How Do You Define 'Writing'? by Amy Spiker

I love encouraging students to think about their definition of “writing”.  I currently work with pre-service teachers and we discuss this in class often.  But, even when I was working with young elementary students I would talk with them about what it meant to be a writer and what writing looked like.  In schools we tend to value a written composition, using pencil and paper, with a clear and predictable structure.  My students, not surprisingly, also defined writing in this way.  I sought out ways to broaden their definition of writing.

The best success I had in this endeavor was to replace the standard state report with multi-genre projects.  Instead of providing a graphic organizer to create an informational report, I provided my students with a menu from which they had to choose at least five ways to display their learning.  This menu included choices like creating a comic strip, creating an acrostic poem, writing a rap, writing new lyrics to a well-known song, and scripting a podcast or news report.

Using multi-genre projects had so many benefits.  My students who usually left the room for special education support during writing could stay and be supported in a variety of text generating activities. My students demonstrated a much deeper understanding of their state’s unique facts.  Perhaps most importantly, my students’ definition of writing was broadened and they saw themselves as writers, some for the very first time.

I still utilize multi-genre projects with my pre-service teachers at the end of each semester.  They are engaged and motivated to display their learning and they see a model for teaching and assessing that they can utilize in their future classroom.  They learn that writing can take many forms and is ultimately about communicating meaning.  I hope that they will one day challenge their students to broaden the definition of  “writing” and create a community of writers.   



Amy Spiker is a Senior Lecturer in Elementary Education and a former elementary teacher.  She can be found on Twitter @abethspiker.  Her blog is located at wyomingwritingproject.blogspot.com.