Teaching writing to elementary age students is a challenging task for any classroom teacher, but the job becomes doubly daunting when the student population consists of English Language Learners who have not yet mastered the basic skills of listening, speaking, and reading.

For English learners to become successful users of the language, the ability to read independently and teacher read-alouds both contribute immeasurably to student success by building familiarity with sentence patterns and linguistic structures. However, good writing does not automatically follow from good reading. English language learners must receive explicit teacher modeling of grammar patterns and rules and at the same time be provided with multiple opportunities for meaningful written expression.

At Park View Elementary, in Simi Valley, CA, 65% of our 385 students are Hispanic, 30% are Caucasian, 51% are English Language Learners, 56% receive reading intervention services, and 73% receive Free and Reduced Lunch. In my class of twenty third-grade students, ten are English learners, and fourteen receive reading intervention. In addition, the school is entering its second year of Program Improvement, and as such, there is a heavy emphasis on specifically targeted skill instruction. Without question, in this data-driven setting, the teaching of writing requires effective teaching practices in general and effective ELD strategies in particular. These would, of course, include explicit vocabulary instruction, building background and making connections  (text-self), rich and engaging literature, visual aids and graphic organizers, teacher modeling and questioning, and the use of cooperative learning structures, such as “Think, Pair, Share,” ongoing peer-partnerships, and the opportunities for students to think orally and listen to each others’ thinking.       

In my experience, one very engaging and effective way of providing English learners with that very necessary explicit grammar instruction, coupled with authentic writing, is through the use of a sentence expansion activity called “Stretch It!” and a monthly free-write activity called “Squiggle Stories.”  Both activities are intrinsically motivating to all students regardless of language proficiency since, by their very nature, they offer choice to the student. Both also provide a bridge between the experience of reading, in which the student is exposed to sentence and story structures, and the practice of writing, wherein the student can create his or her own sentences and stories.

With the “Stretch It!” activity, students take simple sentences and expand them by adding adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases. The activity is best introduced to the whole class with a grid set up on the white board similar to the graphic organizer students will use later.  Using this framework allows the teacher to review parts of speech, help build vocabulary, discuss verb tense and conventions, and so on. In short, it provides an effective method for delivering grammar mini-lessons. Multiple examples can be brainstormed and modeled together before students work to create their own expanded sentences with graphic organizers, either in pairs or individually.

The teacher would begin by writing a simple sentence within the grid where each vertical column is labeled with one of the 5W’s (Who, What, When, Where, Why/How), then orally solicit and chart ways to stretch the sentence from student input. Students are extremely engaged and motivated by this activity. Excitement tends to build as they flex their creative muscles. Teachable moments often present themselves within the activity: run-on sentences sometimes become a problem for open discussion, and the use of prepositions and other parts of speech can be reviewed and reinforced, an often difficult concept for ELL students. Vivid word choice and strong verbs can be encouraged through the use of posted or personal word lists to which students can refer.

In addition, options for variation exist in ways to start the activity without using the 5W grid. Initial simple sentences can also be generated through the use of pictures or even by a physical action by a student or teacher.  Students would record their own initial simple sentence, and then be encouraged to create multiple “stretchings” of their simple sentence and/or to manipulate the order of their graphic organizer headings (the 5W’s) to create varied sentence structures. It’s a good idea to try at least a few of these possible variations so that students can have many opportunities for practice.  Time to share is mandatory, either within a small group and/or whole class so that others can hear the different ways students work with the same sentences.

“Squiggle Stories” also tend to generate excitement about writing as students again have the opportunity to be creative on their own terms. Each month they are given Squiggle Story writing paper (September Squiggle through June Squiggle) with a rectangular box at the top half of the page containing a short squiggly line. The first step is for students to draw and color a picture beginning from the line, then to write a story about their picture. On the surface, the Squiggle Story monthly writing activity might appear to be merely a free-write, but it provides much more. First, an English learner may very well lack real-life experiences from which to draw upon for writing topics, but by creating an illustration from imagination, the student has a self-generated topic.  Second, students are encouraged to expand and vary sentences in their story, thus linking the two activities and providing an authentic setting for the practice of creating rich sentences. Third, the student has an opportunity for feedback from peers and/or the teacher when it comes time to share by reading their stories aloud. The activity is open-ended enough to be adaptable to any grade level.

I usually ask a student to read their story to me first, and through our mini-conference, the student is generally able to spot errors and any necessary changes. However, I rarely request rewrites of the Squiggle Story; this is a regular piece of writing that I like to keep as a barometer of a student’s writing abilities over time. In fact, I believe a worthwhile research project may lie in the study of ELL student writing samples over time from both the “Stretch It!” and “Squiggle Story” activities to explore the effectiveness of various instructional and feedback techniques and track growth over time.

In the meantime, it is gratifying to know that in an elementary school classroom, when moans and groans are more normal than not at the mere utterance of the word “writing,” many students instead are clamoring for the chance to stretch sentences and write Squiggle Stories, just because it’s fun.