Chapter 5 - Do More Shared Writing

The light bulb turned on for me when Routman described shared writing. Of course we should have shared writing! We have shared reading, so why not shared writing? I'm embarrassed to admit that after all these years in education, I hadn't connected shared writing. And yet, I've done a lot of shared writing - - - but not to the extent Routman describes.

I read this chapter, and I did a shared writing activity with my students the next day. I was pleased with what my students produced. Their writing was more precise and meaningful, students were able to begin writing more quickly (less pre-write, writer's block time, etc.), and I saw students referring to the shared writing sample for clarification rather than asking me. Overall, this shared writing activity was well worth the effort and time, and I anticipate shared writing will become a mainstay in our classroom.

I especially liked the section titled, Keep the Major Focus on Content (pp. 91), specifically her statement that "You can't work on everything at once, so save your energy - and the students' as well - and focus on writing a meaningful, interesting message." (pp. 91) If we can help students focus on a meaningful topic, one that's engaging to them as writers, we've won half the battle! Think about how difficult it is for us as adults to write about something that doesn't really interest us! Our "detachment" from the topic becomes evident in our writing, just as it does in our students' writing.

To me, the essence of shared writing is supporting the writer, and this chapter has ideas galore!