Building on writing

I like to do a short writing activity where I pick a topic we've been working with and spend all week writing about it. On day one, the kids are asked to fill in the blanks in a sentence. On day two, the kids are asked to write one sentence about the topic. We share the sentences in class and circle them, and that way the kids hear everyone else's idea.




On day three, I post the sentences the kids wrote the second day, and they go around and comment on other students' sentences by adding a sentence, asking a question or otherwise commenting. On day four, the students write for one minute on the topic. I ask them questions, they share, and then we spend some time discussing. On day five, they're asked to write everything they can think of on the topic. Depending on the class, this can take between five and twenty minutes.

The purpose of this exercise is to allow them to build up their writing strength. They ease into being able to write on a topic rather than jumping straight into it. Students of language acquire in this order:
-listening
-talking
-reading
-writing

Since writing is the last and most difficult skill, I find that asking the students to scaffold their own writing is of great use to them in strengthening their abilities.