Engaging Students in Writing - Strategies to Increase Student Engagement

Middle School Café - Empowering Secondary ELA Teachers

In this episode, I explore the unique challenges of teaching writing to students who have returned to classrooms after learning online during the pandemic. I reflect on how online learning has affected their skill level and ability to write at grade-level expectations - recognizing that transitioning "back to normal" may not be enough for our current student population! It's essential that teachers strive towards a supportive environment so they can provide guidance while helping them reengage skills that may have suffered over the last few years.

I also share how you can break down a larger writing assignment into smaller pieces to make it more manageable for students. I took a beloved writing activity, Dinner Party, and share how we turned it into a whole class assignment - something more manageable for the students today. This activity is a great way to help students engage in writing while focusing on many different standards in a way they can handle this year.

Related blog posts:

Activities to Engage Students in Writing - https://elamatters.com/2023/03/14/8-activities-to-engage-students-in-writing/

Unlocking Students’ Creativity: Dinner Party Research Project - https://elamatters.com/2023/02/28/unlock-students-creativity-and-critical-thinking-skills-with-the-dinner-party-research-project/

Be sure to join the Secondary ELA Facebook group where we will be continuing the conversation on reengaging students in writing!

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