Have you ever looked around your class after completing writing assessments and been overwhelmed by the range of abilities? I anticipated a wide range of writing abilities and I was right; the range was from pre-kindergarten levels to beyond grade 4. What to do? 🤔 Differentiated writing paper was certainly going to be a part of the answer.
Differentiating instruction is essential in every effective classroom, and definitely in early childhood education. Differentiated writing papers are a powerful strategy to meet diverse student needs.
Include the same prompt for all writers as it can contribute to the creation of an inclusive classroom environment. Simultaneously you are encouraging children to work at their own pace and developmental level.
Identifying Priorities in Writing Instruction
Of utmost importance, is the importance of students having enough time to learn to write well. The hope is that this will offset the impact of technology on the brain. The 2019 article in the Learning Difficulties of Australia Bulletin quoted research by James and Berninger and various studies quoted in this article :
- established how critical learning to form letters is to certain areas of brain development that support other areas of literacy.
- identified that neither typing nor tracing a letter recruits the letter perception or reading network.
- ito learn something we need to see it in various forms, which occurs when we practice letter formation by printing
- when we type or trace a letter the letters are too similar to activate the necessary networks of the brain
Simply put, our students need to have opportunities to practice authentic letter formation to properly support rich literacy networks in the brain. And differentiated writing papers are an important tool for providing that opportunity.
Providing the proper tools to students so they can learn to print or write is essential to learning letter formation.
Why Use Differentiated Writing Paper?
Differentiated writing prompts, or even just the paper, supports students at different levels of writing skills.
You may have one student, as I did, who was having a fantastic day when he formed his letters well and remembered his sounds. I also had an English Language Learner (ELL) student who was quite bright, but for a variety of reasons was still learning the alphabet.
Of course the pendulum of diversity in my class also included a student who was writing detailed compound sentences, using strong vocabulary with accurate spelling.
Differentiated writing paper provides an opportunity for each student to succeed at their own level without being either overwhelmed or frustrated with boredom.
Developmental Levels of Differentiated Writing Paper
Providing the right level of challenge for your students is easy with differentiated writing paper.
Paper Without Lines
The best fit for pre-writers and early writers, this level is intended to allow students to draw their story. As they progress students may learn to label the picture they create using the sounds that they know for “invented spelling”. According to Mackenzie and Veresov (2013) this is a natural step in the developmental process of writing.
Having access to many ways to express themselves is crucial in supporting young learners. Drawing their thoughts facilitates this process.
Wide Interlined Paper
Each year primary teachers in my area order little blue Hilroy writing books with dotted lines between writing lines. The wider lines also mean fewer lines which prevents overwhelm, and there is still room for a picture, of course.
Dotted lines provide students, at the early writing stage, parameters for their writing and letter formation. These parameters do support neater writing long term, and they also support:
- Fine motor skills
- Handwriting development
- Neural networks essential for all areas of literacy
There is lots of room for larger handwriting because between fine motor skill, hand-eye coordination, remembering sounds and letters, and trying to remember the story they are writing there is a lot going on.
Narrow Interlined Paper
The interline is still there, but there is less space between the upper and lower horizontal lines. This encourages more refined writing as students are developing better fine motor skills. Because there are more lines on the paper, teachers may request students do more writing, or even leave a line between lines to support legibility.
Students who have started to refine their handwriting are often encouraged by this paper, with more lines per page, to provide more detailed responses.
Narrow No Interline
Finally we arrive at the no interline paper. These students are fluent or almost fluent writers. There is a bit of a debate online as to the importance of narrow interlined paper.
This paper is definitely for students whose fine motor control is more developed, letter sounds are automatic. These students no longer need the support of wide spaces between lines, but they may still prefer the wide lines.
Of course, there are no hard and fast rules with differentiated writing papers. A picture can be drawn over lines, although the lines are a bit distracting. And it is difficult to hand a grade 4 students wide interlined paper and not feel inappropriate. Their lack of spelling skills may suggest that we do, but, in most cases, their fine motor skills and eye-hand coordination, never mind the peer pressure, would suggest no interlined paper is best.
How to Have Inclusive Differentiated Writing Centers
So, with the research supporting the importance of differentiated writing paper, what about differentiated writing centers? I still had a classroom full of students with different levels of writing engagement, and my students with poor engagement needed a bit of a booster.
Differentiation in the classroom is so much more than different levels of content, and to create inclusive writing centers I supported my students in a variety of ways.
We had a variety of tools that we used:
- Lego for making 3D models to get the creative juices flowing
- Word books to help students look up the spelling of words
- Revising and editing checklists to support student independence in reviewing their work
- Vocabulary charts
- Quiet desks to support focus
- Collaborative editing
And in addition to all of those we often used writing prompts. I was tentative with them at first, but then I learned what a powerful writing tool they can be.
Taking it One Step Further: Differentiated Writing Prompts to Support Inclusiveness
I did use differentiated writing prompts in the classroom, and I differentiated in multiple other ways as well. However, what I could not find was differentiated writing prompts. Or at least none that I wanted to use.
In my class we did both a Writing Workshop and Writer’s Workshop. Check out this blog to learn more about the difference. Students frequently had the opportunity to choose their own topic.
But there were also times when I wanted us all to write on the same topic, or times that I wanted to give students who need some support coming up with an idea a little nudge. For that I wanted the same prompt.
So inclusion and differentiation for me meant, differentiated writing paper, same prompt, same image on the page. When we wrote about gingerbread mean at Christmas we all wrote about gingerbread men. During the Great Bear Sea unit we all wrote about sea otters.
Differentiated writing prompts became my go to resource during this season.
The Power of Using Common Differentiated Writing Prompts
I refer to a common writing prompt on differentiated writing paper as a differentiated writing prompt.
Differentiated writing prompts have students writing about a common theme which supports both building community and inclusiveness.
Additional benefits include:
1) Differentiated Writing Prompts Create Shared Learning Experiences
Using the same prompt and image allows all students to have a foundation for sharing their ideas which promotes peer learning and collaboration. Vygotsky’s theory of social constructivism speaks to the importance of social interaction in cognitive development.
2) Make Challenges Accessible With Differentiated Writing Prompts
When we provide differentiated writing paper without the prompt, we make challenges more accessible for all students.. Students are less likely to feel left out or overwhelmed. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) advocates for providing multiple means of engagement and representation according to Hall, T.E., Meyer, A., & Rose, D.H., Eds. (2012). By providing the same prompt on differentiated writing paper, or differentiated writing prompts, we are supporting the principles of UDL.
3) Differentiated Writing Prompts Create Equity in Education
When students get to use the same prompt at a level that they can be successful at with their abilities you are promoting equity. When you do this you are meeting diverse learning needs and helping to close achievement gaps.
Research Supports Differentiated Writing Instruction
There is a whole lot of research out there on supporting students with their writing. The following are just a few examples, and they support both the use of differentiated writing paper and differentiated writing prompts.
Hall, T.E., Meyer, A., & Rose, D.H., Eds. (2012) emphasize the importance of multiple means of expression and engagement for students.
Structured and scaffolded writing activities enhance students’ writing development and confidence.
Differentiated writing instruction significantly improves writing skills in young learners. To differentiate properly teachers need to provide appropriate tools and challenges for supporting individual growth.
Both differentiated writing paper and differentiated writing prompts are appropriate tools for you to use in your writing block. They are not the only tools, but they are important tools.
Using Differentiated Writing Paper to Energize Young Writers
Differentiated writing paper with the same prompt will support the diverse needs of your students in a powerful way while simultaneously creating an inclusive classroom environment.
To take this approach is to respect individual development stages, provide appropriate challenges, and create a sense of community.
Evidence-based practices, like differentiated writing paper, effectively support the literacy development of all of your students. This will also, ultimately, lead to more effective and inclusive education practice.