Here Comes Interactive Writing

Interactive Writing is one part of a balanced writing program.  In this blog post, we will explore Interactive Writing and how it fits in your writing block.

Modeled Writing

There are several ways we can write with kids. In Modeled Writing, the teacher is doing all of the work. She is doing the thinking and the writing.  For example, when I was building my anchor chart for shapes, I introduced each shape and I labeled them on the chart.

Shared Writing

Another way to write with kids is shared writing. In shared writing, the teacher still has control of the pen, but the kids are helping to compose the text.  In this Patterns  Vocabulary Chart, I worked with the kids as the created a definition for the word. I recorded their thinking.

Interactive Writing

We will talk more about interactive writing below. In interactive writing the teacher and the kids are sharing the thinking and sharing the pen. More on this later...

Independent Writing

The last type of writing is Independent Writing. In independent writing, the child has total control. She is in charge of ALL the thinking and ALL the writing. After we created this apple/pumpkin graph, I gave each child a strip of paper. They analyzed the graph and recorded one observation on their strip of paper. They shared their thinking and we added it to the graph.

Interactive Writing

Ever done interactive writing only to say, "I won't do that again?" You are not alone. When I first tried interactive writing, it was a disaster. Here are some tricks I have used to make interactive writing a productive (and sane) activity.

• First thing...In interactive writing you SHARE the pen! It doesn't mean you give them the pen, it means you can decide which parts you are going to write and which parts they are going to write. It doesn't have to be a "fair share". You can write as much or as little as you need to  keep the lesson moving along.
  

• The next thing...the other kids need something to do while one child is writing on the chart. This doesn't include rolling around on the carpet! :/ All of our kids have a dry erase board. As the selected child is writing on the chart, the other children are attempting the same thing on their board. This holds everyone accountable for the learning.

• Another thing....ask yourself, "What parts do I want them to write and what parts am I going to write?" Interactive writing is NOT a standard. It is a tool that we use to teach standards. Before we begin an interactive writing lesson, we decide on which standard we will focus.  For example, we might concentrate on words begin with a sound. Or, we might concentrate on some words we can write really fast (sight words).  Whatever you pick, that is the parts you will invite the children to write on the chart paper. Let's say you are working on beginning sounds. Then, you invite children to write the beginning sound on the chart paper and you fill in the remaining letters to spell the word.

• In interactive writing, ALL words are spelled correctly. As you share the pen you are modeling standard spelling. Provide a place to practice or model. This is an easy trick that we use.

• It is easy to differentiate during interactive writing by calling children to the chart depending on their need or level of understanding. I might call some children to write easy to produce sounds like b, s, or t. While I might call other children to write blends or diagraphs.
• One final thought...a good place to start interactive writing is with a list. Lists only have to be two words! Once the kids have "had enough", you can stop! Don't keep the lesson going once they are "done".  Build stamina as they mature in the ability to focus and stay on task.

Lists

We also explore other genre's of writing with interactive writing. Here are a few samples:

Labels

 Persuasive Writing

 Procedural Writing

 Informational Writing