As classrooms become more and more diverse, teachers are faced with the challenge of meeting the needs of all their students-both English-speaking students and English Language Learners. Teaching writing is especially challenging in these mixed-language classrooms. In this book, a national literacy leader offers a variety of techniques for teaching writing that will motivate all students, while also providing ELLs with the supports they need. The techniques include using patterns-song, rhymes, and playground games; short forms, such as slogans and mottos; frames for scaffolding standard writing forms like letters and invitations; and highly structured genres, such as fairy tales and legends. These engaging structured writing experiences will help all students develop the skills they need to write with confidence.
The idea behind using patterned writing (i.e. stores, poems, songs, playground games) to support ELLs is that literary patterns are easier for them to see, imitate, and remember than straight prose writing. The fundamental structure of patterned writing stands out because of its repetition. When particular words appear over and over, children remember them. Not only do ELLs readily add these words to their spoken vocabularies, they also remember their meanings, how they are used and, often, how they are spelled. When a pattern has rhyme and rhythm, too, the whole thing sticks in memory.
