Charleen Brantley

1st Grade Teacher

Samuel Adams Elementary School

SFL Writing: Steps to Success

The Challenge:

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First graders were having difficulties writing informational texts…

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So I researched more about SFL and brought strategies into my classroom.

What I Tried

I tried these things:

I started with a resource wall to support students. This wall includes

• the expected goal
• “Can do” statements specific to this genre
• Vocabulary that is relevant to writing in the genre

I tried these things:

I start a writing unit by launching with the whole group to ground the students in the routine and expectations.

I tried these things:

I make series of sources for students to use for doing research for writing reports.

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Resources for Writing Success

I expected that…

And what actually happened was…

• Students would write facts
• Students would be able to identify evidence from different sources

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• Students were more invested in writing
• Students enjoyed writing
• Students challenged themselves and their peers to use more specific and descriptive language
• Students became more independent researchers

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Key ingredients: what made this work?

# 1 Grounding myself in SFL and the Focus writing curriculum

#2 Creating a writing wall specific to the genre

#3 Creating a resource library with animal-specific slideshows, videos and books

#4 Providing incremental steps of complexity for students to use resources for writing

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