Tanya 
Need to get your children to WRITE effectively without hearing, “Miss, I have no idea what to write about”or “Mr., I don’t know”? Help them find their inner motivation, and to create an intrinsic love for writing. Use visual templates and story prompts for each theme and watch their little minds creatively write away all year.
Brainstorming
Discuss and help spark ideas in your young authors by learning about a new topic or reading a picture book. Be sure to have related theme vocabulary explained and available for students to use in their writing. I like to display theme vocabulary. Children can also ‘think, pair, share’ to brainstorm ideas, or pick random elements to form a story (story prompts). I LOVE the story cubes game to generate ideas. We always get a good laugh. Discuss possible characters – who will bring this story to life? Discuss setting ideas – where will your fabulous story take place and develop? Next, discuss potential problems the story can have.
Draft
Once the children have all of their tools in their toolbox, they can begin writing their draft. To help organize their writing, a visual template with a beginning, middle and end section can help them generate a more cohesive story. I have linked an example of a guided story writing template that can be used with grades 1-6.
Edit and Publish
Once the draft is written, I have the students buddy up and peer edit their word. The students then come see me, and I correct their work while giving them feedback live. They go back to their desk, make the changes, and then begin publishing their work on a good copy template. Depending on our themes, these “good copies’ can sometimes be displayed on the bulletin board or turned into a fun project.
Helping the Struggling Learners
I work with students that have learning difficulties and getting them to write is a challenge. Over the years, I have gathered their interest and any tips that could make writing easier, and came up with the writing prompts bundle that emcompasses everything about applying the writing process in the classroom over the year.
