What to Teach Outside the Writing Group

In the writing group, elements of good writing come up at random moments, depending on what you see in the writing that learners bring in. You can pick examples from the writing that focus on what learners need to learn at the moment, but often learners need more explicit teaching, and more focused practice.

I do this explicit teaching and practice outside the writing group, and then look for examples in the writing group of learners using what they have learned.

You may already use a textbook or a program that gives practice on structure and grammar. This can support the work you do in the writing program, and the writing program gives learners a reason and motivation for learning the material. Frequently such programs and texts ask learners to write a paragraph (or more) at the conclusion of a lesson. Those paragraphs can be brought to the writing group as ordinary pieces of writing. Texts for English language learners often ask for a paragraph or short essay at the end of a lesson or chapter. This work too can be brought to a writing group.

I focus on three things:

• end punctuation (i.e., periods, question marks, and exclamation marks)
• stages of the writing process
• proofreading

These three are the essentials to get the Never-Fail Method to work. There are some links to activities and posters for learners in the pages that follow.