Nature Journals & Sit Spot Routines
Grades K - 7
What is it?
During Shared Writing, learners collaborate with the teacher and peers to jointly construct a text using a shared criteria. The teacher prompts the learners’ thinking and acts as the “scribe”. Texts can be short and completed in one session or longer and developed over several sessions. Shared Writing may sometimes be referred to as "Interactive Writing".
Why?
Shared writing provides opportunities for learners to experience the thinking and decision-making they will encounter when writing independently. It is a safe context for all writers to collaborate with peers and build their writing confidence. Learners’ attention is focused on developing the structure, features and literary elements of a text genre. They practice sharing criteria connected feedback and observe the impact of effective feedback on a developing text.
During Shared Writing:
| Teachers are... | Learners are... |
|---|---|
| doing the work of recording learners’ ideas | considering ideas to contribute to the text |
| asking prompting questions | gaining an understanding of what the process of creating text looks like and feels like |
| paraphrasing and expanding on learners’ ideas and language | considering why the text is being created and who it is created for |
| drawing on both learner input and own writing experience to create a meaningful text | providing words or thoughts to the text |
| maximizing learner involvement (eg. Think-Pair-Share) | making connections to their own creating or writing process |
| demonstrating how writers welcome and incorporate feedback from peers | getting acquainted with the language of giving and receiving feedback |
