Last Friday, I re-ran a previous post about teaching students the steps
of the nonfiction writing process. You can scroll down to read it, but in a
nutshell, I suggested that if all the classrooms in a school use consistent
terminology, it would make remembering the steps—and putting them into practice—SO
much easier for kids.
Of course, in real life, writing is messy and recursive, but a set of
steps can be really reassuring—for professional writers as well as student writers.
Here are my 10 steps.
- Choose a Topic
- Do Research
- Find a Focus
- Write a Rough Draft
- Let It Chill Out
- Revise à Second draft
- Writing partner review
- Revise and add visuals à Third draft
- Proofread à Final draft
- Send to editor
Most
of these steps are appropriate for elementary classrooms, although students
give their final draft to a teacher instead of sending it to an editor.
One
of the best ways to reinforce this process, is by taking ownership of it. And
one of the best ways to do that is by creating an infographic that students can
add to their writer’s notebook for quick reference.
Here’s
an activity outline that could make a big difference your students’
writing lives.
After
sharing my nonfiction writing process (above) with students, work with your
class to identify and describe the steps of their process. How is their process
similar to mine? How is it different? Be sure to record your class’s ideas on
chart paper.
Divide
the class into small groups and invite the teams to work together to create a
list of the steps in their writing process. As the groups complete this task, put
out crayons, markers, and/or colored pencils, and give each child a plain white
piece of paper.
When
students are satisfied with their list of steps, encourage them to use words
and pictures to create an infographic that summarizes their nonfiction writing
process and solidifies the steps in their minds. Suggest that they spend some
time planning and sketching their infographic in pencil before creating a final
version with crayons, markers, or colored pencils.
the groups have completed this task, invite team members to share their
infographic with the rest of the class. Then encourage students to tape or
staple the infographic into their writer’s notebook, so they can easily access
it in the future.
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One Response
Saving this for reference…for myself and if I ever have to do an activity with students. 🙂 Thanks, Melissa!