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INSTRUCTOR OCTOBER 2006 43

Do you dream of a class full of students who love writingworkshop? With persistenceand an enthusiastic approach,you can lead your students to

discover writing as a creative outlet and a communication tool, a way of trans-mitting the scenes inside their heads tothe world at large.

Written language, with all its conven-tions and complexities, of course takesyears to master. But it must have abeginning. There is a place for everychild to start a journey on a river ofwords. All they need is someone to recognize their wonderful ideas andinspire them to develop their talents—that can be you!

Adapted from my new book for families,Encouraging Your Child’s Writing Talent

(Prufrock Press), here’s my list of whatyoung writers need to develop and growinside and outside your classroom.

¶ WRITERS NEED WORDS,WORDS, WORDS.Young writers need immersion

in a print-rich environment. That meansa warm, engaging classroom filled withbooks, children’s magazines, posters,and word walls. This is especially impor-tant if a child’s home environment is notprint-rich. Celebrate words wheneverand wherever you can. ACTIVITY TO TRY: As a class, compile anongoing list of words that the studentslike—such as Mississippi, kumquat, orstupendous. Post the words in a promi-nent place in your classroom. Talk aboutthem. Play guessing games with them, or

form riddles about them (“Guess whichword I’m thinking of?”). Hold a vote tofind out the top 10 favorites. Invite children to campaign for their choices.

·WRITERS NEED THEIR UNIQUENESS VALUED.Writing is a way for children to

discover what they know about them-selves and the world. It allows them toexplore their likes and dislikes, theirpassions, and their hobbies. The very actof writing—making something out ofnothing—produces a feeling of worthand a sense of accomplishment. Perhapsmost important, writing allows a child tohear her own unique voice, to communi-cate in her own words, and to be herself.Your recognition of and affirmativeresponse to your students’ unique

Kidshavewhatit takestobecomereally greatwriters. Here’s what youcandotocultivatetheir creativity. By Nancy Peterson

¿THINGSEVERY YOUNGWRITERNEEDS

voices will allow them to knowthemselves better. Affirming achild’s unique voice is aboutencouraging him or her to commu-nicate her personal truth—herthoughts, feelings, ideas, and emotions—in writing.ACTIVITY TO TRY: Give students theopportunity to write in journals ontheir own terms. A first-grader maychoose to write only fairy princessstories, page after page, or meticu-lously record the stats of NASCARwinners. Middle-schoolers’ journalsmay chronicle the ups and downsof friendships or feature sketchesof the video games kids would liketo invent. Try to give your studentsthe chance to write at least a fewtimes a week on subjects theydeem important.

¸YOUNG WRITERS NEED REAL MENTORS.Young writers need men-

tors who, rather than present them-selves as masters of written com-munication, share the very strug-gles and process they hope to seein children’s writing. Children donot need strict taskmasters stand-ing over their writing with red penin hand, nor praise for every wordthey put to paper or screen. Theydo need mentors who will sit alongsidethem and collaboratively strugglethrough the process and share the fun ofthe written word. ACTIVITY TO TRY: Let your students helpyou write. For example, using the white-board or overhead, let your studentshelp you compose a letter requestingpermission for a field trip, a thank younote, a parent newsletter, or even part ofa grant proposal. Young writers need tosee experienced writers draft andredraft sentences, make mistakes,reflect on shades of meaning, and ulti-mately succeed with a piece of writing.

¹ YOUNG WRITERS NEED THE BAR SET HIGH. All writers should have a

sense of what high-quality writing looks

and sounds like. In order to develop asense of the writing to which theyshould aspire, students must be exposedto a variety of types, genres, styles, andauthors. Children deserve to havefavorites, and to study and pursue theirfavorites with breadth and depth. ACTIVITY TO TRY: How can studentslearn to distinguish quality writing? Byyour sharing and discussing how pas-sages, endings, or whole stories makeyou feel. What’s so funny about thatcomic strip? What moves you about thatessay? Write your own classroom vol-ume of books and movie reviews.Collect student reviews in an alphabet-ized binder or easy-to-organize spread-sheet. Consider having students createtheir own rating system. Was that lastread-aloud a “four crowns” or a “four

skunks”? Students can begin tounderstand literary criticism atsome level and to develop goalsfor their own writing.

ÏYOUNG WRITERS NEEDTO BE ENCOURAGED TOTAKE RISKS.

Emerging writers need to takerisks, and they benefit fromstrong and caring encouragement.Writing is a safe way to test thewaters with questions and beliefs,to seek answers and feedback,and to observe what happensbecause of creative ideas. Writingrequires all of us to ask questions,dwell at least momentarily indoubt and confusion, and finallyreach a breakthrough. Supportstudents when their stories veer,falter, or sink. This is when realgrowth can happen. ACTIVITY TO TRY: Maniac Mageeauthor Jerry Spinelli once wrote alist of 16 things he wished hecould do when he was 16 yearsold. It included trivial pursuits,such as the ability to “spitbetween my two front teeth” tomore contemplative desires suchas to “understand eternity.” Askyour students to compose theirown inspiring lists. Give students

the chance to do some Freaky Fridaywriting. In Freaky Friday, a mother anddaughter exchange bodies and learn agreat deal about each other’s point ofview. Encourage children to write fromall different points of view—a senior cit-izen or a baby, an animal or an insect, animmigrant or a historical figure.

¼ WRITERS NEED ROUTINES THAT INSPIRECREATIVE THINKING.

Daily classroom routines that incorpo-rate a variety of writing skills can help your students build and flex theirwriting muscles. Just like going to thegym, writing every day brings results.Introducing routines one at a time canenhance the effect they have on yourstudents’ enthusiasm and interest.

bestpractice

40 INSTRUCTOR OCTOBER 2006

Kids Need to Be Published!

Seeing your writing in print, whether in a maga-zine or on a Web site, is a powerful motivator

to do the intense work of drafting and revising.Publish your students’ work on your Web site.(Don’t have one? Create one with the free ClassHomepage Builder at teacher.scholastic.com.)Then, check out these great magazines and sitesthat publish children’s work.

• Stone Soup magazine www.stonesoup.com

• International Kids’ Space www.kids-space.org

• Potluck magazine www.potluckmagazine.org

• Potato Hill Poetry www.potatohill.com

º

ACTIVITIES TO TRY: Try one or more ofthese daily language-building routines. Experts: Invite one child each day topresent a fascinating nonfiction fact,such as the existence of the horned narwhal or women pirates.Poem-a-Day: Choose a poem to readaloud to your class every day. Readexpressively so that the sounds andimages can be enjoyed. Students canchoral-read it, whisper-read it, act it out, or add it to a class collection.Guess My Riddle: Share a silly riddlewith your students every day. Riddleshave the potential to trigger criticalthinking and problem-solving and allowthe whole class to enjoy words andimaginative language.

½YOUNG WRITERS NEED A CHANCE TO THINKTHROUGH WRITING.

The process of writing gives all of us achance to think through, process, andorganize our ideas. Writing gives chil-dren access to strategies that can height-en the quality of thinking to a limitlesspotential for pondering, observing, andextending. In fact, the more complex thesubject is, the more difficult and unpre-dictable the act of composing becomes. ACTIVITY TO TRY: Have you ever drawn a line down the middle of a sheet ofpaper and written the pros and cons ofa decision? Invite your students to com-pose their own pros and cons when theyare struggling with a difficult issue inhistory, current events, or in their ownlives. Use your own lists as models.

¾DEVELOPING WRITERS NEED TO LEARN TO READ LIKE WRITERS.

Writers read differently. We just do.Constantly link reading to writing in thelife of your classroom. Every book, arti-cle, or poem you read as a class—everyencounter with a written text—is achance to learn about style and craft. Share examples of good writing when-ever you notice them. Collect “golden”sentences. As you read with your stu-dents, constantly look for interestingways to approach writing technique,

such as sentence crafting, getting a pointacross, or bringing characters to life. ACTIVITY TO TRY: Every once in a while,send your young writers on a scavengerhunt through the book you are readingtogether. Ask them to collect 12 out-standing adjectives or six physicaldescriptions of Ron Weasley or theLittles. Send them searching for coolcompound sentences or riveting firstsentences. Soon reading closely forexamples of great writing will be secondnature, and you won’t even have to ask.

¿DEVELOPING WRITERS NEEDPOWERFUL TEACHING! The inspiring author Mem Fox

once said, “I wish that we [teachers ofwriting] could change the world by cre-ating powerful writers for forever,instead of indifferent writers for school.”We can! Powerful teachers encourageyoung writers to examine and explorethe world around them, to look closelyat their relationships, and to expand

their senses of perspective and personalrelevance. They share the power to con-struct meaning with their students andhelp them to understand themselves asthinkers, interpreters, and writers. ACTIVITY TO TRY: Consider writing lettersback and forth with your students. Thisgives you a place for a private dialoguewhere you can share unique observa-tions, and give encouragement to eachof your students. Perhaps write to a fewof your students each day during quietreading time. The children will love theopportunity to write to you alone. Trynot to grade or even comment on thewriting in their letters. Just enjoy thisincredible opportunity to get to knowyour students and build their writingskills. By the end of the year, you willsee the difference in your students’ writing and hear it in the way they talk about literature. nn

NANCY PETERSON, ED.D., IS AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OFTEACHER EDUCATION AT UTAH VALLEY STATE COLLEGE. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS ARTICLE OR GREAT WRITINGACTIVITIES—E-MAIL INSTRUCTOR@SCHOLASTIC.COM.

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