My Experience Teaching Writing in High School

Teaching how to write is a challenging experience. When students are told they have to write about a specific topic, they usually feel unable to complete the task. They do not only find writing tiring but also a boring activity. So, how do I make my students feel comfortable and interested in a writing activity?

Here are some of the steps I followed to carry out a unit directed to improve students’ writing skills.

First, I planned a unit in which the topic as well as the contents enabled writing, because in order to write students needed something to write about. At the beginning of the unit I stated clearly that the main objective of the unit was to obtain a product. In this case it was a comic about careers.

Second, the activities planned for the unit involved the four skills: reading, listening, speaking and writing. We did not spend five lessons only writing. The three other skills were the bridge that led to writing.

Third, students began writing simple sentences, so they could feel comfortable with the task. Then I increased the difficulty level in each lesson until they started producing more complex sentences. I tried to make my students confident; they were capable of challenging themselves. In addition, the corrections made were meant to facilitate revision and edition by the students. I only pointed out where the mistakes were and gave them tips to correct them. Students were in charge of their own learning.

Finally, when students had to do their comics, they were encouraged to be as creative as possible. My students were able to write a comic about careers using the contents seen during the lessons and their previous knowledge. I realized that one unit is not enough to teach writing, but it is a first step to begin a very complex process that is writing.