Supporting Middle School Students in Their Writing

Each year teaching academic writing brings new challenges, and I often find myself reflecting on the strategies that educators implement to make the writing process run more seamlessly in their classrooms. Over the years, I’ve gained knowledge from my colleagues, instructional coaches, and administrators that I use to support middle school students through the writing process.

Below are some ideas that have worked for me that you may find helpful.

Before writing

When planning lessons, consider what support you can offer students before they begin writing. Teaching students to break down the prompt using strategies like Form, Topic, Audience, and Purpose (the FTAP strategy) ensures that students understand their task and gives them clear focus and direction before they begin writing.

Another beneficial way to support students in their writing is by using a genre-based method of writing instruction—teaching students how to identify the characteristics and organizational patterns of the genre they’re writing in. For middle school educators, this may look like explaining the elements of the informative, narrative, and argumentative genres. You can expose students to these fundamentals by having them identify the elements when they’re reading mentor texts before writing independently. 

Before asking students to write, I always consider how I can chunk the writing process. For longer writing assignments, I first check in with students during the brainstorming process and ask how they are feeling about the larger writing task. Reflection questions give teachers an understanding of how students view the writing process. This knowledge helps new teachers know which students may benefit from small group instruction and which students may need extra encouragement on writing days. 

During writing

Conferencing with students is one of the best ways to ensure that you are supporting them as writers. You can have students sign up in slots based on their perceived need for guidance. You can also prioritize meeting with a group of students first, such as students who may struggle with task initiation. 

In middle school, students will often raise their hands during the writing process and ask for immediate feedback. While you’re conferencing with individual students, it can be beneficial to distribute ”Yes” or “No” cards to the other students to indicate if they need help, rather than raising their hands, which can be distracting during the writing process. The cards also let students know that it’s OK to continue working, even when they are unsure, and can help you acknowledge students’ need for help during the writing process, while still encouraging independent work. 

Hold students accountable for their work when they are writing by periodically asking them to turn and talk so that they’re reading their writing aloud with their peers. For example, if students are working on an argumentative writing piece, tell them they have three minutes to write their claim and two minutes to share. After the timer goes off, students can turn and talk to share their claim, which can be especially beneficial for middle school students who may struggle with where to start. Once they’ve shared, set the expectation for students to return to writing after hearing the timer’s signal.  

On writing days, you can also create a “Status of the Class” display. Set goals for the class period, and allow students to move their name when they complete one part of their writing. If the goal is to finish typing the body paragraphs of a writing assignment in one class period, students can move their name to indicate that they have gone on to the next step, which may be writing a conclusion paragraph. 

For writing assignments that may span multiple class periods, have students reflect at the end of each class. Ask, “What did you accomplish today?” and “What do you want to accomplish in the next class period?” Helping students reflect helps them realize their progress, and setting goals for the next class period gives students a clear starting point for the next class.

After Writing

Once students have finished their writing, ask them to color-code the elements of their work, especially if they’re typing responses. If they’re working on an argumentative essay, students can highlight their reasons, evidence, and explanations in three different colors. If one color is missing, students will notice that they need to revise before submitting. This process makes it easy for students to self-evaluate their work, and it makes it easier for teachers to grade student writing.

Class reflections can be a beneficial way to provide feedback while also celebrating students and their success. Creating a “Glows and Grows” display of the patterns in students’ writing can serve as the beginning of a mini-lesson that teachers create based on the needs of the writers in their class. By shouting out examples of strong writing to celebrate students and their work, teachers are also creating a positive community of writers. 

Finally, individual feedback can once again be helpful for students who have completed their writing. Allow time for students to ask questions and revise their writing based on the provided comments, so that they can apply the feedback they received to their writing piece. To help students grow as writers, teachers can ask students to set writing SMART goals based on this feedback in preparation for their next writing prompt. Over time, students will see that each writing assignment is an opportunity to grow as a writer.

Even though writing can be challenging for middle school students, it doesn’t have to be. Teachers play a critical role in building a community of writers in the classroom, and the support you provide to your students can help writing days run smoothly.