Read it like a Writer

Teaching Writing Terrified Me

Teaching writing terrified me. I was a poor speller and found writing deeply intimidating. The thought of teaching it to students, left me feeling unqualified. My own writing instruction as a student had been spotty at best, so I had very little to draw from. I also felt insecure in my own writing process and abilities.

I vividly remember the anxiety of writing on the board (or overhead), carefully choosing words I knew I could spell, worried I would be exposed as a fraud. I avoided certain word choices altogether to hide my challenges with spelling patterns.

During my second year of teaching Grade 6, I attended a professional development day on The Four Blocks Literacy Program. For the first time, writing instruction felt tangible. The program outlined specific lessons I could teach, giving me much-needed direction.

Later, I was introduced to educators like Faye Brownlie and Adrienne Gear, who demonstrated the powerful connection between reading and writing. During one of Faye’s professional learning days, she shared the idea of “Read it like a Reader, then read it like a Writer.” We explored mentor texts first through a comprehension lens, and then through a craft lens; what did the author do, and how did it work?

Using mentor texts in this way opened so many doors. Instead of starting with a writing product to assign, I began asking a different question: What writing skills do my students need, and what do I need to teach explicitly? Resources like 6+1 Writing Traits gave structure to a writing process I had never fully learned myself.

Now, as someone who supports teachers in their craft, I focus first on the purpose of writing instruction. I ask questions like:

• What do students need next to move forward in their writing?

• What skills need to be explicitly taught?

Once the purpose is clear, we can begin crafting lessons that genuinely support growth. At our school, we use a whole-class writing assessment at the beginning of the year to identify collective needs, as well as individual skills students may need to move forward.

When we know where students are and where they need to go, we can create explicit, purposeful learning targets to anchor instruction. I am a strong advocate for sharing those learning targets with students (more on that in another post). Students benefit when they understand the purpose of their learning.

Crafting My Writing Lessons

Writing instruction can feel daunting. As a young teacher, I would have benefited from a set of grounding principles to anchor my writing lessons. Over time, these principles became the foundation of my practice.

Start with Purpose over Product

Writing is easier to teach when the goal is narrow and visible. Instead of beginning with a final product, start with the specific writing skill you want students to learn. (I have a blog post about this)

Determine What Students Already Know

Once you understand what students know, both individually and as a class, you can identify the next skill needed to move their writing forward. Often, this next step is smaller and more discrete than we expect.

Teach Writing Explicitly

Effective writing instruction follows a clear progression: model, guided practice, independent practice, and reflection. Research shows students benefit from direct writing instruction and not just being assigned writing tasks.

Use Mentor Texts, with Purpose

Mentor texts are most effective when studied through a specific lens. Rather than asking, “What did you like about the author’s writing?” focus on one craft move at a time. How did the author link evidence? Show rather than tell? Choose precise words?

Reduce Cognitive Load

Writing involves many simultaneous tasks and can easily overwhelm young writers. When we proactively remove barriers, such as challenges with handwriting, typing, or spelling, we create space for ideas to surface. Oral rehearsal and accessible sentence stems can significantly reduce cognitive load.

Teach Strategies for Planning, Drafting, and Revising

Writing instruction must go beyond “go write.” Explicitly teaching students how to plan, draft, and revise reinforces that writing is a process, not just a task to complete.

Make Practice Short, Purposeful, and Plentiful

Longer isn’t better. Students benefit from frequent writing opportunities tied to a specific skill. As one of my teachers often reminds her students, practice makes progress.

Use Feedback Students Can Apply Immediately

The purpose of feedback is behavior change. Students benefit from clear, actionable next steps, and time to apply that feedback right away.

Build a Community of Writers

Talking, collaborating, and publishing help students see themselves as writers. I love beginning the year with Ralph Tells a Story by Abby Hanlon. The message is simple and powerful: stories are everywhere, and everyone is an author.

Ensure They Know

Frequent check-ins and specific writing goals ensure students are moving forward. Writing conferences provide immediate feedback and quick insight into skill acquisition. Without these check-ins, students may continue practicing skills incorrectly.

In the next few blog posts, we’ll explore each of these principles in greater detail, with practical examples for classroom implementation.