Buzzing with Ms. B: Helping Struggling Writers Plan Without a Graphic Organizer

Saturday, December 28, 2019

Helping Struggling Writers Plan Without a Graphic Organizer

One of the first tools teachers turn to when they need to help their students plan their writing is a graphic organizer. But sometimes they can be overwhelming for some of our kids! This post and video demonstrate a strategy that is easy to use to help your kids organize their plan for writing and start getting some ideas on paper. It only requires a pencil and sticky notes and your kids will have a plan for personal narrative writing so they can move on in the writing process!

Tell me if you've seen this before:

You're working on personal narratives.

Your student has chosen an idea.
They can tell you all about it.
They give you some details - some relevant, some not.

Then you say, "Let's start planning our piece."
Maybe you give them a graphic organizer.
Maybe you don't.

Either way, nothing happens.
They just stare.
All those ideas they had? Gone, when they are faced by their nemesis: the blank page.

They're just stuck!
So how do you get them unstuck?

This easy, hands-on strategy is perfect for helping kids plan and get their ideas on paper, in a logical order.

All you need is a pencil and sticky notes! (You can try it, too - just follow along with the video and get planning!)

Check out the video below, and follow me on YouTube for more videos like this one!

I promise it'll get your kids organized and ready to draft.