What is Interactive Writing?

As you may know, interactive writing is a shared writing experience between students and their teacher. It usually includes a familiar read and students' input about the writing. It also includes a discussion about different writing strategies and components. It's ideal for differentiation because the teacher can select the student and the capacity that they will contribute to the lesson.  In my experience, this is how most teachers use interactive writing- as a whole group experience.

BUT did you know it can be used as a small group intervention as well? Interactive writing is actually one of my favorite interventions to use with my lowest students. I am currently using it with 2 of my intervention groups who are struggling with letter and sound ID. I know what you're thinking.. how is interactive writing helping you with your intervention students? The truth is that using it as an intervention looks a little different in a small group setting than it does as a whole group. Have no fear though..I will be breaking down the components of Interactive Writing throughout the post. 

Why do I need Interactive Writing in my classroom?

Research has shown that when students receive writing instruction, their reading fluency and comprehension improve. Reading isn't one set skill for students to learn. There are so many pieces incorporated in the realm of literacy that it's impossible to teach one piece of it without it affecting the others. What we do know is that reading and writing go hand in hand. Using interactive writing as an intervention allows you as a teacher to teach phonemic awareness, phonics skills, writing strategies, letters and word patterns and early concepts about print. I can tell what you're thinking after reading that all encompassing list– But how do I fit it all in? I don't have time to teach an hour long small group that targets only 2-4 of my students at a time.. That is the beauty of using interactive writing as an intervention, you don't have to.. These skills are broken up into 2 days' lessons each lasting 20 minutes. 

Components of Interactive Writing:

Now that you're slightly intrigued by the idea of using interactive writing as a small group intervention, it's time to give you the components of the lessons. I will include a lesson planning template that will make it super easy for you to plan out your interactive writing lesson plans. It will also help you see the flow of a lesson. You can find the template here.

Day 1 Components:

  • Familiar Text- Depending on the level of readers you are using this for it can be as easy as using a familiar poem or nursery rhyme. (These are usually my two picks because it flows nicely into the next component.) You can also use a guided reading book you have used or a short mentor text you have used previously in a writing lesson. Students do not need to be able to read the text themselves. Often times, I am reading it to them or they are choral reading it with me. 
  • Phonological/Phonemic Awareness- My tip for phonemic awareness activities is that it should be something they can do quickly and verbally. Here are a list of options to use during this part of the lesson:
    1. clapping syllables
    2. onset-rime/rhyming
    3. isolating/identifying/categorizing phonemes (beginning, medial and end)
    4. blending phonemes
    5. segmenting phonemes
    6. manipulating phonemes (deletion, addition, substitution)
  • Shared Reading of the ABC Chart-This is the simplest part of the lesson but so powerful. It's as easy as the title makes it seem. Each kiddo gets an alphabet chart like the one below. *Shout out to Tara West for creating this amazing and FREE resource!*  Students point to and read each letter and the sound it makes. In my room we use our phonics curriculum's chart so students have a whole saying for each letter “short a, ant on apple a.” You can change it up and only read the vowels, consonants, every other letter, etc. to keep your students engaged with it. 
  • Phonics- This will also look different depending on the level of your readers. This could include letter learning or word work. I use a lot of magnetic letters during this time. Here is a list of focus areas:
    1. ​​​letter learning:
      1. ​​path of movement
      2. sorts
      3. letter books
      4. identifying letter names fluently
      5. identifying letter sounds fluently
      6. writes letters fluently
    2. ​word work:
      1. ​​students' names
      2. grade level high frequency words (sight words)
      3. VC/CVC words
      4. short vowel words with blends and digraphs
      5. long vowel/cvce words
      6. inflectional endings 
  • ​​Orientation to New Text- This is usually a nursery rhyme, poem, song, big book or read aloud text. This is also a time you can focus on comprehension by asking question before, after and during reading. 

​I know this seems like a lot but most of these activities will not take a lot of time. This is what your whole first day would look like. It should take you about 20 minutes. 

Day two looks vastly different from day one. I always have their ABC charts available to them for the second day's lesson because this is where you will be writing about the previous day's new text. Here are the components of the second day:

  • Early Concepts About Print (CAP)- This is when you will review one of the early “CAP” skills that students need to develop. Here is a list of what to focus on. (Only choose 1 per lesson and it may be something you focus on for multiple lessons)
    1. where the text begins and ends
    2. L to R with return sweep
    3. 1:1 matching
    4. concept of letter/word
    5. spacing
    6. punctuation
  • ​Fluent Writing- Students will need whiteboards and markers for this. You will give them a letter or word and they will write it as quickly as they can. You will write it on your own board and show them. If they need to, have them fix it. They should write it multiple times if they struggle with it the first time.
  • Discussion- This is when you will begin discussing the new text you read the day before. Help students engage in a meaningful conversation about the text. 
  • Create a group message about the text that you are going to write together. You may have to ask questions to prompt this. 
  • During the co-construction of the message, have students “share” the pen with you. Allow them to help write the beginning sound of a word or the whole word if they are capable. You can also focus on these topics when they arise:
    1. letter patterns/sounds, and/or words to teach
    2. writing strategies such as rereading to think about the next word, rereading to check for meaning, or saying words slowly to write the letters that make those sounds.
  • Now it's time for students to write independently. Briefly chat with each student about what they are going to write about. Help them generate their sentence and then allow them to write it independently. When they are done, encourage them to use a writing checklist tailor made to the skills you want them to be working on. 

What does this look like in the classroom?

This is easily something that you can commit to during your guided reading time. If you have more than 2-4 students that need this intervention, DO NOT put them all together in one group. You are much more effective teaching the lesson to more than one group than to overload your one group. While they are writing, individually conference with each student. 

If at any point you are struggling to fit a lesson in to your 20 minute window- have no fear, it's okay to extend that lesson until the next day. Your students will see much more success from having meaningful lessons that span more than one day vs. rushing through it just to get it done. 

Thank you so much for sticking with me through this ridiculously long post! I promise that this process is worth it and that you will see huge growth in your students abilities in all areas of literacy. If you have any questions about interactive writing don't hesitate to ask me in  the comments, through my contact me page, Instagram or Facebook!