There are many ways to teach writing but one way that I really think provides enough structure for beginning and developing writers is guided writing.
Give students a text with words missing (usually nouns). In groups or pairs, they can complete the text together, guessing the words to be filled in. Better yet, if the story has some context or theme.
If the students are low level, provide a word bank, so they just have to choose words. Higher-level students can do it without a word bank. Check against the teacher’s copy but remember – there is no ONE correct answer!
A way to make this even better is to give the students a nice “frame” with the guided writing passage so they can draw a picture with their writing (drawing really helps the acquisition of vocabulary and it makes it easier to share with other students who can then read the writing with more understanding).
Here are some examples of many such guided writing passages.
