331: The Writing Skills We Assume Students Already Have
From Stellar Teacher Podcast: A Podcast for Upper Elementary Teachers · 18:18
Show by Sara Marye, Literacy Teacher, Elementary Teacher
Picture this. It’s October, and you give your third, fourth, or fifth graders a simple writing prompt. You pick up the first paper and it’s one sentence long. Or it’s one very, very long sentence held together by “and then, and then, and then,” with a capital letter at the start and a period at the very end. And you’re thinking, wait... didn’t you already learn this?In this episode, Emily is breaking down four foundational writing skills we often assume students mastered in kindergarten through second grade. Our K to 2 colleagues work hard to lay that foundation, but upper elementary writing asks a lot more of those early skills: longer pieces, bigger ideas, and more to juggle all at once. When that load goes up, a skill that once looked solid can start to wobble.Emily shares how to spot each skill quickly in your own classroom, plus simple, repeatable routines to strengthen it without throwing out your writing curriculum. She also connects back to the spinning plates analogy from episode 330 with Melanie Meehan and Maggie Beattie Roberts.In this episode, you’ll learn:Why students who write complete sentences on a worksheet still turn in fragments and run-ons on a blank pageHow verbal rehearsal, find and fix a fragment, and growing a kernel sentence build stronger sentence writersWhy handwriting and spelling still matter in upper elementary, and how transcription can use up a student’s working memoryHow because, but, so and sentence combining help students connect their ideasHow a simple plan and one question, “Does this prove my point?”, help students stay on topicThe 10-minute activity to try this week that shows you more about your writers than a full essayIf your students’ writing falls apart and you’re not sure why, this episode is a reminder that taught and mastered aren’t the same thing. The good news is that short, consistent routines can strengthen these foundations right inside what you’re already doing.Resources Mentioned:⭐ Free Sentence Writing Routine Sample: https://www.stellarteacher.com/sentence⭐ The Stellar Literacy Collective: https://www.stellarteacher.com/join
More episodes of Stellar Teacher Podcast: A Podcast for Upper Elementary Teachers
More episodes
- 331: The Writing Skills We Assume Students Already Have
- 330: Writing Is Complex: The Hidden Skills Students Need to Become Strong Writers with Melanie Meehan and Maggie Beattie Roberts
- 329: Are You Falling for These 5 Writing Instruction Myths?
- 328: Small Group Behavior Management: What to Do With the Rest of Your Class
- 327: What Should the Rest of Your Class Do During Small Groups?
- 326: Making Small Group Instruction More Effective with Dr. Julia Lindsey
- 325: The Real Purpose of Small Group Instruction
- 323: Putting MTSS into Practice in Your Literacy Classroom
- 324: 6 Small Group Mistakes We Made as Classroom Teachers
- 131. The #1 Mistake Upper Elementary Writing Teachers Make
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