I cannot tell you how many times I searched the question “what writing skills do I teach first” into Google. I couldn’t find a single source that would tell me what to start with at the beginning of the school year.
This blog post will not tell you what order to teach each writing style (narrative, persuasive, etc…). Although let me know down below if that is something you want to read about!
Today, I’m going to share with you two lessons I teach my students at the beginning of the year to set them up for success. Stick around if you want to know exactly what I teach my students at the beginning of the year! To make things super easy for you, I have included both resources in a bundle. Check it out by clicking here!
Are you an elementary ELA Teacher in Quebec? Have you downloaded my free QEP Competencies Handbook yet! What are you waiting for? Click here to download it now!
What Writing Skills Are Most Important
I personally believe that the two most important writing skills for students to know are seeing themselves as writers and understanding the writing process.
I want students to be able to identify as a writer, if they do not already, before starting to actually write. If students do not see themselves as a writer, it will be like pulling teeth to get them to write throughout the year.
I want to clarify something here. I do not mean I want the students to be a writer, as in they write without complaints or pushback. I want them to ACTUALLY think of themself as a valued writer. As someone who is just important as a writer as William Shakespeare. This will need to be done through encouragement and activities on your part. I will share an example later in this post.
The second skill I want students to understand before we start writing is the writing process. Once students have identified themself as a writer, they then need to know how to be a writer.
There are so many steps to being a writer, so we need to teach them early.
Skill #1-Seeing Themselves as Writers
Are you looking for a way to discuss with students what makes a writer? Trying to find a way to help students identify as writers? Or maybe you want to address misconceptions about what it means to be a writer.
I find helping students see themselves as writers is the best way to alleviate writing anxiety. Check out my blog post about writing anxiety by clicking here!
Some questions I like to discuss with students are:
- what does a writer look like?
- what does a writer do?
- what does a writer think about?
- how does a writer think?
- do writers always love writing?
- what makes someone a writer?
- are you a writer?
Save time and energy with this easy-to-use resource! I created this resource to include a pdf presentation ( or a Google Slides Presentation if you prefer), which presents students with the 7 questions listed above. This resource also includes pdf answer sheets, which have one of the above questions per page. This allows students space to brainstorm their answers in pairs or small groups before discussing as a whole class.
Skill #2-The Writing Process
One of the most important skills to teach students BEFORE they start writing is the writing process. I like teaching the steps of the writing process at the beginning of the year. This resource serves as a review for the older students and as a fun, interactive lesson for younger students.
Save time and energy planning for writing lessons at the beginning of the year with this presentation and interactive, kinesthetic activity.
- a pdf presentation to show students that go through all the steps of the writing process (with detailed explanations)
- a detailed lesson plan for an interactive lesson to introduce each step of the writing process
In this interactive lesson, students will brainstorm, plan, design and create a bookstand using classroom materials. Students will understand what it means to come up with solid criteria to know whether or not they were successful, how to brain dump ideas, how to draft several versions of a bookstand, how to make changes and finally show their piece. The lesson plan will go through how to connect this activity to the writing process.
Click here to check out other ways that I teach the writing process!
Final Thoughts on What Writing Skills to Teach First
I think helping students identify themselves as writers and understanding what a writer does are crucial before you start having them write formal pieces. To make things super simple for you, I have created this bundle with both resources! Check it out here!
Do you agree? Comment below! With your favourite skills to teach at the beginning of the year!
Are you an Elementary ELA Teacher in Quebec? Don’t forget to download my free QEP Competencies Handbook by clicking here!
