Using Writing in Class

Much instruction is devoted to helping students write better; however, writing is a powerful learning tool, and content area teachers can help students master the techniques of "writing to learn."

The phrase "writing to learn" suggests a host of practices, most of that involve expressive writing. Expressive writing, as defined by James Britton, is writing that is personal, close to the self. It is almost like thought made visible, and is close to notions like "inner speech" and "writer-based prose." When writing expressively, students are concerned with getting it out and getting it down, rather than with writing to please the teacher. Although expressive writing is not the whole of writing instruction, in content classes it can be a powerful tool for students who need to internalize content and to discover a relationship between school content and their own knowledge.

Teachers who use "writing to learn" provide students with frequent opportunities to write expressively in order to wrestle with classroom content. They may require students to keep a content journal where they will be able to write/think freely, without concern about their prose being marked for errors. Teachers might stop a discussion after an important point has been reached, asking their students to write for five minutes in their journals in order to clarify the points just made. At the end of a class period, students may write questions lingering in their minds. The teacher can then begin the next class period by addressing those questions. Students might conduct long-term observations of some phenomenon through the journal. They might respond to challenging "prompts" prepared by the teacher. In their journals, students can take risks they would never take in writing to be corrected.

Research on teaching writing in science class provides teachers with additional practical suggestions that have been used with some success. Teachers should frequently include experiences that allow students to write descriptions about what they observe, what they do, and how they interpret their observations as well as what they have read and discussed. Students need to revise drafts of their work focusing on coherence and clarity of expression. They should be encouraged to read their papers aloud to themselves or to peers during the revision process. Students should receive much feedback on their writing from both teachers and peers.