Last
summer, authors Linda Sue Park and Laurie Halse Anderson introduced me to the
idea of writing sprints—timed writing sessions with short breaks in between.
Some people say 25 minutes is the ideal length
of a writing sprint, but Linda Sue prefers 12 minute blocks.
In
October, I decided to try this technique with students during a school visit. At
the school’s request, I met with fifteen motivated fourth and fifth graders.
They wrote on Chromebooks, and I wrote on my laptop, which was hooked up to the
classroom Smartboard. We did two 15-minute writing sessions with 10-minute
breaks. During the breaks, we discussed the aspects of nonfiction writing we
were struggling with right now.
October, I decided to try this technique with students during a school visit. At
the school’s request, I met with fifteen motivated fourth and fifth graders.
They wrote on Chromebooks, and I wrote on my laptop, which was hooked up to the
classroom Smartboard. We did two 15-minute writing sessions with 10-minute
breaks. During the breaks, we discussed the aspects of nonfiction writing we
were struggling with right now.
I
was delighted with the quality of the conversations we had. One fourth grader
was struggling to come up with the perfect wording to describe something. It
turns out, she had never heard of a thesaurus. As I demonstrated how to access
and use online thesauruses, the teacher ran to the resource room and returned
with a half dozen print copies.
was delighted with the quality of the conversations we had. One fourth grader
was struggling to come up with the perfect wording to describe something. It
turns out, she had never heard of a thesaurus. As I demonstrated how to access
and use online thesauruses, the teacher ran to the resource room and returned
with a half dozen print copies.
A
fifth grader was grappling with text structure. She was using a compare and
contrast structure, but it wasn’t working as well as she had hoped. I happened
to have a draft of a manuscript with an “opposites” text structure on my computer,
so I pulled it up and we talked about how the five basic structures most
students learn are just the tip of the iceberg.
fifth grader was grappling with text structure. She was using a compare and
contrast structure, but it wasn’t working as well as she had hoped. I happened
to have a draft of a manuscript with an “opposites” text structure on my computer,
so I pulled it up and we talked about how the five basic structures most
students learn are just the tip of the iceberg.
Instead
of forcing the compare and contrast structure, I suggested that the student might
want to invent a structure that was perfectly suited to her needs. Then we
talked about how she could do that by looking at the information she wanted to
share to see if there were patterns. Grouping the information might show her
how it could fit together and what the order should be.
of forcing the compare and contrast structure, I suggested that the student might
want to invent a structure that was perfectly suited to her needs. Then we
talked about how she could do that by looking at the information she wanted to
share to see if there were patterns. Grouping the information might show her
how it could fit together and what the order should be.
I
loved how the students and I were interacting like colleagues. I wanted them to
know that even though I may have more writing experience than they do, I still
face obstacles. Every writer does. For me, finding the best way to share information
I care about is like doing a jigsaw puzzle. It’s a fun challenge.
loved how the students and I were interacting like colleagues. I wanted them to
know that even though I may have more writing experience than they do, I still
face obstacles. Every writer does. For me, finding the best way to share information
I care about is like doing a jigsaw puzzle. It’s a fun challenge.
In
March, I tried writing sprints again. This time I wanted to work with a single
grade level and try a classroom of students. Smaller groups have a lot of
advantages, but there’s a certain cohesiveness to a classroom group that I thought
might be beneficial.
March, I tried writing sprints again. This time I wanted to work with a single
grade level and try a classroom of students. Smaller groups have a lot of
advantages, but there’s a certain cohesiveness to a classroom group that I thought
might be beneficial.
Once
again, the students were really engaged, and they had terrific questions and
comments. During the breaks, we discussed ways to make revision more manageable,
such as taking multiple sweeps through a manuscript, each time focusing on a
different element. I was able to show them several drafts of a manuscript, so
they could see how much it changed over time.
again, the students were really engaged, and they had terrific questions and
comments. During the breaks, we discussed ways to make revision more manageable,
such as taking multiple sweeps through a manuscript, each time focusing on a
different element. I was able to show them several drafts of a manuscript, so
they could see how much it changed over time.
Next,
I’d like to experiment with doing writing sprints via Skype. I think this could
be especially useful because informational writing is often taught in the
winter, when weather can make travel difficult. Because I can show students my computer
monitor via Skype, this technique may work well both virtually and in person.
I’d like to experiment with doing writing sprints via Skype. I think this could
be especially useful because informational writing is often taught in the
winter, when weather can make travel difficult. Because I can show students my computer
monitor via Skype, this technique may work well both virtually and in person.
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Topics
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3 Responses
I love this. How did you introduce the sprints? Or did they already have projects in progress?
Wow–this is great, Melissa! Sounds like the kids had a lot of fun!
Schools usually bring me in when they are in the midst of an informational writing project, so we worked with pieces they were already writing.