Day 23: Using the Writing Process...Digitally

The iOS app called Book Creator (available in the Airwatch catalogue on the board iPads) is an extremely versatile tool that is suitable for students from Kindergarten to Grade 12!  It connects seamlessly with the Writing Process that teachers use with their students.  Here’s a sample lesson with a Grade 3 class as they explored procedural writing.

In keeping with the gradual release approach to balanced literacy, the teacher had already done some modelled and shared procedural writing with her class on chart paper.  The students had a fairly solid understanding of the format that would be used for their own writing.  

We reviewed the anchor charts and brainstormed a list of possible topics they could use for procedural writing.  Next, we did a quick overview of only the most basic features of Book Creator (see this video).  This gave the students some scaffolding without bogging them down with too many details.  

Off they went in pairs to create and discuss a plan for their collaborative procedural writing.  Once they had agreed upon a topic, they were given an iPad and set out to write their “draft”.  The students were engaged in the writing and needed only minimal support to expand their ideas digitally.  Once the ideas were flowing, students were challenged to change the size or colour of the font.  Some explored the ability to add video or audio to their writing.  

It was exciting to discover during the mini-lesson with the whole group, that the students understood the clear distinction between revising and editing.  They were reminded that in order to revise, they needed to re-read their work carefully. During this particular session, most had enough time to use the Speak Selection feature to be able to listen to their text a second time and ask themselves if it “made sense” and “sounded right”.  

During their next lesson, the students will be given more time to finish their writing and move on to the editing stage.  While thinking about whether their text “looks right” they will check for capitals, punctuation and spelling.  

Students will be directed back to their anchor chart to have an opportunity to make any further additions or modifications.  At this stage, self and peer feedback can be used to inspire the co-creation of success criteria to support further exploration of procedural writing. Another exciting feature that teachers can use in an innovative way is to give student feedback using an audio recording.  In this way, teachers add a temporary layer of feedback that is easily understood by the students and placed directly where it’s needed.

It was exciting to see how far some of the students were able to go during just one lesson. Imagine the growth that is sure to follow with more experience, additional feedback and evolving success criteria!  

Here’s one example of a first attempt at procedural writing in Book Creator:

Thanks to Mundy’s Bay Public School teacher Kim Rettinger and her Grade 3 students for learning and sharing with me.