By: Shanice Moodie

Writing is a method that is used to represent language in A visual or tactile form. It connects people across time, space and culture. The primary goal of writing is to convey a message. Because of the influence of writing, individuals can learn from yesterday gain knowledge about today and design for tomorrow.

Writing can also be defined as a sequence of letters or symbols forming coherent words. You maybe writing for yourself in order to express your feelings or to organize information in a way that is more meaningful to you or you may be exploring how much you know about a topic. The writer encodes a message that is decoded and interpreted by the reader. It usually ends in an outcome such as publishing or sharing. Writing is organized around the following stages these are: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing or sharing.

Model writing strategies by collaborating with students to write stories.

Demonstrate writing on charts, overhead projectors or in small groups. This will help students especially struggling readers and writers to understand how authors think and write.

Shared writing and interactive writing are

examples of processes that would model the aspects of writing.

What does it mean to assess writing?

Assessment of student writing and performance in

the class should occur at many different stages and

it should come in many different forms. It is during

this process, teachers usually take on different roles

such as motivator, collaborator, and evaluator.

Methods of assessing students writing cont’d

Teacher Observation

This a way of assessing students

Progress and needs. Taking the time

to observe children is an important

Role of the teacher and this should be

carried out to the best of their ability.

Portfolio

This tool deals with the assessing of

writing. It is used to identify students

growth, progress and the development

in literacy.

Writing is an imperative aspect in the school curriculum as it encourages effective teaching and learning in the classroom through the following ways:

It allows children to make decisions about what, how and when to write.

Encourages risk –taking.

Foster positive attitudes to writing.

Encourages children’s belief in their ability to write.

Inform students that writing is primarily about communication; encourage them to socialize frequently .

1. Use writing activities that are likely to provide successful experience.

2. Establish a positive atmosphere for writing, reading, learning

3. Foster positive attitudes to writing. Give them praise by placing stickers in their books for example very good, nice work or keep it up.

4. Arrange for students to respond to, and use a variety of materials written for a variety of purposes and audiences.

5. Involve children in their own writing development. The more they write the more they will improve on their writing skills and so you could test skills writing.

6. They should develop their own knowledge about writing. The more they read the

more their vocabulary expands and so they will get wider knowledge in writing and

this will develop their critical thinking, literacy skill and they will be better able to

express themselves.

7. Emphasizing writing for communication. Tell the students the importance of writing

for communication

.

What is the writing process?

The writing process can be defined as an approach to writing that views it as an

ongoing experience .It consist of prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and

publishing, each stage of which has its own guidelines and procedures.

Stages of writing

Stage 1: Prewriting (Think)

Students choose a topics

Students gather and organize ideas

Students identify the audience to whom they will write

Students identify the purpose of the writing activity

Students brainstorm ideas about the topic

Students choose an appropriate form for their compositions based on audience and purpose

Stage 2: Drafting

Students write a rough draft

Students write leads to grab their readers’ attention

Students emphasise content rather than mechanics

Stage 3: Revising (Make it Better)

Students read what they have written again

Students share their writing in groups

Students participate constructively in discussions about classmate’s writing

Students make changes in their compositions to reflect the reactions and comments of both teacher and classmates

Between the first and final drafts, students make substantive rather than only minor changes

Stage 4: Editing (Make it Correct) Students proof read their own compositions

Students help proofread classmates compositions

Students correct their own mechanical errors; change words that are not used correctly , correct spelling, capitalizations and punctuation

 

Stage 5: Publishing (Share the finished product)

 Students publish their own writing in an appropriate form

Students share their finished writing with an appropriate audience

When a person writes something he or she has a purpose for writing. Some of

these purposes are:

1.For Fluency- Fluent pieces of writing are easier and more enjoyable to read

as the words are organized in a logical fashion and the overall message of the

piece is easy to understand.

2. For Application Purposes – when children are writing they

write informally to analyse and synthesize their learning, and they

write formally to apply their knowledge when they write stories,

reports. E.g. Capital letter for the beginning of a sentence, full stop at

the end of each sentence.