As English teachers, we need to encourage reluctant writers. Some students will come into your classroom ready to go – raring to read and write, and full of vigour. But as we all know, for every eager student, you will have at least one reluctant student who would rather be just about anywhere other than English class.
A certain portion of these students will be reluctant or struggling writers. Just like we have discussed strategies to help with reluctant readers, it is also important to develop strategies to help encourage reluctant writers.
Ways to Encourage Reluctant Writers
Step One: Figure Out the Why
When you want to encourage reluctant writers, it is immensely helpful if you can figure out what it is about writing that a student struggles with.
- One way to do this is to ask directly – conference with students or have a group discussion. While you may get responses like “Because I don’t like it,” you may also get some honest thoughts. Be sure to give this validation – if students are being open and honest with you, encourage that because it can set you up for a class where students are your partners in learning!
- Another way to figure out what a student struggles with when writing is a survey. Ask students about previous writing tasks they have or haven’t liked, as well as experiences and thoughts.
- A third way to figure out the why of the situation is to talk to students’ previous teachers. Who was enthusiastic about writing, and who was reluctant? Were there some tasks that specific students liked better than others? Any thoughts and insights previous teachers have may be helpful.
Step Two: Address Issues As You Go
You won’t be able to fix every student’s issue immediately. Still, by working on addressing issues as you go, you will encourage more students along the way.
Here are some issues and ideas of what you can do for each of them to encourage reluctant writers:
Problem: Writing is hard!
No one becomes a fabulous basketball player without regular and deliberate practice. Writing is no different. The more students practice, the better they become and the easier writing becomes.
Make writing a regular (ideally, daily) part of your curriculum. It may be difficult at first, but as skill levels improve, your students’ writing will not only become easier but also better!
Problem: Time – too much to write and the feeling of not enough time.
Have students plan out exactly what they are going to do and when they are going to do it. We often assume as teachers that students (especially those in upper middle and high school) have figured out how to budget their time.
This is not always the case, and students end up overwhelmed with the tasks they have to complete. Help students make a plan and then implement it.
Additionally, offer students class time and/or time you are available for them to work and you to help (before/after school, during lunch, etc.). This may encourage them to structure their time more efficiently.
Problem: Writing assignments are overwhelming!
Often, the biggest challenge for reluctant writers is the sheer size of the assignment and the intimidation factor of the empty page – that I’m Never Going to Get This Done feeling. Find ways to help students break up the assignments.
For instance, don’t assign a whole five-page research paper at once. Instead, have students focus on getting one paragraph written during each lesson. Once students have multiple paragraphs written, you can work on combining them into one cohesive paper.
Another important skill is teaching outlining—not the formal I-A-1 (I. Main Point – A. Minor Point – 1. Further Support) sort of outlining, but jotting thoughts down and putting them in a logical order. Teaching students how to record thoughts as they have them can be very helpful.
For more information on how to do this, check out this blog post: 3 Easy Ways to Help Middle School Students Organize Their Thinking.
Problem: It’s not fun!
Reluctant writers often will tell you that writing is boring – they would much rather put their time and energy into something else. By teaching lessons that utilize high-interest subjects and engaging starting materials, you can encourage reluctant writers and help students overcome this lack of fun as you encourage writing.
Step Three: Look for and Create Lessons That Meet the Needs of Your Students
Creating your own lessons can be very useful and can directly address specific needs in your classroom, but don’t be afraid to look elsewhere for ideas and even whole lessons and units.
Below, you will find some specific, high-interest writing projects that might be just what your classroom needs when you need to encourage reluctant writers!
Rant Writing Unit
Students rant and complain to each other daily, so why not channel that creative energy into some high-quality writing? Rick Mercer made this style of dialogue popular on his Canadian TV show, The Rick Mercer Report, and it can be a gratifying and enjoyable way to increase writing participation.
This free Rant Writing Unit can be used for argument or persuasive writing and can help students share their thoughts and ideas (and maybe frustrations) in a cohesive and organized style.
Pet Memes Narrative Writing
Many students love animals. For this narrative writing assignment, students will first create pet memes and then write a day-in-the-life narrative piece about that pet. The Pet Memes Narrative Writing Assignment will help teachers cover narrative writing and will get your students thinking about writing in a fun and creative way.
Using humour and storytelling is a great way to get students to enjoy the writing process and encourage reluctant writers.
Podcast Creation Assignment
Podcasts are all the rage these days, with both students and adults. They are not only a fun way to expand on a topic in the classroom, but they can also increase writing engagement with your students. With this podcast creation assignment, students will learn about podcasts and then create their own. Script-style writing is a unique and exciting way for students to expand on their writing skills.
Book Unboxing Assignment
Students love social media and YouTube. One popular topic for YouTubers who post book and reading content is book unboxing, where they show a box they received in the mail and proceed to unbox it on camera. In this Book Unboxing assignment, students will create their own book unboxing video (or live presentation) using 3 to 5 books they had previously read and want to share. Similar to the Podcast Creation Assignment, students will create a script for their unboxing, which will require them to write in a different and fun style.
Mockumentary Unit
If your students love to create podcasts, they will love to create a Mockumentary! In this Mockumentary Unit, students will learn what a mockumentary is and then have the opportunity to create one. They will first figure out what they want to write their mockumentary about, and then they will create storyboards, as well as scripts and dialogue to accompany their videos. They will not only have fun with this way of writing, but they will learn so much about filming and creating their videos.
Full Year, Creative Writing Assignments
Give your students a choice of a seasonal or holiday-themed creative writing choice board each season. This Creative Writing Year Long Bundle provides holiday writing prompts (Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, and Easter) and seasonal writing prompts (Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer, and Back to School) to support an inclusive classroom environment.
I like to photocopy these double-sided to give students many writing prompt options and choices. For example, I would photocopy the fall and Halloween creative writing choice boards together so that students who want a holiday writing prompt can have theirs and others who just want to focus on the season have something that meets their needs.
Students will select one of the provided seasonal or holiday-themed character roles and create a written or visual product based on the character’s specific writing prompt using the RAFT (Role, Audience, Format, Topic) format. These no-prep, creative writing assignments get students excited and engaged in their writing.
Remember, writing isn’t going to be fun for every student who comes through your doors, but with some thought and effort, you can work to make it a less difficult task for all of your students and encourage reluctant writers to enjoy writing.
Are you looking for more ideas on creative writing and improving student engagement?
- Creative Writing Lesson Ideas
- Why Teach Middle School Creative Writing?
- 4 Ways To Improve Student Writing Engagement
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