The Classroom Key

  • Comprehension
  • Computation
  • Measurement
  • Number Sense
  • Word Problems
  • Classroom Set Up
  • Differentiation
  • Teaching Reading
  • Teaching Writing
  • Teaching Math
  • Teaching 101
  • Classroom Management
  • Digital Activities

8 Smart Strategies for Teaching Writing

Inside: Teaching writing DOESN’T have to be complicated! With these simple strategies, you can improve students’ writing without having to work so hard.

I turned around to an outstretched notebook in a kid’s hands.

“I don’t know what to do next,” said the student.

I leaned closer to decipher the 2nd-grade handwriting. Then with my most positive I’ll-guide-you-on-the-right-path tone, I gave the student an idea to run with.

I straightened up, ready to move about the class, peering over shoulders, offering feedback as needed.

My bubble was abruptly burst.

Standing behind me was a whole line of kids that didn’t know what to do next!

Teaching writing for kids can feel complicated, especially when ever body needs help all at once. Use these strategies to help students learn to write!

Have you been there, too? What you need are writing strategies for students that break down a complicated process into pieces they can tackle. 

What follows are some of the best methods for teaching writing that I discovered over the years:

Teaching Writing Strategies for Students

Find out how to teach writing to students without working so hard! Ideas, activities, and strategies for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade teachers. #teachingwriting #1stgrade #2ndgrade #3rdgrade #writing

Use Mentor Texts

If you wanted to learn how to decorate your mantle, you might look for great examples on Pinterest and then try to make yours look like that.

Similarly, kids can look at the work of published authors to see how a pro writes.

Mentor texts are published pieces that serve as a good example of the type of writing you’re helping your students to produce.

If you’re teaching how-to writing, find books about making crafts, cooking, or other DIY topics.  If you’re teaching report writing, look at nonfiction books.

  • Read these books (or parts of them) to your students.
  • Talk as a class about the special features you notice.
  • Make a list of these features (how-to books have numbered steps, pictures to match, sequence, etc.)

Demonstrate

Cooking shows are popular because it’s easy to watch how a good cook puts together a recipe and then do the same yourself. Writing demonstrations are similar.

One method for teaching writing is writing demonstrations. Students watch as a proficient writer writes, and thinks aloud, similar to an audience watching a chef on a cooking show.

One method for teaching writing is writing demonstrations. Students watch as a proficient writer writes, and thinks aloud, similar to an audience watching a chef on a cooking show.

Write in front of your students and think aloud as you’re doing it.  Thinking aloud is a research-based teaching strategy .  You are the proficient writer in the room and you want your students to begin modeling their thinking processes after yours.

Some writing skills you might demonstrate are:

  • brainstorming topics to write about
  • creating a plan for writing
  • orally rehearsing sentences and then writing them down
  • stretching out sounds in words for spelling
  • rereading and editing writing
  • looking for places to add more interesting vocabulary
  • making a final copy that incorporates editing and revisions

Use Sentence Starters

Staring at a blank page can be so intimidating!

Help kids get started with a list of possible sentence starters. Here’s an example list of sentence starters that work well for opinion writing .

Help kids improve their writing with sentence starters

Join my weekly newsletter and as a bonus, you’ll get the sentence starter page pictured above. Just click here to download and subscribe .

Color Coding

One method for teaching writing is using color coding between the plan and the draft.

One method for teaching writing is using color coding between the plan and the draft.

(you can find the pictured graphic organizer HERE )

Use color-coding to make writing organization obvious and to connect a student’s plan to their draft.

  • Assign a different color to each element of a piece.
  • Mark whatever planning graphic organizer you’re using with these colors.
  • During drafting, underline the sentences for each section with the appropriate color.

This technique helps students make sure nothing is left out and that everything is in the right order

Integrate Vocabulary

One of the things we know about teaching vocabulary is that it’s not enough to talk about a word once.  It needs to be seen, heard, and used several times before it is mastered.

Writing is the perfect place to incorporate some vocabulary instruction.

Choose two or three words that might be useful to students for the topic they are writing about.  Teach these words, give example sentences, and share sentences where students were able to work them in.

You can either teach the words before students write their rough draft or teach them before students revise.  You may want students to keep a record of these words in a notebook.

Use a Rubric

There’s no point in making kids guess what they’re aiming for with their writing.

Research shows that when students have criteria against which to judge their writing, they begin to internalize that criteria and use it when they write new pieces.

Try teaching critique lessons where you share a few short pieces of writing with different strengths and weaknesses and evaluate them with students using a rubric.

Talk about what made a piece successful and what could be better about it.  Invite students to use the successful techniques in their own writing.  Click on the picture to get a free copy of a personal narrative rubric that I like to use.

free personal narrative writing rubric

Peer Conferencing

Many students find working with a partner to be very motivating.

It’s important to carefully structure peer writing conferencing because it can get out of hand easily.

Set a specific goal such as helping each other check for capital letters at the beginning of every sentence, rereading to make sure each sentence makes sense, or looking for words that could be traded out for something more interesting.

Another way to structure peer conferencing is to use the “Love and a Wish” system.  Students read each other’s writing.  Then they share one thing they loved about it and one thing they wished.  For example, maybe they loved how their partner described the taste of their birthday cake and they wished there was more about the games that were played at the party.

Create an Incentive

Taking a piece of writing from the planning process all the way to a final draft is a lot of work.  Find a way to celebrate that work to keep students motivated.

A chance to share their work is motivating to students. You can build in sharing while you’re roving the classroom.  At the mid-point or the end of the lesson, have a few students share how they revised a sentence to add an interesting word or the great hook that they chose.

You can give students time to share their work with a neighbor.  This way everyone gets to share in a short amount of time.

Allow students to share writing in those 5-minute blocks of time you find every now and then when you finished something else early.

A favorite writing incentive in my classroom was the “publishing party.”  After a 5 week writing unit, each student chose their best piece and we all sat in a circle and listened to each other’s work.

At the end, we toasted to our hard work with a small cup of apple juice.  Parents would share with me that this simple celebration really motivated their child to work hard in writing so they would have something great to read to the class.

Strategies for Teaching Writing to Kids - Publishing Party

If you’re looking for resources to help you teach writing, check out the classroom-tested products HERE :

Follow my literacy board on Pinterest for more ideas!  

Hannah Braun on Facebook

Author:  Hannah Braun

Hannah Braun is a former teacher with 8 years of experience in the classroom and a master's degree in early childhood education. She designs engaging, organized classroom resources for 1st-3rd grade teachers.

Just found your site and teacherspayteachers products. Love it all! Laughed out loud at your posters and comments on students. Thought I was the only one who noticed (was confused/irritated/baffled) at some of the things students think up to do with school equipment and behaviors. Nice to know we can laugh about it all! Thank you.

Comments are closed.

The Literacy Brain

The Literacy Brain

Information about literacy development and instruction

Instructional Writing Strategies

Writing is hard work! What should I write? What is the topic? Who is my audience? Which words should I use? Should it be first, second, or third person? How long should it be? What is the point or goal of this writing? What is the format? How many sentences does it have to be? What is a paragraph? Students like to know what directions they should head towards and some idea of what the outcome should look like. Each writing assignment or practice may be a different form of writing that has distinct rules for format and language. Most students like their writing to be perfect the first time, as the innate sense to be the best lives within us all. All questions related to writing lend an opportunity to stretch student writing abilities.

When students are learning to write, I like to give them strategies or scaffolds to begin the process. There are many strategies that can be used to teach writing. These strategies should be adjusted as students grow in their writing abilities. Many of the introduced strategies become part of student’s natural writing process. I described several writing strategies in my last blog post. I discuss more below.

1. Read, read, and read some more. Reading different genres or formats of writing. Ideally, this strategy should begin at birth. Students gain vocabulary and background knowledge that helps them to better explain or argue a point. This also allows the reader learn or become familiar with different forms of writing. I haven’t met a student that didn’t enjoy a teacher reading a novel to them.

2. Analyze, examine, consider, and ponder “mentor” or written passages. Ask some of the following questions. What are they trying to say? Why did they use this word? What does this word mean? Does the sentence have to be written this way to provide the author’s anticipated meaning? Why did they introduce all the characters in beginning of the story? Could they have introduced them at a different part in the story? Why did the author write this particular piece of writing in this order? Would a different format of writing convey a better story or message? Can I use their format to improve my writing? If so, steal the format to improve your writing (Culham, 2014).

3. Start simple and expand. Writing begins by handwriting a letter on a paper or other item used to record written language. Stringing individual letters together makes parts of words and words that convey meaning or semantics. Words are joined together to form a sentence that conveys meaning. The “rules” of sentence formation is syntax*, like there has to be a noun and a verb in each sentence. Sentences become passages of writing to convey a larger meaning or point to a subject(s).

4. Use charts, diagrams. These are often used to teach prewriting strategies that can ease the process of learning how to write. I like to use the development of spiderweb or word-web diagrams that look different for each topic, for students beginning to learn the process of writing. You can also develop a list of words related to a topic. I usually model how to use the words of the web or list to develop sentences related to the topic. In a webinar that I just viewed about writing, Dr. Laud (2018) suggested taking the generated words and separating them into nouns and verbs to ease the process of developing sentences. The type and amount that each diagram is used will depend on the level of writing and the students being taught. Students will continue to use diagrams or charts of some sort to develop different types of writing. Most professional writers begin with some type of diagram.

5. Take time to research or better understand the focus of the writing—background knowledge. It is harder to write about something that you know very little about.

6. Ask students questions about their writing. Their answers can initiate their want to make corrections. Their answers can also become sentences in their writing.

7. Collaboration. This can be tough to implement, as most students also need “quiet time” to focus on their writing or the words will never appear on the page. I usually give students the opportunity to collaborate or discuss their writing with a neighbor to encourage the flow of ideas for five minutes or so and then silence. This can be repeated a few times as students are writing. This will depend on the group of students.

8. Time and freedom to practice. Initial drafts are often the hardest part of the writing process. I suggest for reluctant writers that the focus be on getting words on the paper. Strategy 6 may help in getting words on the paper. Then the words and mechanics of the sentence can be massage by the student to convey deeper meaning and reading fluency.

*Pillar 5 of structured literacy instruction is syntax or the study of sentence structure. The principles that dictate the sequence and function of words in a sentence. These principles are also referred to as the mechanics, grammar, and variation of a sentence.

References Culham, R. (2014). The writing thief: using mentor texts to teach the craft of writing. Newark, DE: International Literacy Association Haynes, C. and Laud, L. (2018). Vocabulary, sentence, and micro-discourse strategies for writing! International Dyslexia Association conference webinar.

error

Author: Jennifer S. Ray, PhD, C-SLT

Teaching literacy became a passion of mine while raising my children. The knowledge that I learned through my experiences in teaching literacy at home and in the classroom over the past 25 years fueled my drive to earn a PhD in Education with a focus in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment. My graduate work centered on the curriculum, instruction, and assessment of literacy acquisition. I have a particular interest in dyslexia and discovering those students who may benefit from early intervention through a response to intervention program. I also enjoy reading, visiting state and national parks, and shopping. View all posts by Jennifer S. Ray, PhD, C-SLT

error

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)

' title=

Teaching Writing

learning to write strategies k 5

This strategy guide series identifies, defines, and provides examples of effective writing strategies and offers a list of resources related to each strategy.

  • Print this resource

Strategy Guides in this series

This strategy guide explains the writing process and offers practical methods for applying it in your classroom to help students become proficient writers.

This strategy guide clarifies the difference between persuasion and argumentation, stressing the connection between close reading of text to gather evidence and formation of a strong argumentative claim about text.

Explore Resources by Grade

  • Kindergarten K

Jump to navigation

  • Inside Writing
  • Teacher's Guides
  • Student Models
  • Writing Topics
  • Minilessons
  • Shopping Cart
  • Inside Grammar
  • Grammar Adventures
  • CCSS Correlations
  • Infographics

Get a free Grammar Adventure! Choose a single Adventure and add coupon code ADVENTURE during checkout. (All-Adventure licenses aren’t included.)

Sign up or login to use the bookmarking feature.

12 Writing-to-Learn Activities

Young adult writing in notebook and typing on laptop

No matter what subject you teach, writing can empower learning. And yet, fitting time-intensive writing assignments into your crowded curriculum may not seem feasible. Here's some good news. Research suggests you don’t need to design lengthy writing projects for your students to benefit from writing as a learning tool. Instead, short bursts of low-stakes writing hold the most learning potential.

Students improve retention and comprehension when they write regularly and reflectively about their learning—not only about what they learn but also the difficulties they face, the surprises they encounter, and the strategies they employ along the way.

You can deepen your students’ thinking across the curriculum by making writing a regular part of your classroom. Consider using any of the following writing-to-learn activities, or adapt them to fit the needs of your students. Each activity takes just 10-15 minutes to complete.

1. Learning Logs

A learning log is a journal for schoolwork. Students use learning logs to write their thoughts, feelings, and questions about the subjects they are studying. Writing in this way helps them connect new information to what they already know, reflect on their learning processes, and think through ideas that are unclear.

Note: Learning logs begin this list because students can incorporate almost all the other writing-to-learn activities in them.

View minilesson for Keeping a Learning Log.

2. Admit/Exit Slips

Students submit brief writings on “slips” to you before and after class. The slips can include questions, comments, observations, or reflections about the material being presented in class. Encourage students to write about ideas that they find confusing, interesting, upsetting, and so on.

3. Correspondence

Students write a letter or an email to a person connected to an event or topic they are studying (whether that person can actually receive the message or not). Examples include a letter to a Civil War general or an email to Robert Oppenheimer, father of quantum mechanics.

4. Dialogue Journals

Students write brief notes back and forth with another student or teacher about things they are learning in class.

View minilesson for Creating a Dialogue Journal.

5. Fictional Dialogues

A fictional dialogue is a made-up written conversation between students and another person (or two). For example, students could create an interview script between themselves and Madame Curie.

View minilesson for Writing a Historical Dialogue.

6. First Thoughts

Students write their very first thoughts about a topic. Writing a paragraph about the topic of a new unit will remind them what they already know about the topic. When they finish the unit, they can revisit their first thoughts to consider what they have learned. 

7. Freewrites

With the topic of a lesson or unit in mind, students write quickly about the topic for 5 to 10 minutes without stopping. Use prompts like these to get them started:

  • Something I found difficult about [topic area] is . . .
  • What I really like about [topic area] is . . .
  • Something that helped me understand [topic area] was . . .
  • One experience from my own life that connects to [topic area] is . . .
  • One thing I still don't understand is . . .

View minilesson for Writing Freely and Rapidly.

8. Nutshells

Students try writing one sentence that captures the importance of something they are studying or reading. This technique gets its name from the idiom “put it in a nutshell” (the smallest possible space).

View minilesson for Summarizing Ideas in a Nutshell.

9. Predictions

Students write what they expect to happen next in a book or lesson. When predicting, they must think carefully about what has already happened. Their expectations will either be met or not, but either way, they will have thought more deeply about the material.

10. Reader-Response Journals

In this type of journal entry, students express their feelings about the things they are reading. Writing about challenging books can help them understand what they are reading.

11. Stop ’n’ Writes

Students pause during their reading or listening to write a reflection about the text or lesson. Use questions like these to prompt student responses:

  • What is the most important thing I learned from the reading/lesson?
  • What parts didn’t I understand?
  • What parts do I want to know more about?
  • How does the writing/topic make me feel?
  • What else do I know that is like this?

View minilesson for Performing a Stop ’n’ Write.

12. Summaries

A summary of a reading or a lesson requires students to capture the main point and key details in a form briefer than the body of information.

Teacher Support:

Click to find out more about this resource.

Standards Correlations:

The State Standards provide a way to evaluate your students' performance.

  • LAFS.3.W.4.10
  • LAFS.4.W.4.10
  • LAFS.5.W.4.10
  • 110.22.b.10
  • 110.22.b.11
  • 110.22.b.12
  • LAFS.6.W.4.10
  • 110.23.b.10
  • 110.23.b.11
  • LAFS.7.W.4.10
  • 110.24.b.10
  • 110.24.b.11
  • 110.24.b.12
  • LAFS.8.W.4.10
  • 110.36.c.10
  • 110.37.c.10
  • LA 10.2.1.g
  • 110.38.c.10
  • 110.39.c.10
  • LAFS.1112.W.4.10
  • LA 12.2.1.g

Related Resources

All resources.

  • Creating a Dialogue Journal
  • Classroom Esprit de Corps: Creating Community Through Peer Support
  • A Lesson to Learn
  • Of Personal Importance: How Narration Drives Meaningful Writing
  • 4 Writing Ideas for Creative Classrooms
  • Journaling and Blogging
  • Writing Character Analyses
  • Writing Literary Analyses
  • Writing Résumés and Cover Letters
  • Writing Personal Essays
  • Write on Course 20-20
  • Inquire Middle School Teacher's Guide
  • Inquire Middle School
  • Inquire Elementary Teacher's Guide
  • Inquire Elementary

Home

Reading & Math for K-5

  • Kindergarten
  • Learning numbers
  • Comparing numbers
  • Place Value
  • Roman numerals
  • Subtraction
  • Multiplication
  • Order of operations
  • Drills & practice
  • Measurement
  • Factoring & prime factors
  • Proportions
  • Shape & geometry
  • Data & graphing
  • Word problems
  • Children's stories
  • Leveled Stories
  • Context clues
  • Cause & effect
  • Compare & contrast
  • Fact vs. fiction
  • Fact vs. opinion
  • Main idea & details
  • Story elements
  • Conclusions & inferences
  • Sounds & phonics
  • Words & vocabulary
  • Reading comprehension
  • Early writing
  • Numbers & counting
  • Simple math
  • Social skills
  • Other activities
  • Dolch sight words
  • Fry sight words
  • Multiple meaning words
  • Prefixes & suffixes
  • Vocabulary cards
  • Other parts of speech

Punctuation

Capitalization

  • Cursive alphabet
  • Cursive letters
  • Cursive letter joins
  • Cursive words
  • Cursive sentences
  • Cursive passages
  • Grammar & Writing

Breadcrumbs

  • Grammar & writing

Grammar and Writing

Effective writing requires proper grammar.

Our grammar and writing resources focus on teaching grammar in the context of practical writing skills. The end goal is to help kids write and punctuate grammatically correct sentences and texts, a skill and habit which is particularly important to develop early on today, when so much communication kids are exposed to has become informal and unstructured.

Kindergarten early writing worksheets

These preschool and kindergarten worksheets give kids practice in writing their first sentences.

Letters and alphabet

These worksheets help kids to recognize and write letters.  

Simple sentences

Tracing, writing and unscrambling simple sentences.  

Capital Letters

Capitalize the first word of sentences and proper nouns.  

Periods, question marks and exclamation marks .  

Prepositions

Basic prepositions (above, below, beside, ...).  

Draw and write prompts

Prompts for drawings and short stories.

Grammar worksheets

These free grammar worksheets cover key grammar and writing topics for grades 1-5.

Identifying & using nouns, plural nouns, proper nouns, possessive nouns, collective nouns, abstract nouns.  

Action verbs, linking verbs, helping verbs, plural verbs, conjugating verbs, verb tenses, irregular verbs.

Identifying, selecting and writing adjectives, comparative adjectives, ordering adjectives.  

Identifying, selecting and writing adverbs, relative adverbs, reflexive pronouns.  

Personal pronouns, possessive pronouns, indefinite pronouns, subject and object pronouns, relative pronouns.  

Other Parts of Speech

Using various parts of speech, articles, determiners, prepositions, prepositional phrases.  

Sentence fragments, simple sentences, compound sentences, complex sentences, conjunctions, run-on sentences, subjects and predicates, direct objects.  

Proper names, sentences, dates, seasons, holidays, place names, titles, proper adjectives.  

Ending punctuation, punctuating dates, addresses and letters, commas, quotation marks, apostrophes, contractions, colons.

Grammar and writing workbooks

Full descriptions of our grammar and writing workbooks are available in our bookstore .

  • Forgot Password?

Request a Quote

Get ready for Summer learning with a new catalog, resources, and more. Start Today

Teaching Tips

How to teach sentence writing & structure for kids.

October 22, 2020

by: Valerie Zaryczny

So, your student can write letters and is developing early literacy skills to read high-frequency words and sound out some new words. What comes next? Sentence writing, of course! 

How exciting it is when children move from being able to express their ideas only by drawing pictures to writing sentences that everyone can read! Before we can help children learn to write a sentence, we first need to teach them what a sentence is! Then we need effective teaching strategies and good materials to make teaching and learning sentences fun.

What is a Sentence?

A sentence:

  • is a group of words that expresses a complete thought that can stand alone (also called an independent clause)
  • starts with a capital letter
  • has spaces between each word
  • ends with punctuation (period, question mark, or exclamation point)
  • contains a subject (someone or something) and a predicate (what the someone or something is being or doing)

There are three main types of sentence structures:

  • Ex: The dog wags her tail.
  • Ex: I open the door, and the dog wags her tail.
  • Ex: The dog wags her tail when I get home

How to Teach Sentence Structure

Want your students to have success with writing sentences? The formula is simple!

Active Teaching + Good Materials = Writing Success.

Let’s first look at Active Teaching.

Three Instructional Stages for Teaching Successfully

There is an important, three-step process that sets children up for success when learning. This process can not only be used when teaching sentence structure but also for handwriting instruction and so many other skills!

  • The first stage is  Direct Instruction.  During this stage, you directly instruct by actively demonstrating how to write a sentence. To get all eyes on you as you demonstrate, say, “My Turn! Watch me write the sentence.” Explain the important concepts as you write such as capitalization, spacing, and punctuation. Then say, “Your Turn,” indicating it’s their turn to imitate you in their workbook, worksheet, or lined paper. This step assures students are watching and learning how to write correctly, which is a foundation piece for good habits.
  • The next stage is Guided Practice.  This requires that teachers guide students to their workbook or worksheet where they copy sentences from a model. While students write, teachers should walk around and closely monitor and guide their students. Resist the temptation to let workbook and worksheet practice be independent work as they can copy incorrectly and reinforce bad habits. Students need direct instruction prior to and continued guidance during this stage so they practice correctly.
  • The final stage is  Independent Practice.  This happens when children write sentences on their own without a visual model, and it is an important part of your lesson to help students develop independence with writing sentences. Provide lined paper or journals for this stage.

Make Teaching Sentences Fun!

Research tells us that multisensory teaching is the best way to teach children so that we appeal to each child’s learning style. It’s also part of active teaching! Add one or more of these multisensory ideas to your sentence structure lessons to get children excited and engaged in the lesson!

Sentence School

Sentence School is a kindergarten level program offered from Learning Without Tears designed to reinforce good handwriting habits as you teach students to form sentences and become confident writers. It works alongside any language arts program and takes only 10-15 minutes per day. Daily lessons in the included teacher's guide promote vocabulary and sentence skills with word cards and common classroom objects. Each lesson plan includes an active, hands-on activity to help children learn the words and formulate sentences with what they see and experience in the activity.

Mixed-Up Sentences

Write the subject on one popsicle stick and the predicate on another for several sentences. Talk with your students about the two parts of a sentence and then let them mix them up to make silly mixed-up sentences!

Sentence Song

The Sentence Song is on the Rock, Rap, Tap, and Learn Music album from LWT. It is sung to the tune of "Yankee Doodle" and helps children learn about capitalization, spacing between words, and punctuation in a fun way!

Spacing Strategies

One of the challenges children face when starting to write sentences is spacing! We don’t use spaces when we speak, so the concept of spacing isn’t natural for children. There are many creative ways to help children learn to space their words. Here are a few:

  • Nothing Bottle: What is a space? It’s “nothing,” right? Take a large, empty plastic bottle or pitcher, and write the word “nothing” across it. Before writing time, ask students to hold out their hands and pour some “nothing” into them. Instruct them to use a little “nothing” after every word as they write!
  • Sick Sentence Clinic: Write a sentence on the board or with the A+ Worksheet Maker without any spaces between the words. Discuss with students why that sentence is difficult to read and explain that it is a “sick sentence”. Tell them they are going to be “sentence doctors” and make that sentence healthy again! Give them lined paper to re-write the sentence with good spacing.
  • Spaghetti and Meatballs: Explain that there should be no more than a spaghetti-sized space between letters inside words, and we need a meatball-sized space between words! Give students a large cotton ball and a piece of string to use as their “spaghetti and meatball” to measure spaces as they write.

What Else Do You Need to Help Children Write Sentences Effectively?

You need Good Materials! Teachers need good materials to demonstrate sentences and students need well-designed materials to practice on. The products below will promote success for you as a teacher and for your students as they are developing their writing skills.

For Teachers

  • Worksheet Maker Lite: This free and easy-to-use resource lets you create worksheets for students using the LWT double lines. There are worksheet templates for grades K-4 in both print and cursive with grade-appropriate lines and spacing. Templates include spelling, vocabulary, sentence writing, and graphic organizers.
  • Double Line Writer: To help with demonstrating sentences on your board, insert two markers in the holes of this handy tool to easily draw straight double lines on chalkboards or dry erase boards.
  • Double Line Sentence Strips: These 24”x3” strips are great for modeling sentences and come in a pack of 100. You might want to keep one on your bulletin board with a sample sentence as an example for students to reference!
  • Double Line Chart Tablet: These 24”x32” tablets can be used with your easel to demonstrate sentences for students.

learning to write strategies k 5

For Students

  • Grade Level Handwriting Workbook : Handwriting Without Tears workbooks teach letters and numbers and include page after page of writing activities to practice sentence writing and handwriting skills.
  • Building Writers: This program includes grade-level workbooks for grades K-5 for children to practice and build core writing skills. It offers a scaffolded approach to develop proficiency with writing narrative, information, and opinion pieces.
  • Curious about double lines and why they work? Double lines control children’s letter size, spacing, and placement, which promotes legible writing that is easily transferred to other styles of paper. Watch this video to learn more:

  • Big Sheet Draw & Write Paper: These 11”x17” sheets are perfect for students to have space for drawing and writing sentences about their drawing! They come in a pack of 100 double-sided sheets.
  • Writing Journal: The LWT grade-level journals provide grade-appropriate double lines for students to use during independent writing time.
  • Keyboarding Without Tears: Sentence writing doesn’t just happen on paper! Now more than ever it is crucial that elementary students practice composing sentences and paragraphs in digital form. The KWT curriculum includes fun, grade-appropriate lessons for children to develop automatic keyboarding skills.

Don’t forget about assessment! We need a way to assess children’s writing skills and track progress. The LWT Screener of Handwriting Proficiency is a free, easy-to-administer, whole class assessment that helps educators and specialists assess critical and measurable skills that children need for success including the sentence components of capitalization, spacing, and punctuation.

100 days screener image

Sentence Writing is Fun with Learning Without Tears!

With these teaching tips and good materials, you can help children achieve sentence writing success! Don’t forget that handwriting is a foundational skill that should be taught prior to and alongside sentence structure! For more information about the products mentioned above and more ways to support children learning handwriting skills, explore LWTears.com .

Related Tags

SRSD Online

100,000 Proficient Student Writers and Counting - Are Your Students Next?

From the prominent literacy researchers dr. karen harris and dr. steve graham: self-regulated strategy development (srsd) is the best rated evidence-based, classroom-proven writing method helping k-12 and college entry students excel at writing and learning. take our renowned online srsd teacher training courses designed for grades k-5 and 6-12 and bring srsd to your classroom. we also offer teacher group training or become a trainer yourself..

Teach high school kids writing, SRSD Teacher Training Online Courses, Writing to Learn

SRSD Online, Training Teachers From:

learning to write strategies k 5

“ SRSD has the strongest evidence rating for writing. U.S. Department of Education
“ SRSD has the single largest effect of any researched approach to writing instruction. Writing Next Alliance for Excellent Education
“ What fascinated me was how quickly the gains were made. I had never seen change like that before. Julie Rigo Title 1 Reading Specialist, Bourne MA Middle School

It’s not learning to write, it’s writing to learn.

Dr. Karen R. Harris, SRSD creator and educational psychologist, along with scores of prominent literacy researchers, spent over 30 years researching SRSD. Today SRSD strategies are internationally recognized and validated by over 100 successful studies.

learning to write strategies k 5

FROM THE BLOG

How does srsd align with standards, the key ingredient to srsd success has been discovered, srsd in deaf schools in lesotho, the 5-minute srsd series, pr: srsd online year in review: 2018 and beyond.

People of SRSD -Debra McKeown, assistant professor, Department of Educational Psychology, Special Education, and Communication Disorders

EDUCATOR STORIES

1000’s of teachers are experiencing unprecedented writing and excelled learning results using Self-Regulation Strategy Development (SRSD). Additionally, SRSD success is cumulative and achieves generalization to other disciplines. Here are just a handful of our SRSD stories.

I WANT TO LEARN MORE

Explore srsd, teacher training courses, i want to do more, tell your srsd story, bring srsd to your school, help others succeed, take refresher courses.

SRSD online is the learning community for educators and researchers interested in Self-Regulated Strategy Development, the leading research-proven intervention for writing to learn.  We share our experiences, mentor new projects, and document inspiring stories.  Originally developed by Dr. Karen R. Harris for at-risk children who live with learning disabilities, SRSD has shown to be effective for all students and to generalize across disciplines, grade levels and multiple languages.

We have collected the best teacher training videos and a rich database of SRSD tools and strategies in the self-paced online teacher training course:  Writing to Learn™

Join the SRSD community

Get srsd teacher training.

© 2017 - 2023 Literacy On Demand. All Rights Reserved. | Site by Provado

  • Course sign in
  • SRSDOnline K-5 *UPDATED*
  • SRSDOnline 6-12+
  • Enroll in Your Group
  • Free SRSD Resources
  • People of SRSD
  • SRSD across the globe
  • Tell your SRSD story
  • Bring SRSD to your school
  • Advance your career
  • SRSD refresher courses

To schedule your discovery call, please reach out to Randy Barth:

978-994-2590, [email protected].

  • Our Mission

How to Teach Handwriting—and Why It Matters

Teaching young students how to write by hand before moving on to keyboarding can help improve their reading fluency as well.

Practicing writing the letter R with a pencil on a worksheet

Technology is an undeniable fact of everyday life and can support students’ learning. But there are limits to that: Completely replacing handwriting instruction with keyboarding instruction in elementary school can be detrimental to students’ literacy acquisition. Why are handwriting and letter formation so important?

Research has demonstrated a correlation between letter-naming and letter-writing fluency, and a relationship between letter-naming fluency and successful reading development. There’s a strong connection between the hand and the neural circuitry of the brain—as students learn to better write the critical features of letters, they also learn to recognize them more fluently . This recognition of letters leads to greater letter-writing fluency, which leads to greater overall reading development.

In an article summarizing several studies on handwriting and learning , the writer Maria Konnikova notes, “Not only do we learn letters better when we commit them to memory through writing, memory and learning ability in general may benefit.” When students write letters manually, they learn them more effectively. Switching to keyboarding before students have developed handwriting skills may reduce their ability to recognize letters. Konnikova also cites a study that found that students who wrote by hand—as opposed to on a keyboard—were able to generate more ideas. Students with better handwriting demonstrated “increased overall activation in the reading and writing networks” of the brain.

How to Teach Handwriting

Learning how to print is a developmentally appropriate first step of handwriting instruction for students in grades pre-K to 2, in terms of their fine motor skills. Handwriting instruction does not require a big time investment: Brief lessons and frequent feedback for students can be incorporated in all areas of the curriculum throughout the school day.

There are four main aspects of handwriting instruction: pencil grasp, formation, legibility, and pacing.

Pencil grasp: When it comes to how a child holds a pencil, there are correct and incorrect grasps . The correct grasps—in which the index finger and thumb hold the pencil against the middle finger—result in comfortable and efficient handwriting, while incorrect grasps can cause poor letter formation and fatigue.

A student with a poor pencil grasp may benefit from using tools such as a pencil grip or from wrapping a rubber band around the ring finger and pinkie—not too tightly!—to fold them against the hand. You can also teach the “pinch and flip” trick: The student places the pencil with the writing end facing her, pinches the pencil between the thumb and index finger, and flips the pencil into the correct position.

Formation: This refers to how a student goes about forming letters. Straight lines are easier for students to write than curved ones, so it’s developmentally appropriate to teach students to write capital letters before moving on to lowercase ones.

It’s critical that handwriting instruction be integrated with phonics instruction: As students learn how to write the letters, they should also be learning and practicing the sounds that the letters make. Handwriting and dictation activities are the cornerstone of any multisensory phonics instruction program, as requiring students to consistently practice forming the letters while connecting them to sounds will serve to better embed phonics concepts in the brain.

For students who struggle with letter formation, explicit instruction is particularly important. Students should be taught to start their letters at the top (or middle, as is the case with some lowercase letters), and use continuous strokes as much as possible. Some letters will require them to lift up their pencils, and they should be taught when to do this. Using lined paper is helpful, as is giving students a variety of visual aids: arrow cues for stroke direction, dots for starting points, dotted letters for tracing, etc. Students also benefit from “skywriting” letters—tracing letters in the air with an index finger while holding their arm straight out.

The letters b , d , p , and q are often confused by younger students. Teaching the correct formation of these letters can help diminish the confusion, as they have different starting points— b , for instance, starts from the top, whereas d starts in the middle. Internalizing the motor patterns for these letters can help make recognition more automatic.

Legibility: An important factor impacting legibility is spacing between words. It’s helpful to encourage students to use a “finger space” between words—right-handed students can put an index finger on the line after one word before writing the next one. This technique doesn’t work for left-handed students, who will benefit from using a narrow tongue depressor as a spacing tool.

Pacing: If students are using an appropriate pencil grasp and forming letters correctly, that will often solve any pacing challenges. Another factor to consider when looking at pacing is the press: Students should not be pressing the pencil down on the paper too hard as they write because doing so can lead to writing fatigue and a greatly reduced rate of letter production. But if they press too lightly, it can be a sign of weak muscles or inappropriate pencil grasp. Encourage students to write with a variety of materials (markers, short pencils, crayons, erasable markers on whiteboards) to help them adjust how hard they press.

School days are packed with instructional priorities, and it can be easy to let handwriting fall by the wayside. However, with just a few minutes a day, students’ letter formation skills can improve, leading to positive outcomes for overall literacy development.

learning to write strategies k 5

A Guide to Effective Writing Instruction

Teacher providing individualized writing support to two students seated at a table, engaging in one-on-one instruction and collaborative writing guidance."

In this blog post, Dr. Gary Troia explores the world of effective writing instruction, linking structured literacy practices with the art of teaching writing effectively to provide valuable insights for educators. Throughout this post, readers will gain a deep understanding of the essential elements of effective writing instruction and how to seamlessly incorporate them into the structured literacy classroom.

Table of Contents

  • Understanding Structured Literacy

The Writing Rope by Joan Sedita

Characteristics of effective writing curriculum, references and further reading, introduction to structured literacy, understanding structured literacy and its role in reading and writing education.

In structured literacy classrooms in which principles associated with the science of reading are employed, teachers use comprehensive, systematic, and explicit instruction to address the fundamental building blocks of successful reading—phonological awareness, phonics patterns, reading fluency, vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension (which is addressed primarily through the development of topic and discourse knowledge). Of course, reading is only one aspect of literacy that requires teachers’ expertise and focus; writing development and instruction also benefit from a structured literacy approach. However, many teachers may be unfamiliar with teaching writing using this approach, in part because most teachers have little preparation to teach writing and because there has been a dearth of high-quality writing curricula and instructional materials available for teachers to use. 

?  Download Free Lesson Plans:  Bridge to Writing is a comprehensive writing curriculum for K-5 classrooms that develops strong writers through research-based instruction, making writing instruction easy for teachers and engaging for students.

The Essential Components of Writing Instruction

The Writing Rope by Joan Sedita (2022) offers a convenient way of remembering the critical building blocks of writing in a structured literacy classroom. These are: (1) transcription skills, namely spelling, handwriting, and keyboarding; (2) text structures, including types of writing genres and their main structural elements (e.g., narratives have a setting, a plot with a climax, and character reactions), varied discourse patterns within genres (e.g., compare-contrast versus cause-effect, flashbacks, and flashforwards, haiku versus sonnet), paragraph organization, and vocabulary used to signal linkages and transitions between ideas; (3) syntax, which includes awareness and use of appropriate grammatical structures to most effectively convey meaning; sentence elaboration and combining; and punctuation used to signal syntactic elements; (4) writing craft, namely precise and varied word choice, literary devices (e.g., allusion, symbolism, onomatopoeia), and awareness of task, audience, and purpose; and (5) critical thinking, which includes gathering information through reading source materials and/or performing their own investigations, generating and organizing ideas (i.e., planning), drafting text by hand or through digital means in manageable segments, and revising and editing a text for communicative effectiveness.

All these building blocks in the structured writing classroom must be thoughtfully coordinated to form a comprehensive writing program for students, which is necessary across grades and across disciplines taught in schools to help all students become competent writers. An exemplary writing program also will typically have the following characteristics (see Troia, 2013 for more information):

• Meaningful writing experiences and authentic writing tasks that promote personal and collective expression, reflection, inquiry, discovery, and social change whenever possible to motivate students.      

• A sense of community in which risks are encouraged, children and teachers are both viewed as and engage as writers, personal ownership is expected, and collaboration is a cornerstone so that students are willing to experiment with their writing. 

• Predictable routines that involve both explicit instruction (i.e., modeling with teacher think-aloud, guided collaborative practice with feedback, and independent practice opportunities with feedback) and sustained student practice; in kindergarten, at least 30 minutes daily is recommended, while beyond kindergarten at least one hour daily is recommended, with half the time allocated to explicit instruction (see Graham et al., 2012).     

• A common language for shared expectations and feedback regarding writing quality, which might include the use of traits (e.g., organization, ideas, sentence fluency, word choice, voice, conventions, and presentation).

• Procedural supports such as anchor charts, student-teacher and peer conferences, graphic organizers, checklists for revision/editing, “booster” lessons to help students attain mastery, and computer tools for removing transcription barriers when necessary.

• Integration of writing instruction with reading instruction and content-area instruction (e.g., use of touchstone or mentor texts to guide genre study used for all literacy activities, use of common themes across the curriculum, maintaining learning notebooks in math and science classes as source material for writing, teaching decoding  and  spelling of the same phonics patterns, teaching letter formation while introducing letter-sound correspondences).

• Intentional adjustments to emphasis on teaching the writing process, form, and meaning to meet learners’ needs.          

• Differentiated instruction for struggling learners, multilingual learners, and advanced learners.

• Resident writers and guest authors who share their expertise, struggles, and successes so that children and teachers have positive role models and develop a broader sense of writing craft.

• Opportunities for teachers to upgrade and expand their own conceptions of writing, the writing process, and how children learn to write, primarily through professional development activities but also through being active members of a writing community (e.g., the National Writing Project).

?  Blog Post : Read “11 Science of Reading Resources Every Educator Should Know About” blog post here! Our literacy specialists curated a list of 11+ NEW resources for educators who wish to further their knowledge about the Science of Reading.

Empowering Writers Through Self-Regulation

To assist students with navigating all the complex aspects of writing, teachers should consider the role of self-regulation in writing, as successful writers are highly aware of themselves as writers, of factors that influence their writing performance, and of how to use diverse strategies to manage these factors effectively. Self-regulation in writing includes at least three coordinated components: (1) goal setting, (2)self-talk, and (3) self-evaluation. Incorporating self-regulation components in writing instruction has been shown to positively affect both strong and weak writers’ composing abilities (e.g., Graham, Harris, & Mason, 2005; Graham & Perin, 2007).

The Power of Goal Setting in Writing

Setting goals enhances attention, motivation, and effort and facilitates strategic behaviors (e.g., planning before drafting) through the valuation of goal attainment. In other words, if a goal is sufficiently important, a student will do all that is necessary to attain it. Research has demonstrated that goal setting improves writing skills (e.g., De La Paz, 2007; Page-Voth & Graham, 1999). For goals to have the most beneficial impact on writing behavior and performance and to encourage the student to marshal sufficient effort, they should be challenging (i.e., just beyond the student’s current level of writing skill), proximal (i.e., attainable within a short period of time), concrete, and self-selected or collaboratively established (because real or perceived control boosts achievement motivation). Goals can focus on a writing process (e.g., “I will use my graphic organizer to help me write”; “I will have my writing partner check my paper for mistakes before I put it in my portfolio”) or an aspect of the product (e.g., “I will be sure to have at least three main ideas and, for each idea, two supporting details in my informative paper”; I will include at least five action helpers, descriptive words, or transition words to improve my word choice”).

?  FREE eBook:  5 Steps to Improving Literacy Instruction in Your Classrooms – Despite research showing that most children have the capacity to read, we still see literacy scores in decline. This free eBook explores the body of research on how children learn to read and provides 5 easy first steps coaches and administrators can take to improve literacy instruction in their schools and district.            

The Magic of Self-Talk for Young Writers

Self-talk (instructions, questions, affirmations, or exhortations directed to oneself) helps orient attention to relevant information, organize thoughts, plan actions, and execute behaviors. In addition, self-talk helps one cope with anxiety, frustration, self-doubt, and impulsivity, which tend to plague struggling writers and even those who are more accomplished writers. Self-talk has been widely investigated for several decades by researchers in many areas of psychology—sports, counseling, psychotherapy, and education—with promising results (e.g., Dobson, 2010; Manning & Payne, 1996). With respect to teaching young writers to use self-talk, it is most effective when (1) the content is tailored to the demands of the task and the individual’s needs; (2) it is rehearsed aloud to automaticity and then used as a form of “inner speech” to control thoughts, feelings, and actions; and (3) it is monitored for fidelity of use by the teacher. Examples of self-talk include, “Have I used my revising checklist to check my work?,” “This is hard, but I can do it if I try my best,” “I am good at coming up with ideas, so I will turn in a good paper,” and “Keep concentrating so you do not get distracted!”

Encouraging Self-Evaluation and Growth in Young Writers

Self-evaluation consists of self-monitoring and self-recording behavior and can be used to assess attention, strategy use, and task performance. Frequently, self-evaluation is accomplished through the graphic representation of a target behavior’s occurrence with a goal (thus, these two aspects of self-regulation are functionally interdependent). For instance, students might quantify their use of story structure elements in fictional narratives produced over time on a chart with the maximum score at the top (the goal). Likewise, students can track how many words they have written per time interval, with the goal of increasing their productivity by 25% over baseline. Self-evaluation has been found to positively affect behavior and academic performance (e.g., Lloyd, Bateman, Landrum, & Hallahan, 1989; Maag et al., 1993). Self-evaluation helps students establish worthwhile goals because the concrete data collected during this process provide feedback on their status relative to an external benchmark or a personal goal.

Fostering Writing Skills with Mentor Texts

Several other practices based on empirical research and informed professional practice can help teachers foster writing development (see Graham & Perin, 2007). The examination of touchstone or mentor texts for attributes that students can mimic in their own writing (e.g., a strong lead for an informative article, the use of dialogue to advance the plot in a story, applying onomatopoeia to create vivid sensory details, the use of punctuation and capitalization to mark and build cadence in a poem) helps them internalize a mental model for the written product and identify rhetorical goals. It thus gives students a focus for their planning and revising efforts. The use of mentor texts is enhanced when strong models of particular aspects of writing are contrasted with weak examples. A related instructional practice involves activities to develop genre and topic knowledge. Again, such knowledge can help students acquire internal frames of reference or performance benchmarks for planning and making meaningful revisions to their writing. In many cases, knowledge about a genre is appropriated through immersion in texts that exemplify the canonical genre traits (e.g., story structure) and discussion of (1) how the genre reflects a unique way of communicating ideas within specific contexts (its purposes and functions) and (2) how the genre is embodied in the structure of the text (its form). Explicit and systematic instruction in genre structure, coupled with authentic purposes for reading and writing in that genre, positively impacts the quality of students’ writing within a genre (e.g., Purcell-Gates, Duke, & Martineau, 2007).

?  Shop Heggerty Decodable Books:  Introducing our comprehensive collection of decodable books, featuring a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts designed to improve student’s reading skills and fluency. Explore our diverse library and unlock the joy of reading for every learner.

Elevating Writing through Effective Peer and Teacher Conferencing

Finally, peer and teacher conferencing, whether one-on-one or in small groups, is frequently used in structured writing classrooms to engineer better student papers. However, conferencing between students and teachers often has the “flavor” of typical instructional discourse (teacher-controlled and centered on assignment requirements and teacher expectations) rather than egalitarian conversations regarding writing craft and composition content, especially when the teacher is more knowledgeable about the writing topic. Moreover, peer respondents often provide vague and unhelpful comments and suggestions to authors unless they are explicitly taught to give meaningful feedback. Thus, the positive impact of conference feedback on the quality of students’ papers is likely because many students benefit from attention to even the most global aspects of composition, such as text structure and form, and notably improve their texts with even limited revision. To maximize the effectiveness of writing conferences, a teacher should aim to do the following (see Martin & Certo, 2008):

• Establish a conversational stance to understand students’ goals and ideas before discussing specific textual issues.

• Provide frequent and varied opportunities for conferencing about pieces of writing.

• Encourage flash drafting, a technique in which smaller segments of text (e.g., the climax of a story) are drafted, examined (through conferencing), and revised to help the student feel less invested in a completed draft of the whole paper.

• Collaboratively establish concrete goals for planning, drafting, and/or revision.

• Give weaker writers more conference time that is also of high quality.

• Along with a student’s text, use checklists, questionnaires, and graphic aids as touchpoints during conferences to help link concrete tools with strategic behaviors.

Empowering Educators Through Effective Writing Instruction

In conclusion, effective writing instruction is a vital component of literacy education, and when coupled with structured literacy practices, it can genuinely empower educators and students alike. I hope this blog post has shed light on the critical elements of effective writing instruction and how they can be harnessed within structured literacy classrooms. For those eager to explore this topic further, I invite you to learn more about Bridge to Writing at heggerty.org/bridgetowriting, where you can access valuable resources and tools to enhance your teaching journey. Together, we can help students become proficient and confident writers.

?  Ready to dive into more learning?  Take a peek at some of our popular structured literacy resources:

  • Blog Post:   30 Science of Reading Resources
  • Blog Post:   Why Make the Switch? Transitioning from Word Walls to Sound Walls
  • Webinar:   Defining Sight Words, High-Frequency Words, Red Words, and Heart Words
  • Webinar:   Why Teach Articulation Awareness? The Importance of Accurate Sound Production in Literacy

De La Paz, S. (2007). Managing cognitive demands for writing: Comparing the effects of instructional components in strategy instruction. Reading and Writing Quarterly: Overcoming Learning Difficulties, 23, 249-266.

Dobson, K S. (Ed.). (2010). Handbook of cognitive-behavioral therapies (3rd ed.). Guilford Press.

Graham, S., Bollinger, A., Booth Olson, C., D’Aoust, C., MacArthur, C., McCutchen, D., & Olinghouse, 

N. (2012). Teaching elementary school students to be effective writers: A practice guide (NCEE 2012-

4058). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/publications_reviews.aspx#pubsearch.

Graham, S., Harris, K. R., & Mason, L. (2005). Improving the writing performance, knowledge, and self-efficacy of struggling young writers: The effects of self-regulated strategy development. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 30, 207-241.

Graham, S., & Perin, D. (2007). Writing next: Effective strategies to improve writing of adolescents in middle and high schools—A report to Carnegie Corporation of New York . Washington, DC: Alliance for Excellent Education.

Lloyd, J. W., Bateman, D. F., Landrum, T. J., & Hallahan, D. P. (1989). Self-recording of attention versus productivity. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 22, 315-323.

Maag, J. W., Reid, R., & DiGangi, S. A (1993). Differential effects of self-monitoring attention, accuracy, and productivity. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 26, 329-344.

Manning, B. H., & Payne, B. D. (1996). Self-talk for teachers and students: Metacognitive strategies

for personal and classroom use . Allyn & Bacon.

Martin, N. M., & Certo, J. L. (2008, February). Truth or tale? The efficacy of teacher-student writing conferences . Paper presented at the Third Writing Research across Borders Conference, Santa Barbara, CA.

Page-Voth, V., & Graham, S. (1999). Effects of goal setting and strategy use on the writing performance and self-efficacy of students with writing and learning problems. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 230-240.

Purcell-Gates, V., Duke, N. K., & Martineau, J. A (2007). Learning to read and write genre-specific texts: Roles of authentic experience and explicit teaching. Reading Research Quarterly, 42, 8-45.

Sedita, J. (2022). The writing rope: A framework for explicit writing instruction in all subjects . Brookes Publishing.

Troia, G. A. (2013). Effective writing instruction in the 21st century. In B. M. Taylor & N. K. Duke (Eds.), Handbook of effective literacy instruction: Research-based practice K-8 (pp. 298-345). Guilford Press.

Photo of author Gary Troia

Gary A. Troia, PhD, CCC-SLP

Gary A. Troia, PhD, CCC-SLP, is Associate Professor of Special Education at Michigan State University. Prior to receiving his doctorate from the University of Maryland in 2000, he worked 10 years in the public schools as a special educator and speech- language pathologist, and 6 years as a university clinical supervisor. Dr. Troia is co- editor of the journal Topics in Language Disorders and serves on the editorial boards of several top special education journals. With colleagues Froma Roth and Colleen Worthington, he developed a phonological awareness intervention program for young at-risk children called Promoting Awareness of Speech Sounds (PASS), published by Attainment Company. With fellow researchers Lori Skibbe and Ryan Bowles and funding through the Institute of Education Sciences, he has developed an online phonological awareness assessment for young children with complex communication needs called ATLAS-PA, one component of the Access to Literacy Assessment System. Dr. Troia has authored over 70 research papers, book chapters, and white papers and has given numerous presentations about his work in the areas of phonological processing and awareness, writing assessment and instruction, and teacher professional development in literacy. He has been awarded over $6.5 million in intramural and extramural grants and contracts.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

learning to write strategies k 5

  • Heggerty Phonemic Awareness Curriculum
  • Bridge to Reading
  • Bridge to Writing
  • Kindergarten
  • First Grade
  • Second Grade
  • Free Webinars
  • Product Samples
  • Curriculum Resources
  • Assessments
  • Australian Assessments
  • National & State Standards
  • Parent Newsletters
  • Case Studies
  • Grades 6-12
  • School Leaders

☘️ St. Patrick's Day Activities: Books, art ideas, experiments, and more!

17 Effective Decoding Strategies and Activities for Emerging Readers

Decoding (D) x Language Comprehension (LC) = Reading Comprehension (RC)

Decoding strategies including drawing words and using concept cards and letter tiles

Empower your students to successfully decode words with Focused Phonics , a comprehensive, systematic, research-based program that gives teachers the confidence to deliver rich phonics and phonemic awareness instruction.

' src=

When little ones start learning to read, one of the important skills they’ll need to develop is decoding. But what is decoding, and how do you teach it? Read on to learn all about decoding strategies and get lots of teaching activities.

What is decoding?

Put simply, decoding is the ability to sound out letters and understand the words they make up. A new reader needs to recognize each letter, determine the sound it makes, then put all those sounds together smoothly to say and recognize the word. The process goes slowly at first, but as kids build their skills, decoding becomes automatic, leading to reading fluency.

The theory of the science of reading puts it like this: Decoding (D) x Language Comprehension (LC) = Reading Comprehension (RC). When you learn about decoding, you’ll hear some common phrases like phonics, phonemic awareness, phonemes, segmenting, and blending. You may also encounter concepts like symbol imagery and concept imagery, since connecting mental images with letters and words helps students retain information.

All of these skills work together to create confident readers, and kids can practice them using these decoding strategies and activities. ( Learn about finding good decodable texts for reading practice here. )

1. Have fun with phonics

Phonics activities including rolling wooden phonics dice on the grass and hacking pool noodles into phonics tools

Phonics is a key part of decoding, and there are so many fun activities kids can do to learn diagraphs, phonemes, and other letter sounds and blends.

Learn more: Fun Phonics Activities and Games for Early Readers at We Are Teachers

2. Hang a decoding poster

Printable decoding strategies poster for teaching reading

Our free printable poster has a variety of decoding strategies all in one place. Hang it in your classroom, or pass out copies to students to take home as reminders when they’re reading with their families.

Get it: Decoding Strategies Poster at We Are Teachers

3. Hunt for letter sounds in decodable books

Decodable book called Tim featuring a cat hiding in a trash can.

Have students hunt for words with target letter sounds (e.g., short I) in a decodable book. Then have them share the words they find with a partner. Tip: For more ideas, check out the built-in review and family engagement ideas at the end of the decodable book linked below. Try it: Tim by Dona Herweck Rice, a free decodable book from Focused Phonics by Teacher Created Materials

4. Play hide-and-seek with words

For younger kids, place a letter manipulative into a covered box, and ask them to reach in and feel the letter. Based on what they feel, what letter do they think it is? For older kids, lay out an entire word in the box, and see if students can reach in and “feel” out the word.

5. Draw your words

Sight words written on paper with drawings inside the letters, including look with eyes in the o's, cat with a cat face in the a and clock with a clock face in the o.

People remember pictures. When you’re introducing new words to students, ask them to draw an image that has meaning to them that goes with the word they’re learning. Even creating an image in their head has benefit, but asking them to draw an image around a word on paper can be more fun—and more valuable.

6. Twist pool noodle letters

Student turning letter beads made from pool noodle pieces

These pool noodle letter beads are so much fun, and they’re so easy to make! Slide them onto a tube of construction paper, then twist and turn them to form new words. Have students name each letter and sound it out with the beads spaced apart, then push them together and say the entire word.

Learn more: Use Pool Noodles To Teach Phonics at We Are Teachers

7. Build words with letter tiles

Short I concept card worksheet with letter tiles cut out of paper on green background, as an example of decoding activities

First give students a worksheet with pictures of short I words. Say the names of the pictures using the onsets and rhymes (e.g., Say, “/h/ /ip/” for “hip”) and have students point to the pictures that match the words as you say them. Then have students identify the sound that is the same in each word (e.g., /i/). Finally, have students build these words on sound boxes using letter tiles. Try it: Free Printable Concept Card and Letter Tiles from Focused Phonics by Teacher Created Materials

8. Slide beads to practice segmenting

Colorful beads strung on pipe cleaners (Decoding Strategies)

Bead slides are popular decoding strategies because they’re easy to make and simple to use. As a student says a word out loud, they slide a bead along for each syllable. This helps them segment words, breaking them down into more manageable parts.

Learn more: Bead Slides at Marvelous Multiagers

9. Write in shaving cream

Student writing letters in shaving cream spread on a tray

Here’s another classic decoding activity: shaving cream writing! Spread the shaving cream on desks (they’ll be squeaky clean afterward!), trays, or even windows. Then have kids write letters and words, sounding them out as they go.

Learn more: Write in Shaving Cream at Gift of Curiosity

10. Take a mind picture

Colorful cards with the letters A, B, C, and D on them

Show students a letter card and have them say it out loud, along with the sound it makes. Then, have them trace the letter with their finger. Finally, ask them to “take a picture of it” in their minds, and take the card away. Now ask them to write the letter themselves, either on paper or in the air (see below).

Get it: Printable Alphabet Cards at Prekinders

11. Write in the air

Students using their fingers to write letters in the air (Decoding Strategies)

Writing letters in the air helps kids learn to “image,” or see, the letter in their heads. The experts at Lindamood-Bell recommend doing air-writing in lowercase letters, since that’s what we see most often when we read. Their research indicates that developing symbol imagery by writing in the air is more productive than writing on a piece of paper.

Learn more: Write in the Air at First Grade Smiles

12. Blend with musical plates

Circle of paper plates labeled with letter blends, with letter ends on cards in the middle (Decoding Strategies)

Write word endings on paper plates and lay them out in a circle. Then, give each kid a card with a word-starting blend written on it. Start up the music, and let kids dance around the circle until it stops. When it does, they match up their card with the plate in front of them, and sound it out to see if they’ve made a real word. If not, they’re out, and the game continues until you have one winner. (Unlike musical chairs, don’t remove plates after each round.)

Learn more: Musical Plates at Just Cara Carroll

13. Read left to right

Decoding practice card with green, yellow, and red dots to remind students to read from left to right

Use classic stoplight colors to help students remember to read letters from left to right. It seems like a simple concept to experienced readers, but it’s harder for some students to master than others.

Learn more: The Literacy Nest

14. Flip the vowels

Decoding Strategies: Flip the vowel sounds printable worksheets

One of the trickier parts of decoding is understanding that vowels can make different sounds, depending on the word. Practice the concept by “flipping” the vowel sounds from long to short and then seeing how the word changes. Then when kids are reading new words, they can try both vowel sounds and see which makes more sense.

Learn more: Finally in First

15. Meet the Chunky Monkey

Card reading Chunky Monkey finds small words hiding inside big ones. It helps him read the tricky words before he goes bananas.

“Chunking” words breaks them into parts kids already know or find easier to sound out. This cute song to the tune of Yankee Doodle can remind students of this strategy.

Learn more: Tejada’s Tots

16. Put together word puzzles

Word puzzle for the word prepare, broken into pre and pare, on top of a worksheet with words broken into chunks (Decoding Strategies)

Breaking words into smaller chunks is the first step. After that, kids have to be able to put them back together to form the whole word. Simple puzzles like these help them visualize both parts of the process.

Learn more: I Heart Teaching Elementary

17. Make word-building folders

Word-building folder with letters and blends, and space to build a word, write the word, and draw the word (Decoding Strategies)

This clever little kit means kids can practice their decoding strategies just about anywhere. They build words using letters and blends, then write them out. Finally, they draw an illustration of the word, helping them use imagery to remember.

Learn more: Lucky Little Learners

What are your favorite decoding strategies to use with emerging readers? Come share your ideas and ask for advice in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, check out 49 anchor charts that nail reading comprehension ..

Decoding is one of the key parts of the science of reading. Learn more and get effective decoding strategies to use with emerging readers.

You Might Also Like

Everfi decoding strategies poster and student flip book

Use Our Free Decoding Strategies Poster + Flip-Book To Nurture Independent Readers

Give students options to try when they are stuck on a word. Continue Reading

Copyright © 2023. All rights reserved. 5335 Gate Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32256

Classroom Q&A

With larry ferlazzo.

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to [email protected]. Read more from this blog.

How to Help Students With Their Writing. 4 Educators Share Their Secrets

learning to write strategies k 5

  • Share article

Teaching students to write is no easy feat, and it’s a topic that has often been discussed on this blog.

It’s also a challenge that can’t have too much discussion!

Today, four educators share their most effective writing lessons.

‘Three Practices That Create Confident Writers’

Penny Kittle teaches first-year writers at Plymouth State University in New Hampshire. She was a teacher and literacy coach in public schools for 34 years and is the author of nine books, including Micro Mentor Texts (Scholastic). She is the founder and president of the Book Love Foundation, which annually grants classroom libraries to teachers throughout North America:

I write almost every day. Like anything I want to do well, I practice. Today, I wrote about the wild dancing, joyful energy, and precious time I spent with my daughter at a Taylor Swift concert. Then I circled back to notes on Larry’s question about teaching writers. I wrote badly, trying to find a through line. I followed detours and crossed out bad ideas. I stopped to think. I tried again. I lost faith in my words. I will get there , I told myself. I trust my process.

I haven’t always written this easily or this much. I wouldn’t say I’m a “natural” writer because I don’t believe they exist. Writing is work. When I entered college, I received a C-minus on my first paper. I was stunned. I had never worked at writing: I was a “first drafter,” an “only drafter.” And truthfully, I didn’t know how or what to practice. I was assigned writing in high school and I completed it. I rarely received feedback. I didn’t get better. I didn’t learn to think like a writer; I thought like a student.

I’ve now spent 40 years studying writing and teaching writers in kindergarten, elementary school, middle school, and high school, as well as teachers earning graduate degrees. Despite their age, writers in school share one remarkably similar trait: a lack of confidence. Confidence is a brilliant and fiery light; it draws your eyes, your heart, and your mind. But in fact, it is as rare as the Northern Lights. I feel its absence every fall in my composition courses.

We can change that.

Confidence blooms in classrooms focused on the growth of writers.

This happens in classrooms where the teacher relies less on lessons and more on a handful of practices. Unfortunately, though, in most classrooms, a heap of time is spent directing students to practice “writing-like” activities: restrictive templates for assignments, with detailed criteria focused on rules. Those activities handcuff writers. If you tell me what to do and how to do it, I will focus on either completing the task or avoiding it. That kind of writing work doesn’t require much thinking; it is merely labor.

Practice creating, on the other hand, is harder, but it is how we develop the important ability to let our ideas come and then shaping them into cohesive arguments, stories, poems, and observations. We have misunderstood the power of writing to create thinking. Likewise, we have misunderstood the limitations of narrow tasks. So, here are my best instructional practices that lead to confidence and growth in writers.

1. Writing Notebooks and Daily Revision. Writers need time to write. Think of it as a habit we begin to engage in with little effort, like serving a tennis ball from the baseline or dribbling a basketball or sewing buttonholes. Writers need daily time to whirl words, to spin ideas, to follow images that blink inside them as they move their pen across the page. In my classroom, writing time most often follows engagement with a poem.

Likewise, writers need guidance in rereading their first drafts of messy thinking. I’ve seen teachers open their notebooks and invite students to watch them shape sentences. They demonstrate how small revisions increase clarity and rhythm. Their students watch them find a focus and maintain it. Teachers show the effort and the joy of writing well.

Here’s an example: We listen to a beautiful poem such as “Montauk” by Sarah Kay, her tribute to growing up. Students write freely from lines or images that spring to them as they listen. I write in my notebook as students write in theirs for 4-5 minutes. Then I read my entry aloud, circling subjects and detours ( I don’t know why I wrote so much about my dog, but maybe I have more to say about this … ). I model how to find a focus. I invite students to do the same.

2. Writers Study Writing . Writers imitate structures, approaches, and ways of reaching readers. They read like writers to find possibilities: Look what the writer did here and here . A template essay can be an effective tool to write for a test, but thankfully, that is a very small and insignificant part of the whole of writing for any of us. Real writing grows from studying the work of other writers. We study sentences, passages, essays, and articles to understand how they work, as we create our own.

3. Writers Have Conversations as They Work . When writers practice the skills and embrace the challenges of writing in community, it expands possibilities. Every line read from a notebook carries the mark of a particular writer: the passion, the voice, the experiences, and the vulnerability of each individual. That kind of sharing drives process talk ( How did you think to write about that? Who do you imagine you are speaking to? ), which showcases the endless variation in writers and leads to “writerly thinking.” It shifts conversations from “right and wrong” to “how and why.”

Long ago, at a local elementary school, in a workshop for teachers, I watched Don Graves list on the chalkboard subjects he was considering writing about. He read over his list and chose one. From there, he wrote several sentences, talking aloud about the decisions he was making as a writer. Then he turned to accept and answer questions.

“Why do this?” someone asked.

“Because you are the most important writer in the room,” Don said. “You are showing students why anyone would write when they don’t have to.” He paused, then added, “If not you, who?”

confidenceblooms

Developing ‘Student Voice’

A former independent school English teacher and administrator, Stephanie Farley is a writer and educational consultant working with teachers and schools on issues of curriculum, assessment, instruction, SEL, and building relationships. Her book, Joyful Learning: Tools to Infuse Your 6-12 Classroom with Meaning, Relevance, and Fun is available from Routledge Eye on Education:

Teaching writing is my favorite part of being a teacher. It’s incredibly fun to talk about books with kids, but for me, it’s even more fun to witness students’ skills and confidence grow as they figure out how to use written language to communicate what they mean.

A lesson I used to like doing was in “voice.” My 8th graders had a hard time understanding what I meant when I asked them to consider “voice” in their writing. The best illustration I came up with was playing Taylor Swift’s song “Blank Space” for students. Some students groaned while others clapped. (Doesn’t this always happen when we play music for students? There’s no song that makes everyone happy!) But when they settled down, I encouraged them to listen to the style: the arrangement, her voice as she sang, the dominant instruments.

Then, I played a cover of “Blank Space” by Ryan Adams. Eyes rolled as the song unfurled through the speakers, but again I reminded students to listen to the arrangement, voice, and instruments. After about 60 seconds of the Adams version, heads nodded in understanding. When the music ended and I asked students to explain voice to me, they said it’s “making something your own … like your own style.” Yes!

The next step was applying this new understanding to their own writing. Students selected a favorite sentence from the books they were reading, then tried to write it in their own voice. We did this a few times, until everyone had competently translated Kwame Alexander into “Rosa-style” or Kelly Link into “Michael-style.” Finally, when it was time for students to write their own longer works—stories, personal essays, or narratives—they intentionally used the words and sentence patterns they had identified as their own voice.

I’m happy to report this method worked! In fact, it was highly effective. Students’ papers were more idiosyncratic, nuanced, and creative. The only change to this lesson I’d make now is trying to find a more zeitgeist-y song with the hope that the groans at the beginning die down a little faster.

itsfun

Teaching ELLs

Irina McGrath, Ph.D., is an assistant principal at Newcomer Academy in the Jefferson County school district in Kentucky and the president of KYTESOL. She is also an adjunct professor at the University of Louisville, Indiana University Southeast, and Bellarmine University. She is a co-creator of the ELL2.0 site that offers free resources for teachers of English learners:

Reflecting on my experience of teaching writing to English learners, I have come to realize that writing can be daunting, especially when students are asked to write in English, a language they are learning to master. The most successful writing lessons I have taught were those that transformed the process into an enjoyable experience, fostering a sense of accomplishment and pride in my students.

To achieve this, I prioritized the establishment of a supportive learning environment. At the beginning of each school year, I set norms that emphasized the importance of writing for everyone, including myself as their teacher. I encouraged students to write in English and their native language and I wrote alongside my English learners to demonstrate that writing is a journey that requires hard work and dedication, regardless of age or previous writing experiences. By witnessing my own struggles, my students felt encouraged to persevere.

My English learners understood that errors were expected and that they were valuable opportunities for growth and improvement. This created a comfortable atmosphere where students felt more confident taking risks and experimenting with their writing. Rather than being discouraged by mistakes, they viewed them as steppingstones toward progress.

In my most effective writing lessons, I provided scaffolds such as sentence stems, sentence frames, and word banks. I also encouraged my students to use translation tools to help generate ideas on paper. These scaffolds empowered English learners to independently tackle more challenging writing assignments and nurtured their confidence in completing writing tasks. During writers’ circles, we discussed the hard work invested in each writing piece, shared our work, and celebrated each other’s success.

Furthermore, my most successful writing lessons integrated reading and writing. I taught my students to read like writers and utilized mentor texts to emulate the craft of established authors, which they could later apply to their own writing. Mentor texts, such as picture books, short stories, or articles, helped my students observe how professional writers use dialogue, sentence structure, and descriptive language to enhance their pieces.

Instead of overwhelming students with information, I broke down writing into meaningful segments and taught through mini lessons. For example, we analyzed the beginnings of various stories to examine story leads. Then, collaboratively, my students and I created several leads together. When they were ready, I encouraged them to craft their own leads and select the most appropriate one for their writing piece.

Ultimately, my most effective lessons were those in which I witnessed the joyful smiles on my English learners’ faces as they engaged with pages filled with written or typed words. It is during those moments that I knew my writers were creating and genuinely enjoying their work.

To access a self-checklist that students and EL teachers can use when teaching or creating a writing piece in English, you can visit the infographic at bit.ly/ABC_of_Writing .

iprovided

‘Model Texts’

Anastasia M. Martinez is an English-language-development and AVID Excel teacher in Pittsburg, Calif.:

As a second-language learner, writing in English had not always been my suit. It was not until graduate school that I immersed myself in a vast array of journals, articles, and other academic works, which ultimately helped me find my academic voice and develop my writing style. Now, working as an ESL teacher with a diverse group of middle school multilingual learners, I always provide a model text relevant to a topic or prompt we are exploring.

When students have a model text, it gives them a starting point for their own writing and presents writing as less scary, where they get stuck on the first sentence and do not know how to start.

At the start of the lesson, prior to using a model text, I create a “do now” activity that guides my students’ attention to the topic and creates a relevant context for the text. After students share their ideas with a partner and then the class, we transition to our lesson objectives, and I introduce the model text. We first use prereading strategies to analyze the text, and students share what they notice based on the title, images, and a number of paragraphs. Then, depending on the students’ proficiency level, I read the text to the class, or students read the text as partners, thinking about what the text was mostly about.

After students read and share their ideas with partners and then the whole class, we transition to deconstructing the text. These multiple reengagements with the text help students become more familiar with it, as well as help students build reading fluency.

When deconstructing the model text, I guide my students through each paragraph and sentence. During that time, students orally share their ideas determining the meaning of specific paragraphs or sentences, which we later annotate in the model text using different colored highlighters or pens. Color coding helps visually guide students through similar parts of the model text. For instance, if we highlight evidence in paragraph 2 in one color, we also highlight evidence in the same color in the following paragraph. It helps students see the similarities between the paragraphs and discover the skeleton of the writing. Additionally, color coding helps students during their writing process and revision. Students can check if they used all parts of the writing based on the colors.

Furthermore, one of the essential pieces during deconstructing model texts that I draw my students’ attention to is transition words and “big words,” or academic vocabulary. We usually box them in the text, and I question students about why the author used a particular word in the text. Later, when students do their own writing, they can integrate new vocabulary and transition words, which enhances their vocabulary and language skills.

As the next step, I invite students to co-create a similar piece of writing with a partner or independently using our model text as their guide. Later, our model text serves as a checklist for individual and partner revisions, which students could use to give each other feedback.

Model texts are an essential part of the writing process in any content-area class. As educators, we should embrace the importance of model texts, as they provide a solid foundation upon which students can develop their unique writing skills, tone, and voice.

modeltexts

Thanks to Penny, Stephanie, Irina, and Anastasia for contributing their thoughts!

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at [email protected] . When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo .

Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email . And if you missed any of the highlights from the first 12 years of this blog, you can see a categorized list here .

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

Sign Up for EdWeek Update

Edweek top school jobs.

First grade students illustrate a story they wrote together in Megan Gose’s classroom at Moorsbridge Elementary School in Portage, Mich., on Nov. 29, 2023.

Sign Up & Sign In

module image 9

  • Math for Kids
  • Parenting Resources
  • ELA for Kids
  • Teaching Resources

SplashLearn Blog

10 Best Strategies for Solving Math Word Problems

5 Easy Tips & Tricks to Learn the 13 Time Table for Kids

How to Teach Number Sense to Kids: Step-by-Step Guide

How to Teach Decimals: A Step-by-Step Guide

How to Teach Fraction to Kids – 11 Best Activities

How to Choose Best School For Your Kid: 12 Best Tips

Why Kids Get Bored at School: 10 Tips to Keep Them Interested

11 Best Writing Apps for Kids

Homeschool vs Public School: 12 Tips on How to Choose One

15 Essential Life Skills Activities for Kids: Beyond ABCs

20 Animals That Start with “U”

70+ Easy Opposite Words for Kids in 2024

12 Animals that Start with K

12 Animals That Start With ‘E’: From Elephants to Eels

60 Best Essay Topics for Kids: Nurturing Young Minds

25 Best Websites for Teachers

10 best lesson planning apps for teachers, 15 best literacy strategies for teachers to use in the classroom.

How to teach 4th Grade Kids: 25 Best Tricks & Tips

How to Teach Addition to Kids: From Counting to Calculating

literacy strategies with a depiction of the same

1. Phonics Instruction

2. graphic organizers, 3. think-pair-share, 4. vocabulary instruction, 5. story mapping, 6. kwl charts (know, want to know, learned), 7. interactive read-alouds, 8. guided reading, 9. writing workshops, 10. literature circles.

Today, literacy is not just about learning to read and write ; it’s a crucial tool that opens doors to a world of knowledge and opportunities. It’s the foundation upon which we build our ability to communicate, understand, and interact with the world around us. It is the cornerstone that supports all other learning.

SplashLearn: Most Comprehensive Learning Program for PreK-5

Product logo

SplashLearn inspires lifelong curiosity with its game-based PreK-5 learning program loved by over 40 million children. With over 4,000 fun games and activities, it’s the perfect balance of learning and play for your little one.

But how do we ensure every student learns to read and write, loves the process, and excels in it? This is where literacy strategies for teachers come into play. 

In the modern classroom, literacy strategies are essential for several reasons. They help cater to diverse learning styles , engage students more effectively, and promote a deeper understanding of the material.

These strategies are vital in an era of abundant information and attention spans are challenged. They equip teachers with innovative methods to make reading and writing more interactive and meaningful. 

In this blog, we will talk about some of the best literacy strategies that can make a significant difference in your classroom!

Literacy Strategy Definition

Literacy strategies are various methods and approaches used in teaching reading and writing. These are not just standard teaching practices but innovative, interactive, and tailored techniques designed to improve literacy skills. They include activities like group discussions, interactive games , and creative writing exercises, all part of a broader set of literacy instruction strategies.

The Role of Literacy Strategies in Enhancing Reading and Writing Skills

Teaching literacy strategies enhance students’ reading and writing skills. These strategies help break down complex texts, making them more understandable and relatable for students. They encourage students to think critically about what they read and express their thoughts clearly in writing. Teachers can use literacy strategies to address different learning styles, helping students find their path to literacy success.

15 Best Literacy Strategies for Teachers

Phonics instruction is fundamental in building foundational reading skills , especially for young learners. This method teaches students the relationships between letters and sounds , helping them decode words. Through phonics, students learn to sound out words, which is crucial for reading fluency and comprehension. Phonics instruction can be made fun and interactive with games, songs, and puzzles .

You can begin here:

Card Image

Graphic organizers are powerful visual tools that aid in better comprehension and organization of information. As part of literacy practice examples, they help students visually map out ideas and relationships between concepts. This can include charts, diagrams, or concept maps. Using graphic organizers, teachers can help students structure their thoughts, making complex ideas more accessible and understandable. It’s an effective way to break down reading materials or organize writing drafts visually.

Think Pair Share worksheet

Think-pair-share is an essential literacy strategy that fosters collaborative learning. In this activity, students first think about a question or topic individually, then pair up with a classmate to discuss their thoughts, and finally share their ideas with the larger group. This strategy encourages active participation and communication, allowing students to learn from each other. It’s a simple yet powerful way to engage students in critical thinking and discussion.

Vocabulary instruction is crucial in expanding language comprehension. This strategy involves teaching students new words and phrases in terms of their definitions, context, and usage. Effective vocabulary instruction can include word mapping , sentence creation , and word games. By enriching students’ vocabulary , teachers equip them with the tools to understand and articulate ideas more effectively, enhancing their overall literacy.

Card Image

Story mapping is a technique where students break down the narrative elements of a story, such as characters, setting, plot, and conflict. This strategy helps in enhancing comprehension and analytical skills. By visually organizing the elements of a story, students can better understand the structure and themes of the text. It’s an engaging way to dissect stories and can be done individually or as a group activity .

A KWL chart

KWL charts are an effective tool for structuring learning objectives. This strategy involves creating a chart with three columns: What students already Know, What they Want to know, and What they have Learned. This approach helps activate prior knowledge, set learning goals , and reflect on new information. It’s a great way to engage students in the learning process from start to finish, making them active participants in their education. KWL Charts can be used across various subjects, making them versatile and essential in the classroom.

Kids in a classroom

Interactive read-alouds are a cornerstone among literacy instructional strategies. In this activity, the teacher reads a story aloud, using expressive tones and gestures to bring the story to life. This method engages students in dynamic storytelling , sparking their imagination and interest. It’s an essential literacy strategy that enhances listening skills, vocabulary, and comprehension. Teachers can pause to ask questions, encouraging students to think and predict, making it an interactive and inclusive learning experience.

kids in guided reading session

Guided reading is a tailored approach that addresses the diverse reading levels within a classroom. In this strategy, teachers work with small groups of students, providing focused reading instruction at their specific level of development. This allows for more personalized attention and support, helping students progress at their own pace.

Kids in a writing workshop

Writing workshops are a dynamic way to foster creative expression among students. These workshops provide a platform for students to write , share, and receive feedback on their work. It’s an interactive process where students learn to develop their writing style, voice, and technique. Writing Workshops encourage creativity, critical thinking, and peer collaboration, making them a vital part of literacy development.

Depiction of collaborative learning

Literature circles are a collaborative and student-centered approach to reading and discussing books. In these circles, small groups of students choose and read a book together, then meet to discuss it, often taking on different roles like discussion leader or summarizer. This strategy promotes discussion, critical thinking, and a deeper understanding of literature. It’s an engaging way for students to explore texts and share their perspectives, enhancing their analytical and communication skills.

11. Scaffolding

Scaffolding technique

Scaffolding is a teaching method that provides students with step-by-step guidance to help them better understand new concepts. This approach breaks down learning into manageable chunks, gradually moving students towards stronger comprehension and greater independence. Scaffolding can include techniques like asking leading questions, providing examples, or offering partial solutions. It’s especially effective in building confidence and skill in students, as they feel supported throughout their learning journey.

12. Word Walls

A word board

Word walls are a visual and interactive way to display vocabulary in the classroom . As one of the essential literacy strategy examples, they help students learn new words and reinforce their spelling and meaning. Teachers can add words related to current lessons or themes, encouraging students to use and explore these words in their writing and speaking. Word walls are educational and serve as a reference tool that students can continually interact with.

13. Reader’s Theater

Kids in a readers theatre

Reader’s theater is an engaging literacy activity that combines reading and performance. In this strategy, students read scripts aloud, focusing on expression rather than memorization or props. This method helps improve reading fluency, comprehension, and confidence as students practice reading with emotion and emphasis. Reader’s Theater is also a fun way to bring literature to life and encourage a love for reading and storytelling.

14. Dramatization of Text

Kids dramatizing text

Dramatization of text involves bringing stories and texts to life through acting and role-play. This strategy allows students to interpret and enact narratives, deepening their understanding of the characters, plot, and themes. It’s an interactive way to engage students with literature, encouraging them to explore texts creatively and collaboratively. Dramatization can enhance comprehension, empathy, and public speaking skills.

15. Inquiry-Based Learning

Inquiry based learning wallpaper

Inquiry-Based Learning is a student-centered approach that promotes curiosity-driven research and exploration. In this method, learning starts with questions, problems, or scenarios rather than simply presenting facts. Students are encouraged to investigate topics, ask questions , and discover answers through research and discussion. This strategy fosters critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and a love for learning .

These literacy strategies for teachers offer a diverse and dynamic toolkit for teachers to enhance reading, writing, and comprehension skills in their classrooms. By incorporating these methods, educators can create a more engaging, inclusive, and effective learning environment , paving the way for students to become confident and proficient learners.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the key benefits of using literacy strategies in the classroom.

Literacy strategies enhance classroom engagement, improve comprehension, and foster critical thinking skills. They make learning more interactive and meaningful, helping students to connect with the material more deeply.

How can teachers effectively integrate literacy strategies into existing curricula?

Teachers can integrate literacy strategies by aligning them with current lesson objectives, using them as complementary tools for existing content. Start small, incorporate strategies gradually, and tailor them to fit the lesson’s context.

Are these literacy strategies suitable for all age groups?

Yes, these strategies can be adapted for different age groups and learning levels. The key is to modify the complexity and delivery of the strategy to suit the developmental stage and abilities of the students.

How do digital literacy strategies for teachers differ from traditional ones?

Digital literacy strategies incorporate technology, focusing on skills like navigating online information, digital communication, and critical evaluation of online content, which are essential in the digital age.

Can literacy strategies be used in subjects other than language arts?

Absolutely, literacy strategies can be applied cross-curricularly. For example, graphic organizers can be used in science for hypothesis mapping, or story mapping can be used in history to outline events.

learning to write strategies k 5

Most Popular

A working mom and her daughter in the bedroom, Mom is working while daughter is playing with her toys.

101 Best Riddles for Kids (With Explanation)

learning to write strategies k 5

15 Best Report Card Comments Samples

Good vibes quotes by SplashLearn

40 Best Good Vibes Quotes to Brighten Your Day

Recent posts.

Online education depiction

15 Best Empathy Activities for Kids to Foster Kindness

Math & ela | prek to grade 5, kids see fun., you see real learning outcomes..

Watch your kids fall in love with math & reading through our scientifically designed curriculum.

Parents, try for free Teachers, use for free

Banner Image

  • Games for Kids
  • Worksheets for Kids
  • Math Worksheets
  • ELA Worksheets
  • Math Vocabulary
  • Number Games
  • Addition Games
  • Subtraction Games
  • Multiplication Games
  • Division Games
  • Addition Worksheets
  • Subtraction Worksheets
  • Multiplication Worksheets
  • Division Worksheets
  • Times Tables Worksheets
  • Reading Games
  • Writing Games
  • Phonics Games
  • Sight Words Games
  • Letter Tracing Games
  • Reading Worksheets
  • Writing Worksheets
  • Phonics Worksheets
  • Sight Words Worksheets
  • Letter Tracing Worksheets
  • Prime Number
  • Order of Operations
  • Long multiplication
  • Place value
  • Parallelogram
  • SplashLearn Success Stories
  • SplashLearn Apps
  • [email protected]

© Copyright - SplashLearn

IMAGES

  1. The Most Important Reading & Writing Strategies in 2020 (With images

    learning to write strategies k 5

  2. 5 Strategies for Improving Writing Instruction

    learning to write strategies k 5

  3. Writing Strategies to Improve Student Writing

    learning to write strategies k 5

  4. 9 Free Writing Resources K-5 ideas

    learning to write strategies k 5

  5. How to Teach Writing in Kindergarten

    learning to write strategies k 5

  6. Examples of writing strategies help students understand the different

    learning to write strategies k 5

VIDEO

  1. IELTS Speaking Test Practice & Tips

  2. മലയാളം വ്യഞ്ജനാക്ഷരങ്ങൾ/Malayalam Consonants/മലയാളം അക്ഷരമാല/ka kha ga gha nga

  3. How to help your parents solve their problems…😳😂💀 #comedy

  4. Practice time🔥#nandini091013 #dance #youtubeshorts #trending #viral #shorts

  5. Speed😱😱😱😱#armylover #trending #army #motivation #viral #running #speed #shiv #shorts #mahadev

  6. Sister and Brother love😍 Behen ne Bahar Nikala #shorts #sister #viral #funny #love

COMMENTS

  1. 5 Ways to Support Children Learning to Write

    Tell them to do the following: 1. Stand up with their legs shoulder-width apart. 2. Spread their arms out. 3. Cross their right arm, reaching it across their midsection to touch their left foot. 4. Repeat on the other side.

  2. Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers

    Writing Teaching Elementary School Students to Be Effective Writers The recommendations in this guide cover teaching the writing process, teaching fundamental writing skills, encouraging students to develop essential writing knowledge, and developing a supportive writing environment.

  3. PDF Building Effective Writing Skills in K-5

    Introduction Elementary school children commonly rely on content generation as their single composing process when learning to write. They generate text by choosing a relevant idea for their topic, writing it down, and using each preceding idea to stimulate the next one.

  4. PDF Instructional strategies for teaching writing to elementary students

    INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES FOR TEACHING WRITING TO ELEMENTARY STUDENTS "Students who develop strong writing skills at an early age acquire a valuable tool for learning, communication, and self-expression."1 Evidence-based instructional strategies2 Provide Explicit Instruction

  5. PDF K-5 WRITING STRATEGIES

    1 Introduction The writing strategies included in this document are based on sound research and provide a variety of ways to actively involved children in their learning. The strategies serve to supplement the instructional suggestions in the Houghton Mifflin Teacher's Edition.

  6. 8 Smart Strategies for Teaching Writing

    Have you been there, too? What you need are writing strategies for students that break down a complicated process into pieces they can tackle. What follows are some of the best methods for teaching writing that I discovered over the years: Teaching Writing Strategies for Students Use Mentor Texts

  7. Four Strategies for Effective Writing Instruction

    Join K-12 leaders nationwide for three days of empowering strategies, networking, and inspiration! Discounted pricing ends today, Feb. 23. Register now.

  8. Instructional Writing Strategies

    1. Read, read, and read some more. Reading different genres or formats of writing. Ideally, this strategy should begin at birth. Students gain vocabulary and background knowledge that helps them to better explain or argue a point. This also allows the reader learn or become familiar with different forms of writing.

  9. Enhancing Literacy Across the Curriculum: Core Knowledge Curriculum

    Developed by the Core Knowledge Foundation, this curriculum framework offers a structured way to infuse literacy skills throughout K-5 instruction, fostering a deep understanding of diverse topics while honing essential reading and writing abilities. Be sure to check out our FAQs on K-5 CKLA for more information. 1.

  10. Ideas to encourage your kids to write stories

    Tips For Helping Kids with Reading Comprehension We provide a list of tips for helping your kids with their reading comprehension. How Kids Learn to Write - the Process There is a process to kids learning to write. Let us share it with you. Six Ways to Teach our Kids to Avoid Plagiarism

  11. Teaching Writing

    This strategy guide introduces the RAFT technique and offers practical ideas for using this technique to teach students to experiment with various perspectives in their writing. This strategy guide explains how to use small-group, guided writing instruction to teach students effective strategies and improve their ability to produce text ...

  12. PDF Common Core Teaching and Learning Strategies ELA Grades K-5

    This pdf document provides teachers with strategies and resources to help students in grades K-5 read and comprehend informational texts. It covers topics such as text features, text structures, vocabulary, and text-dependent questions. It also includes examples of texts and tasks aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards for English Language Arts.

  13. 12 Writing-to-Learn Activities

    12 Writing-to-Learn Activities No matter what subject you teach, writing can empower learning. And yet, fitting time-intensive writing assignments into your crowded curriculum may not seem feasible. Here's some good news.

  14. Writing Activities for Your Kindergartener

    Bookmaker. Turn your child's writing into books! Paste her drawings and writings on pieces of construction paper. For each book, make a cover out of heavier paper or cardboard, and add special art, a title, and her name as author. Punch holes in the pages and cover, and bind the book together with yarn or ribbon.

  15. Grammar and Writing| K5 Learning

    Reading Grammar & writing Grammar and Writing Effective writing requires proper grammar Our grammar and writing resources focus on teaching grammar in the context of practical writing skills.

  16. How to Teach Sentence Writing and Structure

    Building Writers: This program includes grade-level workbooks for grades K-5 for children to practice and build core writing skills. It offers a scaffolded approach to develop proficiency with writing narrative, information, and opinion pieces. Double Line Paper: Children need extra paper for writing practice. Double Line Notebook Paper comes ...

  17. SRSD Teacher Training Course, Resources & Tools

    From the prominent literacy researchers Dr. Karen Harris and Dr. Steve Graham: Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) is the best rated evidence-based, classroom-proven writing method helping K-12 and college entry students excel at writing and learning. Take our renowned online SRSD teacher training courses designed for grades K-5 and 6-12 ...

  18. How to Teach Handwriting—and Why It Matters

    You can also teach the "pinch and flip" trick: The student places the pencil with the writing end facing her, pinches the pencil between the thumb and index finger, and flips the pencil into the correct position. Formation: This refers to how a student goes about forming letters. Straight lines are easier for students to write than curved ...

  19. A Guide to Effective Writing Instruction

    Effects of goal setting and strategy use on the writing performance and self-efficacy of students with writing and learning problems. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 230-240. Purcell-Gates, V., Duke, N. K., & Martineau, J. A (2007). Learning to read and write genre-specific texts: Roles of authentic experience and explicit teaching.

  20. 17 Effective Decoding Strategies for Teaching Kids to Read

    1. Have fun with phonics Playdough to Plato/Digraph Wheel via playdoughtoplato.com; The Measured Mom/Bingo via themeasuredmom.com; We Are Teachers Phonics is a key part of decoding, and there are so many fun activities kids can do to learn diagraphs, phonemes, and other letter sounds and blends.

  21. PDF Evidence-Based Practices for Writing Instruction

    writing is expected for completion of a college degree (National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools, and Colleges [NCWAFSC], 2003, 2004, 2005; Smith, 2000). Writing also serves as a gateway for employment and promotion in the workplace (NCWAFSC, 2004), and trends suggest that the demand for proficient on-the-job writing will

  22. Speaking and Listening in Content Area Learning

    Figure 2. CCR Speaking & Listening Anchor Standard 1. 8th Grade Students. SL.8.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly. SL.8.1A.

  23. How to Help Students With Their Writing. 4 Educators Share Their

    Long ago, at a local elementary school, in a workshop for teachers, I watched Don Graves list on the chalkboard subjects he was considering writing about. He read over his list and chose one. From ...

  24. 15 Best Literacy Strategies for Teachers to Use in Classroom

    SplashLearn inspires lifelong curiosity with its game-based PreK-5 learning program loved by over 40 million children. With over 4,000 fun games and activities, it's the perfect balance of learning and play for your little one. ... The Role of Literacy Strategies in Enhancing Reading and Writing Skills. Teaching literacy strategies enhance ...

  25. Ways to Manage Working with A Narcissist

    Learn to navigate working with a narcissist. Discover effective strategies for communication and boundary-setting in the workplace.