We all know that kids need a lot of practice and reinforcement with writing skills. We also know that they all don’t need to practice the same ones. The trick is finding a way to help our students attain the skills that they need as individuals. But how can we keep them all working ahead without boring some students and frustrating others?
I decided to create some Writing Pokes, task cards that I can pull out while students are working on their writing. These pokes focus the students on one task at a time, so they can target a skill and not get overwhelmed with the revision process. The back of each card has a brief reminder of the term/skill in the poke. For example, a card from my free Essay Structure Pokes might ask the student to look over their introduction. The back of the card lists ways that they can lead into a thesis. These reminders are brief, and students may have to refer to their notes for further instruction, but it’s a great starting point, one that allows the students to work more independently.
These pokes are a great tool for differentiation: you know that Jonathan has trouble writing thesis statements, Carly never has a topic sentence in a paragraph, and Thomas has mastered the basics, so it’s time for him to experiment with his diction. When these students are writing, you can quickly instruct them all by giving each one a poke that focuses him/her on the skill they need to improve. Jonathan gets one that reminds him to check his thesis statement, Carly will work on creating topic sentences, and Thomas will get out the thesaurus and make more effective word choices.
In order to use these effectively, I have a series of tracking forms, with columns that match the skills I want students to master. For example, one of my Sentence Fluency forms lists different types of phrases that I’d like my students to experiment with. When one of my students illustrates that they know how to use an appositive, I check that off. When I want them to revise, I’ll look at the forms and see where there are areas of weakness, pull out a corresponding poke, and give it to the student. Your brain might work differently than mine, and you might prefer to check the column in an area where the student needs work. Regardless, it’s an important step for tracking the skills of each student.
You can also use these pokes after you’ve taught a lesson on certain concepts that you want students to work on in their writing. Let’s say you’ve just taught a lesson on word choice. You want kids to review what they’ve learned, so you pass out pokes for practice. You could give part of the class a poke that instructs them to use a metaphor in their writing, while other students are given one that asks them to use tactile imagery. Yet another group could be working on choosing the best word for the job. After they’ve had time to do as the poke instructed, they could trade cards with other students.
There are many ways that you can use these pokes –there are even editable cards so you can create your own. Check out my free Essay Structure Pokes and see what you think.
Happy teaching!
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