Guided Writing for Teachers
The commonest way to teach writing badly is to set the task and mark the result. The student who could already write does well; the one who could not learns that they cannot.
The principle
Guided writing means that the support is real at the beginning and withdrawn deliberately, step by step, until the student is writing unaided.
The withdrawal is the part that is usually missed. Support that is never removed produces students who can only write with a frame in front of them; support that is never given produces students who cannot start.
The six steps, and what the teacher does in each
Understand the task
Teacher: ask four questions and require answers — what form, which reader, what purpose, what length. Do not accept nods. A student who cannot state the task cannot do it.
Study a model
Teacher: provide a good example and read it with the class twice — once for content, once for construction. Resist explaining; ask the class what they notice.
Identify the structure
Teacher: have the class label the parts of the model physically. The labelled skeleton, not the words, is what transfers to the next task.
Complete guided steps
Teacher: set partial tasks — order the jumbled parts, complete the frame, write one paragraph only. This is where the lesson time should mostly go.
Write independently
Teacher: remove the model and the frame. To time. This is step five, not step one, and only now do you find out what has been learnt.
Correction checklist
Teacher: provide the checklist and require self-correction before collecting the work. Students who mark their own work first hand in better work and read your comments more carefully.
Withdrawing support across a term
| Lesson | What the student is given | What the student produces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A complete model, plus questions on it | Nothing written — understanding only |
| 2 | The model, cut into parts | The parts in the correct order, labelled |
| 3 | A frame with headings and half-written sentences | The missing content |
| 4 | A plan with paragraph headings only | The full piece |
| 5 | The question alone, to time | The full piece, unaided |
Four mistakes that keep weak writers weak
- Setting the task cold. Write a letter of complaint. You have thirty minutes. This measures; it does not teach.
- Correcting everything. A script covered in red produces no change and confirms the student's belief about themselves. Choose one fault.
- Never withdrawing the frame. A student who has only ever written with a frame will fail the moment it is absent — which is in the examination.
- Marking without requiring a rewrite. A correction that is read and not acted on is forgotten by the next lesson. Require one paragraph rewritten, and check it.
What to do with the collected work
- Read five scripts before marking any. The class's common fault will become obvious, and you can teach it once instead of writing it thirty times.
- Teach the common fault to the whole class, before returning the scripts.
- Then mark individually, one comment each — one fault, written as an instruction rather than a diagnosis. Not needs development but add one sentence after each example beginning 'This shows that…'
- Give the mark, and say what would raise it. 12. To reach 15, put the date on the notice and keep the sentences shorter.
- Require one paragraph rewritten, and look at it. This is the step that produces the improvement.