Free Writing/Looping
(Thomson, 2018)
(Thomson, 2018)
Looping is a pre-writing strategy that places emphasis on one’s thoughts and ideas, rather than the mechanics of writing. During free writing, students are not focusing on grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Instead, the goal is to narrow down their topic of interest in order to select which idea best suits the writing assignment. Often times, students participate in this strategy for 3-5 minutes on more than one occasion. As students write, they may underline or circle an important line and then use that as the base/foundation of their next free-writing session. Here, students can delve deeper into a topic, make connections, and include more specific details.
It is important for students to use their background knowledge, imagination, and creativity. When students are motivated and able to write about a preferred topic, they tend to be more confident and engaged. Free-writing gives students an opportunity to express themselves and learn perseverance. The time allotted to writing also provides students with clear expectations in the area of independent functioning.
Make a cluster diagram (i.e., graphic organizer, web).
Pick the topic that seems to be the most interesting.
Free-write for 3-5 minutes.
Write everything you know about the topic you chose.
Read what you wrote and either circle or underline what stood out to you.
Use that line as the start of your next free-write.
This process can be repeated as many times as needed.
Educators can place a single word or topic on the board in the morning and have students engage in free writing for 3-5 minutes. Using this strategy, students can practice brainstorming, planning, and incorporating details. To promote generalization, the topic or word of the day can be content-specific. An educator may select a vocabulary word, or write a broad topic on the board such as food, seasons, holidays, or sports.
Topic: Sports
Student Product: Sports. Coordination, movement, athleticism. Stretching, hydrating, teammates. Playing basketball, football, and soccer. Dressing in uniform to school because you have a game right after class. Being comfortable and athletic, but girly. I have been playing sports since I was 6 years old. Basketball. Definitely my favorite. I love the sound of the ball hitting the gym floor, the squeaking of players’ sneakers, whistles blowing, and the loud cheer coming from the crowd. I’m going to write about basketball being my favorite sport.