Writing Instruction

WRITING INSTRUCTION

Writing is a complex activity that requires both oral language skills and the ability to use handwriting and spelling to express ideas in print. Strong oral language skills are critical for written language for all students. This is particularly important for English Language Learners because they are simultaneously acquiring English and content knowledge, and students must be proficient in listening and speaking to be successful with reading and writing (Cardenas-Hagan and Vaughn). Students need dedicated instructional time to learn the skills and strategies necessary to become effective writers, as well as time to practice what they learn. To develop writing skills, students must have opportunities to write. Teachers can also support ELLs' writing development by focusing on key skills in areas such as oral language, foundational skills, vocabulary, grammar and structure, and through prewriting strategies.

Oral Language:
-Oral language is one of the foundational skills for written language. Students must have oral language skills prior to writing.

Foundational Skills:
-Spelling is also a foundational skill for writing. Better spellers tend to be more proficient at writing.
-Fluid handwriting or keyboarding is also a foundational skill for writing.

Vocabulary:
-Pre-teach academic and essential vocabulary, using student-friendly definitions. Help students understand words by using several examples and nonexamples.
-Provide word banks.
-Make connections between students’ L1 and English for cross-linguistic transfer to enhance understanding.

Grammar and Structure:
-Explicitly teach grammar, capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, paragraph structure.
-A foundational skill for writing is understanding the parts of speech and how words function within sentences. Students need to be able to construct a sentence before they can create a written composition.

Prewriting:
-Teachers can support ELLs' linguistic and cultural needs through brainstorming and creating mindmaps prior to writing. This helps activate background knowledge and allows ELLs to develop a relational understanding about the topic and associated vocabulary.
-ELLs benefit from graphic organizers and other visual aids to help them organize their ideas in a structured way.

Because writing is a task that has high cognitive and language demands, ELLs benefit from explicit instruction in prewriting strategies using modeling and guided practice, as well as ongoing positive and corrective feedback. These will help ELLs generate ideas and organize their thinking during the planning and drafting stages of writing. 

Recommendations:

• Writing routinely over an extended time frame (provide students with time for research, reflection, and revision)

• Writing in shorter time frames

• Writing for a range of content area-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences

• Writing process should include sufficient time for planning, revising, and evaluating 

• Provide specific feedback and offer explicit instructions on how to correct or improve writing