By Susan Rowan Masters 

SETTING THE STAGE

Begin by establishing a writing corner in your classroom. If word processors are not available have nearby: paper, pencils, pens, dictionaries, junior thesauri and a tape recorder. Some teachers prefer to arrange the student's desks in a hollow square or circle. You may decide to do this later when the students are spending more time discussing and reading drafts aloud.

To elicit prewriting activities, ask: "How do writers get ideas?" Then discuss the various sources, e.g. observation of the world around them, feelings, opinions, and personal experiences.

PRIMING THE PUMP

During this early stage, students do what de Maupassant advised: "Get black on white." One good way to begin is with ten-minute freewriting exercises. In his innovative book Writing With Power (Oxford University Press, Inc. ) Peter Elbow states: "Freewriting is the easiest way to get words on paper and the best all-around practice in writing I know." 

Here is an example of a sixth-grade teacher introducing freewriting: Mrs. C. hands out writing pads to her class. The students have already discussed pre-writing activities the day before. Now she tells them they will be writing their stories, feelings, or experiences in their pads. "I'll be writing along with you," she says, adding, "when you begin, write quickly without looking back to reread. Don't stop t think: keep writing. And don't worry about spelling at this point. Spell the word the way you sound it out." After everyone has written the day's date inside, she asks, "Any questions?" 

Maryann raises her hand. "What if I can't think of anything to write?" 

"Then write ‘I can't think of anything to write' over and over until something does come to mind." 

As the writing exercise ends, Mrs. C. looks up from her own writing and peers at Jeff who is bent over his pad. He has filled at least two pages. She is pleased because this is the first time he has written more than four or five paragraphs. 

Much of this freewriting will not even be read by anyone else. By encouraging students to produce a great amount of writing they know will not be corrected, students gain greater confidence in themselves as writers. 

SHAPING A TOPIC 

After producing raw ideas over several sessions, your students are ready to select one of their writings to develop. If they are using longhand, have them write on colored composition paper (e.g. green or yellow) to indicate that this is a draft. You will need to extend the sessions from the ten-minute freewriting exercises to thirty or more minutes. Part of the time will be spent discussing a common problem with the class or, perhaps, with a smaller group; the remainder is for revising and drafting. 

By attacking a common problem when it comes up, your students are not overwhelmed or discouraged. For example, one session might deal only with sequence of events. You can help students who are having this problem by using such time signals as first, next, later, after, and finally. In another session you might discuss transitional or "glue" words (e.g. however, because). 

Here is how a fifth-grade teacher handled the problem of his students using generalizations: 

The students in Mr. T's class have been working on their first draft. Peter volunteers to read his . . . 

"Last summer we went on a trip to Cape Cod. We lived in a cottage by the ocean. We swam a lot and played volleyball on the beach. One day I saw a dead shark. We stayed for only six days. I wish we would go back again this summer." 

Mr. T: "That's a good start, Peter. But I'd like to know more about your trip so I could picture it better. You can help your readers to ‘see' it better by using details. For instance, who are the other people you call ‘we?' Are they relatives? What are their names?" (After Peter responds, Mr. T. asks the class if they can think of more details questions to ask Peter.) 

Bonnie: "How big was that shark?" 

Fred: "Could you see his teeth?" 

Sara: "What did the cottage look like?" 

Mr. T. encourages Peter to use these details and even more when he writes his next draft. The next day Mr. T. puts up a Details Chart listing the five W's and one H a writer should be aware of: who, what, where, when, why, and how. 

EDITING 

Staple a paper to a student's draft and circulate it. The students should be encourage to choose one main problem they've noticed and write a short comment about it on the attached sheet. This round-robin method can be useful too when a student is working on a final draft and wants help proofreading it. 

Have your students write their final copy on white composition paper. The rough draft and final edited copy are then placed in an individual folder and handed in. 

Write your comments, suggestions, and corrections on a 3" by 5" index card and clip it to the final copy. this way your remarks become personal without the embarrassment of several red corrections on the paper itself. Whenever possible, include positive comments. Don't point out every error, but make note of the other weaknesses so they can be discussed, perhaps individually, at later sessions. 

SHARING 

By giving importance to what your student's have written, their interest and efforts will grow. Some sharing techniques are: placing a collection of stories and reports in the library; mailing letters expressing opinions to the local newspaper or magazine; video taping the stories; and, of course, displaying works on bulletin boards. 

Writing can be taught, but only when teachers help students evolve their writing skills through a sequence of practice and guidance. Designed to do just that, this writing program has proven to be an exciting, productive approach to teaching writing. And maybe your answer to the red pencil blues! 

© Copyright by Susan Rowan Masters  All Rights Reserved