RULE #1: Writing is messy.

Unlike nice tidy worksheets, all the answers will not look the same.  Not all students will take the same amount of time or write the same amount.  Students can cross things out, draw big arrows to move things to other places, and write in the margins and between the lines.

RULE #2: Writing is a team sport.

Traditionally, there has been a big emphasis on letting the student write without teacher assistance.  Yet, in the real world, every book on the bookshelf has been changed and contributed-to by numerous editors, readers, and marketing specialists before it was published.  Although the original idea and the writing itself should be the child’s, it’s okay to suggest ideas to add to the story or ways to change a sentence or paragraph that will make the writing better.  The teacher and the child become partners in the writing process.

RULE #3: It’s okay to teach students to write according to a format.

Ninety percent of all professional writers write their books and stories using a format.  Writing with a format won’t stifle students’ creativity.  In fact, the format provides a feeling of safety.  Students won’t sit and stare at their paper and search for a starting place.

RULE #4: Whatever students write, it can’t be wrong!

The goal is to empower students.  Putting letter grades on students’ writing papers and covering them with red ink corrections sends the message that they are not good writers.   The result is that they will be afraid to take chances with their writing and it is through taking those chances that students grow to be better writers.

RULE #5: Always provide a prompt and/or a pre-writing activity.

Writing does not happen in a vacuum.  Students’ brains need to be engaged in the subject before they can write.  Teachers that hand students a piece of paper and say, “Write a story. You have half an hour,”  will have a classroom full of students who hate to write.

Rule# 6: Length does not always equal quality.

  One student may write an absolutely stunning composition that is only two paragraphs long.  That  composition may be much better than another student’s writing that is two pages long.  It’s okay to set target lengths for assignments and even to encourage students to write more.  The correct answer to “How much do I have to write?” is: “Until you are finished.”

Rule #7: Sometimes it’s okay to write garbage.

Expecting perfection in a single draft is not realistic, and it’s not conducive to the production of quality writing.  Imagine that you have to write an essay about teaching in order to keep your job.  Would you write it and turn in the first draft?  If a student thinks they have to write something perfectly the first time out, they will sit and stare at the blank piece of paper and nothing will ever get written.

Trying to formulate the perfect sentence or paragraph or scene before writing it is the number one cause of writers’ block (for both children and adults).  It is a fact that the act of moving the pencil on the paper actually starts the brain thinking.  Many published writers will either copy from a printed book or copy something they have already written until the new words and ideas take over.  Give your students permission to write garbage.

Rule #8:  Every student’s ideas are unique.   

Every child’s brain is unique.  Their experiences are unique.  They are capable of thinking thoughts that no one has thought before.  It is important that this message is shared with students over and over again.  Praise their writing.  Celebrate their wonderful ideas.  Make them believe the message.

Rule #9:  Spelling can wait.

Spelling is important and correct spelling should be encouraged.  It is important to explain to students that the reason they are writing is so that they can share their ideas with other people.  If their spelling is so bad that the person who is reading their work can’t understand what they have written, then they’ve wasted their time.

However, when students are writing rough drafts, getting good ideas down onto the paper must be the priority.  If a teacher requires correct spelling during the rough draft, the final piece of writing will not be the student’s best effort.  When a child must stop and look up a word in a dictionary or ask someone how to spell a word, they lose their train of thought and their writing momentum will slow to a standstill. 

Spelling is easy enough to correct during the editing phase.   Students’ spelling will improve throughout the year with a prolific amount of reading and writing and nothing else.  Specific ways to improve spelling are covered under the editing addendum at the back of this book. 

Rule #10:  Celebrate every word.

Praise students for their efforts.  Be amazed at their word choices.  Share great tidbits with the class at random times.  Let students know that their words are important and that their ideas count.  Tell them often that they are great writers.  Post their published works with flair.

Keep the first few writing assignments from the beginning of the year and then keep a few representative samples throughout the year.  It is important for students to self-evaluate the progress of their writing skills.  One of the best ways for them to do that is to look back periodically at those first pieces of writing.  Students are always amazed at how much they have grown as writers.