Sharing writing in the classroom can sometimes seem like an extra task that only takes up precious time, but when we show our students their writing is valued by giving them time to share the payoff can be big!
Why Students Should Be Sharing Their Writing
Writing is a vulnerable task. It is also a difficult one. Many of our students struggle with writing and seem to lack a purpose while writing. When we practice sharing writing in the classroom it provides students with a built-in meaningful audience and tells them we value their work.
Sharing writing gives students automatic feedback. Feedback can be either formal, in an evaluation, or informal with comments, sticky notes, or reactions while reading. No matter how you share feedback, it will give value to students’ writing.
Through the act of sharing writing and getting feedback, students will continue to grow their confidence in writing and be willing to take more risks. This is how we grow as writers, and would be a missed opportunity if the sharing process was skipped.
Additionally, writing is a task where you learn by doing, reading, and hearing. Reading or hearing a piece of writing from a peer can inspire a student to try something new in their craft. This continues the learning process and allows the whole class of writers to grow together.
How to Share Student Writing
There are many strategies for sharing writing, and it will depend on how much time you are able to devote to the sharing process. You may choose to share writing whole class through a writing celebration, in table teams, or with a partner. All of these methods have a time and place and should be used.
Sharing Writing With a Partner
The quickest way to share writing with a partner is to have students stand up, hand up, and pair up then read their pieces to one another. This whole task could take place in less than five minutes.
If you have a little more time you could repeat the process a few times to have students continue to mix and mingle while sharing their writing.
Another strategy for sharing writing with a partner, with a little bit of a twist would be to use the cooperative learning strategy Quiz Quiz Trade. For this strategy, students stand up, hand up, and pair up to share their writing before switching pieces and continuing the process with a new partner. This gives students the opportunity to share not only their writing but also others’ pieces.
Sharing Writing With a Table Team
Students can take turns reading their pieces of writing in a round robin strategy beginning with one student and moving clockwise around the table to read. Similarly, instead of reading their pieces aloud, you may choose to have students pass their writing around the table for each student to read on their own.
Sharing Writing as a Class
When most people think about sharing their writing as a class they think about one student standing in front of the class and reading their writing piece. This is one way to do it. If you choose to use this strategy I would recommend investing in this time and turn it into a writing celebration to show your students you value that time.
For more strategies for sharing writing check out this post.
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