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Teaching Writing to Children

© Irene Taylor

Are you looking for some ways to have your students warm-up before they begin to write?

Here are a few that I've used with my writing classes.

Free Write

This simple warm-up will just help students open themselves to writing. In Free Writing, students just write for a certain amount of time. Start with one or two minutes and have them write continuously for that amount of time. If a student says he has nothing to write about, just tell him to write "I don't know what to write about." over and over for the allotted time. No just sitting and playing with a pencil allowed! Most students will soon find something else to write about.

It is important not to give a topic, like "what you did this morning," but to just let them write and make their own associations. You might even wish to demonstrate on your chart - free write for one minute, letting the students read as you write, or real aloud what you are writing as you write (that's harder!). The important thing is to keep your marker on the paper and write. Don't worry about actually telling a story. In fact, if you have a bit of trouble getting started, your students will feel better about their own first efforts.

Quick Write

A Quick Write is much like a Free Write, except this time you focus the students with a topic suggestion. You might choose to have them write about a character in a story they are reading, or about a Science or Social Studies concept (there's that integration), or about what they had for dinner last night. You might give them a specific prompt, or a more general topic on which to focus. In either case, everyone should write for three to five minutes, including you.

When time is up, ask volunteers to read what they have written. This can be very informal, no Share Chair needed for these. If students are hesitant, read your Quick Write and elicit comments from the students. When they see you modeling the procedure, some students will want to share, also.

A Word on Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a very potent writing warm-up, and should be encouraged before all kinds of writing. Brainstorming can be done individually, in groups, or with the whole class. When you are first teaching brainstorming, it is good to demonstrate on your chart or on the chalkboard. Brainstorming can take the form of a list, a web, a story map, a graphic organizer, or a simple outline. These are all useful ways for students to begin to access the information they have on a topic and to organize their ideas.

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