Problems with the Results of a Writing Assignment? 

Do your writing prompts sometimes fall flat?

• All the responses sound the same. 
• Responses are shorter than you expected. 
• The content of the responses is limited.

The Solution Could Be Better Background Knowledge!

The cause is often that students just don’t have enough to say.  We all know about the importance of background knowledge in reading comprehension.  But background knowledge is also crucial to successful writing. Students can’t think and write deeply about a topic if they just don’t know enough about it.  

Suggestions for Building Background for Writing

• Spend enough time in the pre-writing stage.  This time is often used to help students organize their thoughts, often with a graphic organizer.  But what if students don’t have enough thoughts to organize?  You might need 2-3 days or more to develop student understanding, especially if the topic is rich or complex.
• Use multiple sources of information.  If you read an article, supplement it with a second article and/or an information dense video clip. 
• Focus on vocabulary, as well as on facts.  Students can add vocabulary words to their note-taking sheet, or you could post them on a chart that stays up for the duration of the writing project. Using precise words helps students process information more deeply and accurately. 
• Use note-taking sheets or organizers for students to take notes.  This helps them remember information and see connections between facts. 
• Connect reading and writing class.  This is a highly efficient and effective way to teach. For nonfiction writing: If you read about a topic in reading, supplement that information with other sources (see number 2), and then write about that topic in writing class.  If you use this approach, reading class becomes the prewriting stage of writing class.  
• For narrative writing, make a habit of quickly connecting the writer’s craft in reading class.  Comment on the choices an author makes to reinforce the idea that the writer is a real person trying to communicate their ideas to the reader.  Example comments:
  • “Did you notice how the writer used dialogue to start the story?  That’s a technique that you can use too!”
  • “Wow!  I loved the description in that sentence.  Let’s read it again to really enjoy it.  Descriptions like that help me picture what’s happening and make me more interested in the story. “ 

Suggestions for Using Video Clips as Text

If you use video clips as an additional “text” to help students build their background knowledge before writing informative or persuasive text, consider these guidelines: 

1. Limit the time of a clip to about 3 minutes for younger students, or up to about 5 minutes for middle school students. 
2. When you search for  information on any topic, include the words “for kids” to quickly find relevant and appropriate video clips.
3. Choose live action over animation, where possible. 
4. Be sure the video is information-dense, and that the information is accurate and relevant to the writing prompt.
5. Treat the video clip as another source of information. 
6. Consider:  a) Providing a note-taking sheet. b) Providing a graphic organizer.
7. Watch the video more than once if needed.  This is another good reason to keep it short.  Watch it once the whole way through.  Talk it over with students.  What did they learn?  Did they notice the section about ______?  What vocabulary did they hear about the topic? Then watch it again with pauses to help students catch up with notetaking.  
8. Teach students to reference a video source as they would printed material.

Written by Melody Deemer

Education World Contributor
Melody has spent 35 years in education as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, and teacher coach.  Melody is National Board Certified and a Maryland Master Teacher.

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