Modelled and Shared Writing

Modelled and shared writing are aspects of the writing teaching sequence that we’re frequently asked about by teachers. In this short article we consider what these two approaches are and why they are such an important part of teaching children to write.

What is the difference between modelled and shared writing?

When we model writing we are writing to children. We write in front of them, and we talk about our writing to bring our thought processes out into the open. We hold the power of the pen, and the children watch and listen as we demonstrate the writing process.

When we undertake shared writing, we are writing with children. We still write live, but we ask them to offer their ideas. We write together and so relinquish some of our pen power to enable the children to shape the collaborative text.

Which order should I use modelled and shared writing in?

This is about knowing your class, knowing the content you are covering and then deciding which approach will serve them best. As a rule of thumb, when the children are new to the concept you are teaching, then modelled writing is probably best. When they have a little more experience or confidence, then shared writing will more likely serve them better. However, this is a rule of thumb. If you’ve been teaching a written concept or technique for a while, and your children are struggling, a 100% teacher modelled writing session may be exactly what they need.

Can I use a combination of modelled and share writing?

Of course you can. You might start your session modelling and end it with shared writing. But remember, you don’t have to. If your class need you to hold the pen and model to them, do it.

Why should I use modelled and shared writing?

Modelling in its broadest sense is one of the most powerful tools we have in our teacher toolkits. It’s the epitome of an expert showing a novice how to do something and thereby moving them towards expertise themselves. It also happens to be one of the best pedagogical approaches for teaching something conceptually difficult (which of course writing is). I have a slide I use in modelled and shared writing training that shows subtraction completed through decomposition. None of us would ever dream of teaching decomposition without modelling it first. It would be setting children up to fail. Modelled and shared writing are vital parts of teaching children how to write; we should use them.

Should I model live or display some text I wrote earlier?

Model live. I know lots of teachers find it tricky but it really does make the difference. If you display text you wrote earlier without physically writing in front of the children, you are in effect sharing a mentor (or model) text. Mentor texts are another of our vital writing teaching tools but we use them to anchor our unit of work rather than to demonstrate the physicality of writing.

Should I prepare my modelled or shared writing?

Yes. I always do - even the texts I’ve modelled and shared written with teachers in training many times over. Preparing my modelled and shared writing means that I think about shaping my text to meet the requirements of my unit of work, the objectives my class are working on, or the specific gaps I am trying to close. If I don’t plan for this, I can find myself talking about capital letters, full stops and commas regardless of the year group or focus.

My modelled texts tend not to change as I write them to my audience. My planned, shared texts do change. I accept the suggestions of my audience and find they are frequently better than the plans I had made. They are though, never wildly different to what I have planned. Why? Because I’ve planned the questions I’ll ask and focussed them on the objectives I’ve been covering through my shared writing.

Is modelled writing or shared writing better?

No. They’re both excellent approaches. Remember, modelled writing enables you to demonstrate expertise; shared writing enables children to show their growing expertise.

Do I always have to do modelled and shared writing with the whole class?

No. There’s nothing stopping you forming a group of children, say for support or challenge, and delivering a bespoke modelled or shared writing lesson for them. The challenge with this is managing the rest of the class. My advice is to give everyone else a relatively straightforward writing task to complete while you work with this group. Alternatively, if your school uses assemblies for interventions, consider building a group modelled and shared writing session into this part of the day.

Are there any shortcomings with modelled and shared writing?

Modelled writing can result in fidgety bottoms if not kept focussed and concise. The children have to maintain concentration on you, which for some of them is extremely challenging. The teacher holding the pen of power is also a long way from the children completing their own writing by themselves. You may find you need to take tiny steps through modelled writing, group modelled writing and shared writing before you expect quality independent writing by children.

Shared writing is better for including children more actively in the learning process. It enables you to build in partner talk, partner writing, use of mini whiteboards and children coming to the flipchart to write. This said, some children find it hard to switch their attention from you, to their partner, back to you and then to their own compositions. Shared writing also requires you to have flexibility. Your carefully planned text will need to be shaped by the children if they’re to feel that they have agency in the lessons. Equally, if your children don’t come up with the quality contributions you’re seeking, you need to adapt, shape and craft their responses on the spot to create a purposeful text.

Do you do training on modelled and shared writing?

Yes. We do staff meetings and training sessions on modelled and shared writing. We also build it into our training on the writing teaching sequence.

Can you recommend any further reading about modelled and shared writing?

Dancing with the Pen: The Learner as a Writer from the New Zealand Ministry of Education is an old but great read. This is where the idea of writing to, with and by children comes from.

Closing the Writing Gap by Alex Quigley is a great read. Alex Quigley is supremely skilled at taking wide ranging and complex educational issues and condensing them into effortlessly readable books. He uses the I do, we do, you do idea of gradual release when describing modelled and shared reading. This of course fits in with the to, with, by phrase from Dancing with the Pen.

Our 2013 blog post Modelled Writing is a quick and lighthearted look at the topic with a few additional ideas to those shared on this page.