Building Our Writing Community by Angie Debertin

We are all writers. Some of us haven’t found our voice yet. One of our greatest roles as educators is to nurture the writers in our classrooms. This begins on the first day of school. We get to know each other. We share our stories. We build relationships. We learn to value each other.

On that first day, one of our important accomplishments is to create our Writer’s Notebook. Our writing needs a special place. We take the time to craft our notebook to reflect who we are. Then we do what writers do, we write. On the first day of school. Then we share. I share my missteps as a writer. By setting the stage early, we model the classroom culture. Yes, some students are hesitant. Over time, students realize that our classroom is a safe place.

Another priority is to co-construct quality writing criteria. We look at a variety of samples and decide what makes each quality writing. These are the students’ words as seen through their lenses. The student-created bulletin board showcases what we expect in our writing community throughout the year.

A crucial element that builds our writing community is the use of our own writing as mentor texts. Based on Lisa Eickholdt’s work in Learning from Classmates: Using Students’ Writing as Mentor Text, we showcase our work during mini-lessons. Every student has something to offer.

We also publish a lot of books! The ultimate validation as a writer is to see your book tucked into someone’s book box or shared during Author Day celebrations.

Every writer has unique needs. Our classroom recognizes this by encouraging the use of a Writer’s Makerspace, digital writing, audio recording, or writing outside. We meet the writers where they are. 

We are all writers sharing the journey.


Angie Debertin is a Grade 2 teacher in Centreville, New Brunswick in rural Canada. She has spent her career questioning and learning alongside her students, and instilling a belief that anything is possible. She brings projects to her classroom that bridges rural NB to the rest of the world such as Global Read Aloud, World Read Aloud Day, and Tomatosphere. Her passions include inspiring lifelong readers and writers, encouraging a love of science, using meaningful technology, and modeling lifelong learning. She can be found on Twitter @angie_debertin and tweeting with her students from @mrsdebertin