Shared Writing

Shared writing is a learning experience linked to the modelled teaching focus. Within a classroom setting, the joint construction of text between the teacher and students can encompass: 

• Shared Writing

• Interactive Writing 

Shared writing allows for texts to be co-constructed that are beyond the students' normal independent level, as the teacher records the students' contributions and shapes them to create the text. When approaching the teaching of a type of text or genre, a short piece of text may be co-constructed, however the same text could be worked on over multiple occasions with a different focus each time. Such teaching reflects the gradual release of responsibility model (Pearson & Gallagher, 1983; Duke, Pearson, Strachan & Billman, 2011) in practice – as teacher and students collaboratively talk through decisions as they draft – or revise – a text. Attention can be drawn to text coherence and cohesion, detail and context or the linguistic structure and features of the type of text. 

Shared writing can be employed as a whole class or small group strategy.  Students need to be able to clearly see the text as it is constructed. 

Before Shared Teaching of Writing:

• use your assessment data to inform the teaching focus

• determine the learning intention of the lesson

• determine the purpose, audience and form of the writing

• select the writing tools and materials that will be used 

• explain that joint decisions will be made about the writing.

During Shared Teaching of Writing:

• explain the learning intention that will be demonstrated 

• introduce the type of text

• activate students' prior knowledge and experiences of the topic and task

• explain the language features, text structure or strategies 

• encourage students to 'think, pair, share' their ideas to engage everyone

• listen to the 'think, pair, share' ideas of students

• pose questions and guide the discussion

• reread the text to monitor meaning and structure

• review and improve the students' contributions to ensure that they are meeting the learning intention and are providing a high quality model.

After Shared Teaching of Writing:  

• review the learning intention

• add to the co-constructed success criteria

• provide opportunity for students to apply their understanding in guided and independent situations

• display the text and encourage students to refer back to it when writing independently.