Interactive Writing: Lesson Plan

Hilary Dingman
EDUC 5413
Dr. Marcea Ingersoll
February 7th, 2018
 Dingman 2

Reading Reflection

In an interactive writing lesson, the teacher encourages students to come up and

contribute to a shared piece of writing. The key component of interactive writing is that “the

teacher shares pen,” and that the students do a large component of the writing themselves. With

this instructional method students are given an opportunity to advance their own writing, while

still having the constant support of their teacher. While in the younger grades this method is used

to show students the correct writing process, I saw the value in using this strategy to introduce

potentially a new form of writing; hence, I chose to create a letter with the students’ help.

Prior to conducting any of my own research, I initially believed that interactive writing

was only used younger grades; however, I have come to see its usefulness for the older grades as

well. For example, through my research I have learned that writing on the computer is an easy

way to make an interactive writing lesson more engaging for older grades. The students can type

off of the teacher’s computer, while the words are being displayed on the interactive whiteboard

for the rest of the class to see.

Lastly, I learned that it is important to thoughtfully plan out the questions that you plan to

ask the class during an interactive writing lesson. As teachers, we cannot anticipate the answers

that our students provide, or the type of writing that they will produce, but we can do our bests to

guide our students in the right direction by asking appropriate, thought provoking questions.
 Dingman 3

Date: Wednesday, February 7.

Topic: Interactive Writing.
Intended Grade: Four (4).
Length of Time: 35 minutes.

New Brunswick Math Curriculum Outcomes

GCO: 8. Students will be expected to use writing and other forms of representation to explore,
clarify, and reflect on their thoughts, feelings, experiences, and learnings; and to use their
imaginations.
SCO: Experiment with language, appropriate to audience, purpose, and form, that enhances
meaning and demonstrates imagination in writing and other ways of representing.

Learning Objectives:
I can…
• Identify my audience.
• Write with a purpose.
• Form an (apology) letter.
Materials:
Tools Location
Computer. On the teacher’s desk.
Interactive White Board. Set up at the front of the room.
Book: Treasure Island. On the teacher’s desk.
Writing Journals. On the white shelf at the back of the room.
Pencils. On the black trolley at the front of the room.
Interactive Writing Record(s). In the filing cabinet underneath the desk.

Before:
What the Teacher Will Do What the Students Will Do
• The teacher will activate the students’ • The students will activate their prior
prior knowledge. knowledge.

“As you know, we have been

reading Treasure Island as a
class.”

“Now what is something important “Jim abandoned Dr. Livesey.”

that happened in the previous
chapter?”
 Dingman 4

“You are right! Now while we

read this next chapter I want you
to think about how Jim might have
felt, after deserting his friend Dr.
Livesey.”

• The teacher will set a clear direction • The students will listen while the
and purpose for the lesson. teacher sets a clear direction and
purpose for the lesson.
“As a class we are going to
pretend to be Jim and will write a
letter of apology to Dr. Livesey.”

“We will explain our reasons for

leaving the blockhouse and will
inform him of what we have done
since our departure in order to
justify our decision to flea.”

“Before we start to read who “A letter needs a… (greeting,

remembers what a letter body, closing, signature).”
contains?”

“The letter also needs to contain a

clear voice (who is writing this
letter and who is it for).”

• The teacher will read Treasure Island

out loud, reminding students of the
certain details that they need to
include in their letter.

During:
What the Teacher Will Do What the Students Will Do
• The teacher will use the students’
input to co-construct a text.
• The teacher will question and prompt
students to explain their ideas and
form them into phrases or sentences.
• The teacher will share the pen with the
students.
• The teacher will use think alouds as
necessary.
 Dingman 5

“Who are we pretending to be “We are pretending to be Jim

while writing this letter?” when writing this letter.”

“Who is the letter for? Who is our “We are writing the letter to Dr.
audience?” Livesey.”

“How should we start the letter?” “How about ‘Dear. Dr. Livesey,’
for the greeting?”
“Does anyone have any ideas for
a greeting? Remember a greeting
is how we say hello.”

“For the body, what kinds of

things should we include?”

“What reasons did Jim have for

learning Dr. Livesey?”

“Is there anything Jim has done

since, to make it up to Dr.
Livesey?”

“What should we include in our

closing?”

“Remember our conclusions

briefly sums up our important
points.”

“What is the last thing our letter

needs?”

After:
What the Teacher Will Do What the Students Will Do
• The teacher will reread the text.
• The teacher will instruct the class to
read the letter together.

“Now that we have written out

letter to Dr. Livesey, lets read it
together.”

• The teacher will revisit the purpose of

the lesson.
 Dingman 6

“Can you tell from what we have

written, that this is a letter from
Jim to Dr. Livesey?”

“From our writing, is it clear why

we are writing this letter?”

• The teacher will engage the students in

a conversation about the text.

“What components of this written

piece make it clear that it is a
letter?”

• The teacher will allow the students to

practice what they have learned.

“In your own writing journal, I

would like to write a letter back to
Jim from the perspective of Dr.
Livesey.”

“Do not forget the structure of a

proper letter, and the voice that
you are trying to convey.”

“Keep in mind the person you are

embodying, and the audience that
you are writing for.”

“I will be circulating the room if

you need any help at all.”

Evaluation:
What the Teacher Will Do
Interactive Writing Record:
• The teacher will make note on the
students’ strengths and needs
following the interactive writing
lesson.
What the Students Will Do
Interactive Writing Record:
• The students will engage and
participate in the activity to the best of
their ability.
 Dingman 7

Differentiation:
What the Teacher Will Do What the Student Will Do
Verbal (contribution): Verbal (contribution):
• The teacher can allow students who • The students can share their ideas
do not yet feel comfortable in their verbally with the class.
writing abilities to share their ideas
verbally with the class.
• The teacher can write their ideas
down for them.

Visual (contribution):
• The teacher can allow students who
cannot write in English yet, to
illustrate their interactive writing
instead.
Visual (contribution):
• The students can illustrate their
interactive writing.

Small Group Instruction: Small Group Instruction:

• The teacher could be working with a • The students can work in a smaller
small group of students who are group with the teacher, in order to
struggling, while the rest of the class receive further instruction.
are writing independently
• The teacher will have a greater
opportunity to support the students, as
they will most likely feel more
comfortable in this setting.

Notes for Next Time:

Overall Comments Suggestions
 Dingman 8

Interactive Writing Record: Date: __________________

Name Observation Notes Needs Help With

Dingman 9
 Dingman 10

Resources:
Extending Interactive Writing Into Grades 2–5. (2016, September 30). Retrieved February 03,
2018, from http://www.readingrockets.org/article/extending-interactive-writing-grades-2-

Interactive Writing. (2017, August 23). Retrieved February 03, 2018, from
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/interactive-writing

Lynch, J., & Ferguson, K. (2017). Literacy: Reading, Writing, and Children's Literature,
Canadian Edition. Ontario: Oxford University Press.

Wall, H. (2008). Interactive Writing Beyond the Primary Grades. The Reading Teacher, 62(2),
149-152. doi:10.1598/rt.62.2.6