First Days of School Writing Prompts

Dear colleagues,

I came across this article from Jen Gonzalez recently where she makes the sound argument that asking students what they did over summer break can put students with sub-optimal summer vacations into a bad spot right out of the gate.

Instead of only asking about break, Jen advocates for asking questions like the ones below:

• What is something you’re looking forward to in the upcoming month?
  • Implies there are things worth looking forward to, sets student minds on the prospects of the future versus the past
• What is a goal you’ve set for yourself this school year?
  • Gets students defining success right out of the gate (Strategy #9 in The Will to Learn)
• What is something new you learned or experienced over the past few weeks or months?
  • Gets students reflecting on the past through the lens of learning (a version of Unpack Outcomes, Good or Bad — Strategy #8 in The Will to Learn)
• How are you different now than you were a year ago?
  • Similar to the above
• What was something memorable you did over the break?
  • Allows students the choice of sharing significant moments during their summer break

I can see using some or all of these during the first two weeks of school as provisional writing warm-ups. I'd likely give students 10-15 minutes to respond, encouraging them to write at least 250 words and push for as many words as they can.

• In the 24-25 school year, I pushed hard into provisional writing warm-ups in my general level classes and saw good growth in my students' writing capacities. Such writing also allows for lots of apologetic mini-sermon attempts regarding the Value of writing.

Having students responds to these kinds of prompts early in the school year does a lot in terms of student motivation.

• It signals that in this class we will do the hard and good work of writing. It is very important to get into the actual work of learning as quickly as possible in the school year. Writing on Day One sends a strong message.
• It signals that you are a teacher who cares to hear from your students. This helps with your Credibility. It also helps with Belonging, as any time you get students writing about their own experience or the things they value, you're tapping into the demonstrated power of Values Affirmation interventions.
• It gives you information into students that can inform your early attempted moments of genuine connection (MGCs). The key is to not let yourself get overwhelmed with all of the student submissions. Give yourself permission to read a few per class period per day in the first month of school and to connect with the students once you've read them.

Wanted to share in case it helps.

Teaching right beside you,

DSJR