The Recipe For Reluctant Writers?

Since this is my first year of teaching, I am still learning on my feet so this revelation is extremely exciting to me.

Picture this: you just got through the best lesson in writing. Everybody knew what they were doing, everybody knew what they were going to write about, and everybody was off on their own with their pencils moving a mile a minute. Then, you look over to your side and you see a student who is twiddling their thumbs and clearly upset that they couldn’t think of something to write about.

What do you say to a student who is reluctant to write? How do you get them engaged? How do you get them excited?

I have dyslexia and ADHD — which is a combination for writing that is probably not the best. Actually, I know it’s not the best. When I was a kid and I had trouble writing, I would sketch. Right on my notebook — and it worked!

As I was sitting there sketching, which turned into be a full-blown story map, words started to flow from my pencil. This, to my surprise, worked for the student. I was ecstatic

At this stage of the game you’re really not looking for grammar, punctuation, and other small mechanics; that could all be taught. The mere fact that the student is able to put words to paper is a step in the right direction.

Next to mathematics, writing is one of the most important skills that you learn in school. Creativity cannot be taught, but unlocking that creativity can be.