Quick+Writes


 * Quick Writes **  (A Writing Strategy)

“Quick Writes” are reflective activities that ask students to write responses in a prescribed amount of time. By simply getting their thoughts down in an informal way, they will further their comprehension of the current activity by being forced to summarize or ponder for more personal meanings, and they will become accustomed to writing regularly, hopefully becoming less apprehensive about it. “Quick Writes” can take on many forms, from journals and learning logs that students jot their general thoughts about readings in, to exit tickets that make students respond informally to a particular question or task. I would use both these forms regularly in my classroom; I feel that they get students in the habit of writing regularly, rather than just for major assignments, and they would allow me, as the teacher, a way to assess their writing regularly so that I can then conference with students to help them with their individual needs. Exit tickets would encourage students to pay attention daily, especially since they will know that they will have to actively do something at the end of each lesson, and with their journals, I’d write back to them, forging literacy communication, as well as relationships.

In a British Literature class, students can often feel bored when going through Shakespeare that they barely can understand. I would use exit tickets particularly during these periods, telling students things like, “Jot down the main events of what we read in class today,” and “Take on the role of either Romeo or Juliet, and tell me what your fears are at the moment, at this point in the play.” Journaling might also help while reading Shakespeare, so that when a student is thinking while reading //A Midsummer Night’s Dream//, “I have no idea what’s going on. There are so many characters, and the changing roles and switching is just really confusing,” I can start class the next day with a chart on the board that visually expresses who is who, who loves whom, and where the switches and unrequited love exist.

Beuhl, D. (2008). //Classroom Strategies for Interactive Learning// (3rd ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.