3 In-Class Writing Strategies for Reluctant Teenagers Writers
Reluctant writers (RWs) are a staple in most high school English classrooms. And by “reluctant” I mean students who…
- were afraid to write.
- were afraid of criticism.
- thought writing was boring.
- believed that writing was limited to school and the rudiments of a 5 paragraph essay.
- wanted nothing to do with writing.
In my 15 years of teaching English, I have stolen, borrowed and invented a plethora writing strategies in an attempt to convert the RW.
Some writing strategies have worked. Others have failed. Miserably.
Converting RWs into eager writers is not for the faint of heart. This conversion takes considerable time, energy and a great deal of trial and error.
To share my efforts, here a 3 simple in-class strategies that have helped convert some of my RWs into more eager ones.
1. Timed Writing
Like a hammer–it’s not fancy, but it works.
Teenagers have a warped sense of time. Most don’t feel the pangs of urgency until the 11th hour. If you give them an assignment due in 30 days, they will probably begin on the 29th day.
To combat this “I’ve got plenty of time” or this “I can’t focus on assignments due weeks from now” attitude, I’ve found a timer is an imperative tool to have and use in any English classroom.
After completing an in-class reading assignment, I often set the writing timer for 10 minutes. In this 10 minutes student are to draft a well-developed paragraph (Topic sentence, 1 sentence summary, text evidence, analysis).
The timer creates two things:
- An immediate deadline
- Focus
Takeaway- The timer creates both urgency and focus. Two necessities to cultivate an appreciation for writing.
2. Teach Students How to Editing
Teenagers love instant gratification.
I spend considerable class time showing and having my students edit their writing. When editing I will lead them, having them identify things like 2-letter words, passive voice verbs, pronouns and cliched phrases.
After they mark the word/phrase I set the timer and announce, “You have 2 minutes to improve your verbs.”
I then patrol the room and observe the edits being made without interjection.
When the timer sounds, I conduct a “Time to Shine” where students share their “good edits” with the class.
Sharing good edits does two things:
- Allows students to be recognized for their writing improvements.
- Allows student to see and understand that all writers (even the best in the class) need to edit their writing.
Takeaway- Students like the instant gratification editing has to offer. By allowing them to improve their own draft infuses a sense of empowerment and a willingness to engage in the writing process.
3. Have Students do a lot of Low-Risk Writing Assignments.
Teens are more likely to take compositional risk when a grade is not emphasized, when they have freedom to break the rules (like throwing a party when their parents aren’t home).
I use the phrase low-risk quite liberally in class. And the reason? Students need to practice writing without the weight of a “major grade”attached to their writing.
I equate low-risk assignments to practice for a game.
To perform well, you must train daily. And by training you must focus and this focus cultivates an intrinsic desire to improve.
You must work on the nuisances of your game, strengthen your weaknesses, build your confidence before the formal competition.
Takeaway- If RWs are constantly faced with high-stake writing assignments they will fail to grow and continue to dread writing. They will also continue to play it safe, avoid compositional risks and continue to produce uninspired writing.
Final Thoughts
For the noted strategies to prove effective RW’s need to be welcomed to express themselves to a judgment-free, low-risk high-reward environment. A teacher, must model and show that their classroom is a place were it’s safe (and encouraged) to make mistakes, where writing risks are praised, where young writers are allowed to experience the power of their own voice.
If you enjoyed reading this piece please be awesome and share, recommend and consider following me on Medium! Also, I’m a high school English teacher who writes about fatherhood, adulthood, teacher life and the power of the human narrative on my website writeonfighton.org.
