How to Create a Culture of Writing in the Classroom

How to Create a Culture of Writing
in the Classroom

Key Learning from the
Starter Writing Institute
(2nd July – 16th July 2014)
facilitated by ELIS’s Visiting Teaching Fellow,
Mr. Roel Vivit
Teacher Consultant, Chicago Area Writing Project (CAWP)
Director of Academics, Polaris Charter Academy

Mr Roel Vivit
• Teacher Consultant with the Chicago
Area Writing Project (CAWP)
• Co-founder and Director of Academics of
Polaris Charter Academy
• Taught fourth and seventh grades at Children
of Peace School and at Francis Xavier Warde
School
• Appointed Director of Academics for the Holy
Family School Scholarship Fund
• Appointed Middle School Academic
Coordinator for Northwestern University’s
Center for Talent Development
• Received the Heart of the School “Rising Star”
award (2001)
• Received the Golden Apple Award for
Excellence in Teaching (2005)

Teachers who write can:
Why should teachers role model writing?
• draw on their own experiences as writers
• understand students’ fears about writing

Writing
• Write and
apply some of
the ideas
Editing
• Edit writing (peer or
self editing)
• Correct the spelling,
usage and punctuation
Publishing/Sharing
• Publish writing by sharing it
with others in the classroom
or with others beyond the
classroom.Revising
• Take out information
• Add new information
• Ensure focus is
sustained
• Produce 3 drafts before
editing
What is the Writing Process?
It looks like this in the classroom…
(Adapted from Chicago Area Writing Project)
Pre-writing
• Generate ideas

What is the Writing Process?
Key Ideas
• Writing is a process
Processes are the
activities that writers do
before they produce a
polished piece of writing.
• Writing is recursive
• Writing is complex
• What and how we write changes with the purpose,
audience, context and culture
• Writing is a cognitive, physical and social process

According to Don Murray:
“ The amount of time a (student) writer
spends in each stage depends on his
personality, his work habits, his maturity as a
craftsman, and the challenge of what he is
trying to say. It is not a rigid lock-step
process…”
(Murray, 2009, p. 2)

How much time should teachers devote?
Writing
• Write and
apply some of
the ideas
Pre-writing
• Generate ideas
Editing
self)
Publishing/Sharing
classroom.Revising
• Ensure focus is
sustained
editing
Up to
85%
of time
Up to
14%
of timeUp to
1%
of time
(Adapted from Murray, 2009, p. 2-3)

Writing
• Write and
apply some of
the ideas
Pre-writing
• Generate ideas
Editing
self)
Publishing/Sharing
classroom.Revising
• Ensure focus is
sustained
editing

Pre-writing
• Generate ideas

Up to
85%
of time
Pre-writing
How can teachers help students begin writing?
– Provide students with time and strategies
for generating ideas
– Conduct activities to help students find out:
 what they want to say
 what they already know
 what they need to find out

Pre-writing
This includes:
 talking
 listing
 taking notes
 interviewing
 outlining
 looking at pictures
 brainstorming
 free-writing
 researching
How can teachers help students begin writing?
What is involved in pre-writing?
Up to
85%
of time

The Writing Process
Writing
• Write and
apply some of
the ideas
Pre-writing
• Generate ideas
Editing
self editing)
Publishing/Sharing
classroom.Revising
• Ensure focus is
sustained
editing

Writing
• Write & try
out the ideas

Up to
1%
of time
Writing
• The writing of a first draft is:
rough, searching and unfinished
• Students get their ideas down
on paper from beginning to end

The Writing Process
Writing
• Write and
apply some of
the ideas
Pre-writing
• Generate ideas
Editing
self)
Publishing/Sharing
classroom.Revising
• Ensure focus is
sustained
editing

Editing
self)
Publishing/Sharing
classroom.Revising
• Ensure focus is
sustained
editing

Editing
Publishing/Sharing
Revising

Revising
Editing
Publishing/Sharing
• is also known as ‘Re-visioning’ or ‘Re-seeing’
• Is looking closely at ideas by:
 maintaining topic
 making smooth transitions
 organising ideas
 adding details to clarify
 deleting confusing parts
 incorporating genre elements
 considering voice, perspective, mood, and theme
Up to
14%
of time

Up to
14%
of time
Revising
Editing
Publishing/Sharing
• is done after ideas are written down on paper
• is done by writer or with peers
• is noticing and making changes to mechanics of writing such as:
 errors in sentence structure
 word usage
 paragraphing
 punctuation
 capitalisation
 spelling

Revising
Editing
Publishing/Sharing
Could be formal or informal
• Reading aloud the final product with others informally
• Publishing writing in a magazine or book
Up to
14%
of time

Once we understand that:
• writing is a physical, social and cognitive process
• writing is recursive
• writing is complex
we can begin
creating a culture of writing in the classroom

How can we begin
Creating a Culture of Writing
in the Classroom?

Put Norms in Place
• Be Present through active listening
• Be Compassionate to yourself and others by
limiting your critical comments
• Be Bold by sharing your ideas and writing with
others

It’s important to create a safe environment to build a
culture of mutual trust and respect.
Start the lesson with:
1. Greetings (1 minute)
2. A moment to reflect and center one’s thoughts (1 minute)
3. Opening Read: Reading short stories or poems that are inspiring
to stimulate students (2 to 3 minutes)
4. Opening Write – Students write, on any topic, in their journals –
writing is confidential (4 to 5 minutes)
Put Writing Rituals in Place in the Classroom

A perfected piece of writing evolves over time.
That is why we have to write.
In fact, we have to write a lot.

Mr. Roel Vivit, Teacher Consultant, Chicago Area Writing Project.
Chicago Area Writing Project, Summer Program in Writing, 2014.
Reference
Murray, D. M., Newkirk, T., & Miller, L. C. (2009). The essential Don Murray:
Lessons from America's greatest writing teacher. Portsmouth, NH:
Boynton/Cook Publishers/Heinemann.
Acknowledgements

How to Create a Culture of Writing in the Classroom

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