Reluctant Writers

All-Write Summer Institute 2010

Rebecca Moore

Characteristics of Reluctant Writers

• Finds writing difficult or meaningless• Has difficulty putting their ideas on paper• Gets frustrated or becomes easily agitated when doing a writing

assignment• Their writing is “empty” (makes little personal connection to the

topic, leaving out imperative details needed for clarification of their thought process)

• Simply completes the bare minimum of what they are being asked• Lacks critical thinking skills to look beyond the concrete meaning

and into the abstract• Lacks self-confidence in their writing abilities• Attempts to avoid the assigned task by acting out or getting in

trouble

“When I write, I create myself and that created self, through writing may affect the world.”

Ode to the Reluctant WriterBy Robin Staudt

I can’t write today because I lost my pencil.I can’t write today because I feel sick.I can’t write today because my Parakeet died.I can’t write today because I wrote yesterday.I can’t write today because my fingers are sore.I can’t write today because my chair squeaks.I can’t write today because I can’t think of anything to say.I can’t write today because it’s almost time for lunch.I can’t write today because I’d rather draw.I can’t write today because I didn’t have any breakfast.I can’t write today because I ripped my paper.I can’t write today because my hands are dirty.I can’t write today because I can’t spell.I can’t write today because I can’t see the board.I can’t write today because it’s too noisy.I can’t write today because I hate writing.I can’t write today because somebody will copy me.I can’t write today because I can’t get my locker open.I can’t write today because I have to go to the bathroom.I can’t write today because the sun is in my eyes.I can’t write today because there’s no more room on my paper.

Type of Students

• Negative attitudes (towards adults, peers, life)

• Had given up on school and themselves

– Learned helplessness: they feel they can’t do anything right so giving up is easier than facing rejection

• There was no voice or investment in their writing

• Increasingly argumentative and defensive when talking about their writing

• Their overall writing ability was very low

All-Write Narrative Writing Lessons

• Mindy Hoffar and Julia Nixon introduced a new approach to teach writing.

• Their emphasis was not placed on the deficits or disability areas the students had, but on building a sense of community and trust in the classroom.

• Focus was placed on the value of writing and positive responses.

• Changing the student’s attitude and perception on writing.

Language and Attitude Towards Writing

• To motivate students to write, you must write with them

– Keep your own writer’s notebook: model what you would like them to do

• Be enthusiastic!

• Use a positive approach when

discussing writing.

– Choice Words by Peter H. Johnston

Language and Attitude Towards Writing Cont.

Example:

Day 1-Student: “Miss Moore, what are we doing today?”

Teacher: “We get to do writing today!”

Day 2-Student: “Miss Moore, what are we doing today?”

Teacher: “We get to do writing today!”

Day 6-Student: “Miss Moore, what are we doing today?”

Teacher: We get to start a novel today!”

Student: “You mean we don’t get to do writing?”

Understanding Reluctant Writers

• Identify, acknowledge, and address their feelings of discouragement—what is causing them to be hesitant about writing?

• Help them through those feelings by encouraging them to share their ideas verbally throughout the entire writing process

• Assist them with a pre-writing activity in conjunction with the verbal story telling such as a graphic organizer or storyboard– reluctant writers tend to be all over the place with their writing and

need a way to organize their thoughts.

• Help students find their writing territories– what are they interested in, what do they wonder about, what

motivates them?

Helping Reluctant Writers

• Start out with writing activities that they know about and/or express an interest (i.e. personal narratives)

• Give them options to write about• Emphasize the power and meaning behind word choice and

their writing as a whole• Conference/check in with each student individually • Give specific praise on areas of their writing that show

improvement• Go through the writing process with them—talking out

each step and your thought process. • Share your writing with the students—have them give you

input on your writing

Narrative Writing

• Have to be interested in the topic

• Start out by writing something they know, a personal experience that they can feel connected enough to invest time into the piece of writing.

• Give them choices that are open enough to relate to their lives but structured enough to narrow down the choices on what to write about.– (Topic examples: a time I was hurt/injured, the first

time I did something, a time I got in trouble, stories about pets, a change in my life, etc.)

• Use oral story telling as a way to share ideas.

• Allow students to draw and sketch out ideas in a sequential pattern.

My aunt’s house in Colorado Me and brother play games

And then it started to rainAnd then we sat around the table and we started to eat

First I had a sleep over with five friends over to play the Wii, Playstation, Xbox 360 and Nintendo.

Then we went to sleep. I slept in the living room with Drew and Tyler.

We are still sleeping. It is five o’clock.

We better clean this place up.

I woke up with sharp pains in my stomach. Mom asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital.

So we were on our way but it took a long time to get there because I kept puking.

When we got there we had to sit in a small room and I had to drink this nasty pink stuff for a very long time.

I don’t remember anything after that till I woke up in the hospital to go to the restroom and in sharp pain.

I was in the hospital for 7 days and I had 30-45 stitches and the doctor said I can’t ride my bike or I can’t walk a lot. I can’t even run ever.

After a long period of time I had to go to the hospital to get my stitches out.

When he was taking them out it burned so my eyes started to water.

When he was done I went back home. The first thing I did was get on my bike.

I woke up with sharp pains in my stomach. Mom asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital.

I woke up one morning in a new house. I had a sharp pain in my stomach. It felt like 1,000 needles stabbing into me. I kept moaning and groaning. My mom asked me if I wanted to go to the hospital.

So we were on our way but it took a long time to get there because I kept puking.

We were on our way to the hospital. It took a long time to get there because my mom needed to pull over so I could puke.

When we got there we had to sit in a small room and I had to drink this nasty pink stuff for a very long time.

When we got there my mom carried me in and I was still puking. People stared at me. The nurses rushed me into a small white room. They made me drink some nasty pink stuff for a very, very long time.

I don’t remember anything after that till I woke up in the hospital to go to the restroom and in sharp pain.

I don’t remember anything after that. I woke up in the hospital to go to the restroom. I sat up and felt a pain in the same place. I said, “Not again.”

I was in the hospital for 7 days and I had 30-45 stitches and the doctor said I can’t ride my bike or I can’t walk a lot. I can’t even run ever.

I was in the hospital for 7 days and I had 30-45 stitches and the doctor said I can’t ride my bike or can’t walk very much. I can’t even run at all.

After a long period of time I had to go to the hospital to get my stitches out.

After a long period of time, I had to go back to the hospital.

Persuasive Writing

• Start out small—working in a groups– Which candy tastes better, Skittles or M&M’s?

• Choose high interest topics – School lunches, cell phones in school, curfews, sports,

school start times, etc.

• Break writing into groups/components

• Teach and model each individual segment

• Differentiate between fact and opinion

• Teach them to look at an issue from the opposite point of view

• Don’t try and teach them everything at once—that is when they feel overloaded and shut down.

Poetry

Step #1

• Explore

• Be curious

Emerge them in all different kinds of poems about different subjects and by

different authors!

Step #2

• Experiment

Step #3

• Try their own

– Start out simple

– Then move to more complex

Step #4

• Give them freedom to just write what they are thinking and feeling at that given moment

Publish and Celebrate!

Who to invite?

Superintendent

Principal

Who to invite?

Assistant Principal Secretary

Who to invite?

Writing Coach and Media Specialists

Who to invite?

Behavior Consultant School Social Worker

Who to invite?

School Psychologists

Who to invite?

Other Teachers

Instructional Assistants

Who to invite?

Custodian

•Lunch Manager

•School Counselor

•Community Members

Who to invite?

Parents

Publishing Parties

• Boost student self-esteem• Motivates students• Gives students a sense of ownership with their writing• Creates a positive classroom atmosphere to share

writing• Real-world application can be integrated in preparation

for publishing parties– Who they want to invite, making invitations, the food that

will be served, presentation of their writing, and thank you notes for the people who attend

• Gives them a purpose for writing!!!!

As a result…

• Students were upset when we didn’t do writing• Ask to stay in class longer, come in during academic

lab, or even after school to finish what they were working on

• Through the writing process and publishing parties, students created a positive rapport with adults

• Received compliments and positive reinforcement which encouraged them to continue writing (Mindy would write back to the students telling them how much she enjoyed hearing their writing and gave specific details about what she liked in their writing)

• Motivated students to want to write!

Tips for helping reluctant writers

• Build a positive rapport with each student individually• Create a classroom environment that encourages risk taking and

making mistakes• Celebrate their accomplishments • Share your own experiences• Model what you would like them to do• Address the students as writers• Be enthusiastic and positive about writing—your attitude will rub

off on them• Do NOT focus on conventions—they will often choose not to write

because they are afraid of making mistakes or seeing the red marks all over their paper. Once you are able to figure out where their deficits are, you can incorporate those into the editing portion of the writing process.