Creating a Writing Community in the Classroom

Imagine you are sitting in a district or county-wide meeting and have an idea you would like to share. What happens next? Do you just start sharing, freely telling everyone your thoughts? Or do you sit anxiously, trying to decide whether or not you will speak up?

If you do feel comfortable sharing with your peers, what do you think has allowed that comfort? If you do not feel comfortable, what do you feel is the reason for the discomfort?

Feeling safe in your community is an such an important part of collaboration and learning, for us as well as for our students. When students do not feel safe and comfortable in their classroom, they will be hesitant not only for sharing their ideas or writing but may also even feel insecure in writing anything at all.

Students often deal with several struggles when writing. They include generating ideas, feeling insecure about writing, writing volume and engagement. Creating a community of writers will help to combat those struggles and allow students a space for letting them SHINE as writers!

Here are three ways teachers can create a writing community in their classroom.

1. Get to Know Each Other

Think back to that faculty meeting and feeling ready (or not) to share your thoughts. If you are comfortable doing so, it is most likely because you have a relationship with your peers. Whether you have worked together for many years, have shared experiences, or have participated in various activities together, you know things about one another. This connection helps to make you feel safe and secure. Allowing students time to get to know one another other will develop security for them as well.

In primary grades, students can share things about family, hobbies, favorite things, etc. In upper grades, students may share those listed above, as well as about their family and culture, character traits and strengths, and hopes for the future.

Remember that teachers are also a part of this writing community, and students want to get to know them as well! When students feel secure in their relationship with their teachers, they will be much more willing to share a part of themselves. It also builds trust, and that will go a long way in their work together!

2. Establish a Culture of Encouragement

Imagine if your leaders and peers generously doled out compliments and words of appreciation. If you have that type of community in your school, I would love to work with you! If not, perhaps you can get it started!

Each of the members of a classroom writing community should be sources of encouragement! Teachers and students should take time to compliment and encourage one another often. Peer collaboration, share time, conferences and small groups are perfect opportunities to celebrate writers and cheer them on! Even independent writing time can be paused for a celebration, whether it be for one student or the entire class. We all need to be given that boost of confidence that moves us forward!

3. Collaborate, Collaborate, Collaborate!

What is a community without collaboration? Students need to be able to work independently, but collaborating with peers provides the support and inspiration to make their independent time more productive and successful! Just as we like to gather feedback from and bounce ideas off of our friends and colleagues, students need to do so as well! Collaboration is of course a large part of the first two ways of creating a writing community but is also provides other benefits.

The time spent talking with peers about their writing in each stage of the writing process allows for several opportunities to solidify, inspire and sustain learning. First, when students talk about their writing, they process their own learning. We have all talked ourselves through a problem or said our sentence out loud before writing it down!! Second, when students hear their peers talk about their own writing, they get new ideas as well as hear how other students think about a concept or use language. Finally, students have a chance to put academic language into use. (Mulvahill 2018)

As you walk through teachers classrooms, or you begin writing time in your own, consider these three ideas for creating a safe, encouraging and collaborative writing environment, and watch your writers GROW!