What is a reluctant writer? It is a student who, for whatever reason, is hesitant to write. Every year, we all have had at least one student, if not more, who disliked or had trouble writing. Read on for some strategies to get even your most reluctant writer writing!

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Reluctant Writer Strategy #1: Talk

In my experience, reluctant writers aren’t usually reluctant talkers. When giving students a writing task in your classroom, give them time to talk about it first. They can talk to a partner, to themselves, to a stuffed animal, or to you. Sometimes, allowing students to hear what others are planning can help give them direction.
If you have a small group of reluctant writers, call them to talk to you. You can gently nudge them in the right direction or give them some ideas for writing topics and let them choose. Sometimes, it is just getting started that they have trouble with.
#2 Tech

One thing that I used effectively with my reluctant writers was a speech-to-text extension. Google Docs has a speech-to-text feature. It does take a little practice, but once a student masters it, it is a very useful way for students to get their thoughts on paper. Here are some technical details if you want to try it with your reluctant writer.
- You need the Google Chrome Web Browser and a microphone
- Once you are in a Google Doc, click on the “tools” tab and click on the microphone icon (Voice Typing).
- Click on the microphone and start speaking. The microphone will turn red when it is ready. To stop it, click on the microphone again.
- You can use voice commands, such as “period” for a period and “bold” to make the text bold.
- Students will need to speak slowly and clearly for the best results.
If you want students to practice their handwriting and build up their small muscles, you can have them copy part or all of what they wrote in their Google Docs using the text-to-speech feature. Or, print it out and have them do illustrations for their writing.
#3 Pictures

Kids love looking at silly pictures! That is half of what is on the internet right now! Capitalize on this and use images to help spark writing ideas. Google “Silly Pictures for Kids” or “Silly Pictures for Kids Writing Prompts,” and you will find a ton of pictures (some free, some paid) that you can use with your students to spark ideas!
You could also try these super fun Pick-A-Prompts. Students choose from a few characters, they can choose a setting, and they can choose a picture for a plot (it can be either the problem or the solution). They choose a picture from each category and then write the story! The best part is, they write their story right on the paper with the pictures. Plus, the pictures are all labeled, so there is also some spelling support there! Win-win-win!
Reluctant Writer Strategy #4: Choices

Sometimes, students need to change something to enable them to write. Everyone loves choices. Give your students a few. Here are things that may help reluctant writers to write:
- Writing Paper: Let students choose what they want to write on, plain, with lines, with primary lines. Offer choices in your writing paper. You could even try offering graph paper or colored paper.
- Writing Spot: Let students choose where to sit in your classroom. Maybe they write best under their desk, beside a friend, or at their desk with noise-canceling headphones.
- Writing Implement: Most students write using pencils. You could let them choose what they want to write with. Maybe colored pencils, pens, or markers would be some incentive for students to do more writing. Have special “magic pencils” that students only use during writing time.
- Topic: Maybe students need a choice of topic. You always write better what you know, so letting students choose their Topics can be empowering.
Giving students choices and teaching them how to make good choices can help a reluctant writer become more excited about writing! Adding these fun items (Amazon Affiliate link) to your classroom writing center will make it even more fun and inviting!
#5: Spelling Support

Some reluctant writers HAVE to spell things correctly. One idea is to ask the class if they know of any words that they will want to use today and they don’t know how to spell. Make a list on the whiteboard or another place students can see. Read the list then send everyone on their way to write.
You could do this with individual students as well. If a student needs help with a word, have them write their best guess at how to spell it on a sticky note. Then, they can put it on the corner of their desk or in a designated spot. When you have time, write the correct spelling on the sticky note and return it to the student.
Have a spelling dictionary for each student. We used our Spelling Dictionaries ALL THE TIME! Teaching your students how to effectively use their spelling dictionaries at the beginning of the school year and then referring to them often is a great way for students to write more independently. If a student asks you to spell a word, spell it directly in their spelling dictionary. These spelling dictionaries often went on to the next grade with the students as they were so helpful to the students in their writing!
Reluctant Writer Strategy #6: Graphic Organizers

Sometimes, your students are reluctant writers because they don’t know how to get started. Using a graphic organizer is a low-stakes way to get some thoughts down on paper and get organized. Graphic organizers help your students visualize their ideas and see connections between their ideas.
Graphic organizers are perfect when expecting a specific type of writing, like Procedural (How-To) Writing or Opinion Writing. Model for your students exactly how to fill it out, and leave your example up so your students can see it. Graphic organizers are perfect for small writing groups as well.
#7 Student Showcase

Showcase your students’ writing in your classroom with a special “writer’s display” or Showcase Spot. We had a bulletin board strip above our lockers when I was still in the classroom. We would hang our writing, fun projects, etc., to show off our fun stuff to the rest of the school. Students were very excited to display their work.
Another idea for a Showcase Spot is to hang (glue, double-sided tape) a clipboard on a bulletin board for each student in your class. Then, when they have some great writing to display, you can clip it to their clipboard to show off to the class. Reluctant writers like to show their work off as well!
Author’s Chair is always a fun way to share writing. At the end of our writing time every day, some students had the opportunity to share their writing. I would choose sticks with students’ numbers on them. Students could choose to share or not. If they didn’t share, I collected their writing for the day to check in and see how their writing was going. It was a good way for me to keep up with what and how students were doing with our writing assignments.
#8 Model, Model, Model

Show them what you want them to do! I used to joke that this was the only modeling job I could get. Show your students how you would work on the writing assignment.
A wise teacher once told me to write about things with my students that they couldn’t yet do or relate to, like driving. I would always write about doing laundry. That way the students couldn’t just copy what I had written.
Using a whiteboard or document camera, show your students how you choose a topic to write about, how you fill in the graphic organizer, and what you think as you draw your image to accompany your writing. SHOW THEM how to do what you ask, then leave yours up for them to refer to.
#9 Writing Conferences / Small Groups

One of my favorite strategies for assisting reluctant writers was individual writing conferences or small group conferences. I could tailor that time to work specifically with those reluctant writers. I always started with them to hopefully get some traction in their writing. I could give those students individual goals for their writing time and keep track of their progress.
One year, I had a student who was a super reluctant writer. He needed someone to sit with him in order to get any writing done. He sat beside me on the floor with his writing stuff and noise-canceling headphones. I did all of my writing conferences and small groups at the table. That way, I was right there to help encourage him.
#10 Writing Games / Sticker Stories

Make it fun! Play some writing games with your reluctant writers!
- Writing Prompt Cootie Catchers: Show students the cootie catcher and let someone choose a setting. Move the cootie catcher and let a student choose a character. Move the cootie catcher and have another student choose a character. Lift the character to see the plot (problem or solution). Write the story using the student’s choices.
- Pass the story: Start a story at the top of a piece of paper. Hand the paper to a student. They add a word or sentence to the story and pass it to the next student. Read the story aloud at the end!
- Mystery Bag: Fill a paper bag with random objects. Have students pull a few items out of the bag and write about them. This works well with small toys and erasers.
- Word Banks: Have students choose a word bank and use words from the bank to write their stories. This could also be done with spelling words.
- Sticker Stories: Sticker Stories were a favorite in my room. Students were given a piece of paper with a drawing box at the top and a few stickers. They drew a background, added the stickers, and then wrote the story! You could also use these fun sticker stories that already have the background.
- Spin or Roll a Story: Students use a spinner or dice to choose what to write and what to write about! Easy and fun way to get them writing!
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Thanks for reading! Happy Teaching,
