How Quickwrites Can Help Students

[Tracey Albee]

Reif,Linda. (2003) 100 Quickwrites: Fast and Effective Freewriting Exercises that Build Students' Confidence, Develop Their Fluency, and Bring Out the Writer in Every Student. Scholastic, Inc. New York.

 

I found this book on the Scholastic website and thought the title was interesting, so I bought it. As a writing teacher I always strive for my students to have confidence and fluency in their writing. I did quickwrites from time to time but didn't really have a purpose in them besides I wanted the students to write and I wasn't consistent in doing them in my classroom. After reading this book, I plan on implementing quickwrites in every class and every day. Quickwrites are a great way for students to get their thoughts down on paper in a short amount of time.

 

I really enjoyed reading this book because it breaks down what a quickwrite is, the benefits of quickwrites, and how to effectively teach a quickwrite. It provides several models of quickwrites that are valuable and meaningful to writers.  The benefits of quickwrites is what really caught my attention. Quickwrites bring out the writer, build students' confidence, develop fluency, bring out the reader, and help teachers grow as writers. As stated on page eight, "A quickwrite is a first draft response to a short piece of writing (usually no more than one page of poetry or prose, or a short picture book.) The process of a quickwrite helps writers come up with ideas and get words down on paper.

 

I plan on using this book in my classroom on a consistent basis. I love some of the models that are provided and really feel that they will help my students build their confidence and fluency in writing. I also think that the quickwrites can become complete essays or papers.

 

Some questions that arose when reading this book:

1. How can you use quickwrites in your classroom? It can be easy for English teachers but not so easy for teachers of other subjects. I am wondering how it can work in other classes. How can quickwrites be used to expand writing in your classroom?

 

2. How do quickwrites help students build confidence and develop fluency? I know what I read and from past experiences, but I am curious to know what you think.

[Laurel Topken]

Tracey,

I love using quick writes.  They help with discussing a new topic or an new writing genre.  I can see using them in other classes to get the students focused on the day's discussion/lesson.  Some teachers might even be able to use them in the beginning of class to judge the level of knowledge and then again at the end of class for a picture of the learning.  Quick writes could help a teacher know if they need to spend much time on a topic or if they need to go back to the topic again later.

 

When students can start putting on paper what they know or have learned, it helps them to see that they know or have learned more than they thought.  It also helps them to remember what they have learned.  I think that this is why writing across the curriculum is so important.  Writing sets in knowledge.  There is an analogy that I have seen in tutoring centers that I love.  It shows how writing helps with knowledge - Learn:read. Know: write.  Master: teach. (author unknown).

 

Laurel

[Sarah Flynn]

HI Tracey, I think that quickwrites could and should be used across subjects.  I was recently at a presentation with Kim and she gave the statistic that 80% of teacher questions are not text based.  As we move to the common core, students need to be responding to text using a variety of topics and genres and this can happen in all content areas.  This will also support the new writing test where students will be given a variety of items, not prompts, to respond to.  Sacred writing time would be a great opportunity for implementing this into any classroom. 

~Sarah

[Ashley Hennefer]

I think quickwrites would be excellent in other content areas. I consider myself a text-based learner and would have loved the chance to write about my thoughts during a math or science class. I think that it's up to the teacher to pick a prompt that applies to the lesson while still giving students a chance to reflect and process. They would give students a chance to ask questions that they may not have wanted to ask aloud, and would allow them to respond to the lesson as a whole in a meaningful way. By working through their thoughts, they have to use the vocabulary of the content area and determine for themselves what they may be struggling with.

[Leigh A. Rasmussen]

Hello Tracey,

I too feel that quick write could and should be used in all content areas. I can see a science teacher using a quick write to check for prior knowledge or stimulate a student to focus on a topic. I would like to see it combined with journal writing; students could use the quick write to start the journal entry. Sort of of pre and post writing. The Common Core standards encourage teachers to include writing across the curriculum. I believe quick writes  would be an effective way to get students started.Teachers could use a quick write as a formative assessment and they can be differentiated for all students.

[Lucy Elise Peters]

Tracy,

 Our discussion helpped me think about how I use Quick writes in our Foods and Culinary classroom.  Currently, I have a Sponge or summary opener to focus the students on the subject of the day.  This helps to bring another depth to the lesson and not allow it to just be about eating the recipe. 

As we were talking about, I am working with the culinary students to write better recipes and eventually a cookbook.  We may even include some of the early works on the family vacation recipes we have done this first week of school.  Often, students in my program are struggling writers or readers.  We hope to encourage them to write more in their lives or other academic subjects they take.  ( I have a great SPED aide helpping my this year, during Culinary.)  She is helpping the students who need extra focus to write as they can, and I grade according to their ability.  The whole class will contribute to the book and we hopfully will start a tradition at Spanish Spring HS. 

[Gia Maraccini]

Hey Tracey!

Quick writes have found their way into my classroom in past years, but not as often as I would like to see.  After reading your post, I started thinking about how I could use quick writes when working with our Ancient Civilizations curriculum.    Whether building background information or developing greater understanding for the non-fiction text that we are working with, I can see where this group of students I am working with would really benefit from quick writes.  I think it will take away some of the writing pressure that they have experienced in the past while also showing them that we write for several different purposes.  You really have my mind reeling about what that will look like in my class, on a day to day basis, but at this point I am thinking that sometimes is might be to activate what they already know on, let’s say, mummies.  Other times, when thinking about what Sarah posted, it might be responding to the I Can statement at the end of class.  We could even get creative and do quick writes from different people or places we are learning about.  For example, maybe they could be a mummy writing about what it was like when they were first discovered in their tomb. 

I think that any time a student puts pencil to paper, they build confidence as a writer and help build their writing fluency.  I also know that students need to write to become a better writer.  The ideas you have proposed could provide multiple writing experiences that won’t take hours to complete but will get students writing. 

Thanks for the motivating idea!!!

Gia

[Michelle Peirce]

Hi Tracey,

 

I've used them several different ways. In my reg. english classes I used them as sponges at the beginning of the period. I often found prompts on the Writingfix.com website under "Daily Prompts". In my intervention class, I would find short articles from the internet that I thought the students would have an opinion about. They would respond to the piece through class discussion and writing. They would read eachother's pieces and often add more to their writing afterwards. I found them to be very beneficial in developing fluency because the topics were chosen based on the relevancy to the students. I think that is key to build struggling writiers/readers confidence.

Thanks for sharing this book, I am going to pass it along to one of the teachers I am working with.

Michelle

 

[Gail Corthell]

Hi Tracey!

Each year, I use a quickwrite as an introduction to our writing journals.  I don't know if you have the same book that I do, but the quickwrite I like to begin with is the "Rambling Autobiography."  Because it is the beginning of the year, I love reading what the kids write; it is a great way to get to know them.  Next week, I'll challenge them to choose one sentence from their quickwrite and expand on it. 

 

I've found these to be great with the kids because they are "quick" (duh!) and so my reluctant writers don't feel intimidated by them.  As far as using them in other subjects, they can serve as an excellent way to review a lesson...either on the same day it is taught or as a warm-up before the next lesson.

 

Looking forward to seeing you on Friday!

 

Gail

[Lindsey Wells]

Hi Tracey,

 

I also use quickwrites in my classroom. I think I used to call them journals, then got rid of them for a while, and last year brought them back, but not as often. I love to get into student's minds and hear what they are thinking. It is especially great for those kids that don't usually volunteer or share in class. I use them for various reasons, sometimes to introduce a topic or story, or to simply hear the teenagers point of view on something. Sometimes I use them to access prior knowledge or to check for understanding, but other times I use them simply to get kids to writing at the beginning of class. I would love to see them used in other classes, but feel like it may take more work or creativity from a math teacher than english. It does lend itself to our discipline, but could be very valuable in other classes. Thanks for sharing, I will look into this book.

 

Lindsey