next week)
Writing to Learn

8. Focus on Writing to Learn, not Learning to Write.
And then, ironically, students will learn to write.
Focus on Writing to Learn, not Learning to Write.