Introduction to Drafting
What is Drafting?
• Drafting is the second phase of the writing
process, after prewriting and before
reviewing.
• It is the time when students translate their
plans and ideas into more coherent text.
Key Elements of Drafting
• Students expand upon, clarify, and modify
their plans and ideas.
• Students organize their content into a
meaningful sequence.
• Students use an iterative process—
drafting and redrafting text—over time.
How Does Drafting Help Students?
• Helps students turn their initial ideas into
longer, more skillful pieces of writing.
• Gives them a chance to modify their
prewriting decisions.
Discussion Questions 1
1. What are the biggest challenges your
struggling writers face in moving from
prewriting to drafting?
2. How do you guide struggling writers through
the drafting and redrafting process?
3. What modifications do you want your
students to be making to their drafts (e.g.,
more details, better word choices, improved
sequence of ideas)?
How Can I Support Students
Before, During, and After Drafting?
Use of Evidence-Based Writing
Process Practices
• Provide students with direct instruction
• Help students write for a variety of
purposes
• Engage students in ongoing assessment
Differentiated Instruction
• Plan instruction that considers students'
readiness, learning needs, and interests.
• Use a range of technology tools to:
– engage learners at varying levels
– engage learners in multiple ways.
– offer students options for demonstrating
understanding and mastery
Teacher-Dependent
Ways to Differentiate
• By Content
– Different levels of reading or resource materials, reading
buddies, small group instruction, curriculum compacting, multilevel computer programs and Web Quests, audio materials, etc.
• By Product
– Activity choice boards, tiered activities, multi-level learning
center tasks, similar readiness groups, choice in group work,
varied journal prompts, mixed readiness groups with targeted
roles for students, etc.
• By Process
– Tiered products, students choose mode of presentation to
demonstrate learning, independent study, varied rubrics,
mentorships, interest-based investigations
Student-Dependent
Ways to Differentiate
• By Readiness
– Options in content, topic, or theme, options in the
tools needed for production, options in methods for
engagement
• By Profile
– Consideration of gender, culture, learning styles,
strengths, and weaknesses
• By Interests
– Identification of background knowledge/gaps in
learning, vary amount of direct instruction, and
practice, pace of instruction, complexity of activities,
and exploration of a topic
Discussion Questions 2
1. What roles do genre and student
motivation play in engaging students in
the drafting process?
2. Which technology tools can support
students as they redraft their work?
3. What could go into a checklist for
drafting?
Integrate Online and Offline Tools
into the Drafting Process
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Manipulatives
Interactive whiteboard
Web-based applets
Math drawing tools
Calculators
3D design software
Graphing and charting software
Encourage Use of Valuable Word
Processing Features
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Highlighting
Underlining
Comments
Track changes
Graphics
Text-to-speech
Color coding
Font size
Before Drafting: Possible
Strategies
• Provide students with direct instruction
– Provide and model use of sentence frames—from
simple to complex—to guide student writing.
• Help students write for a variety of purposes
– Model how to take two basic (kernel) sentences and
combine them into a single, more complex sentence.
• Engage students in ongoing assessment
– Use sticky notes to point out to students where their
texts can benefit from further drafting.
During Drafting: Possible
Strategies
• Provide students with direct instruction
– Meet with students individually to help them
brainstorm ways to solve problems in their drafts.
• Help students write for a variety of purposes
– Focus on which details to keep and to cut based on
purpose, audience, and format.
• Engage students in ongoing assessment
– Show students how to assess strengths and
weaknesses of their own by exposing them to strong
exemplars.
After Drafting:
Possible Strategies
• Provide students with direct instruction
– Teach students how to use word processor features
that support writing (e.g. spell checker, thesaurus,
text-to-speech)
• Help students write for a variety of purposes
– Model for students how to use genre-specific
checklists to assess writing.
• Engage students in ongoing assessment
– Within their writing portfolios, have students compare
drafts to prewriting plans.
Discussion Questions 3
1. What kinds of materials do you use to
model how to draft and redraft?
2. What classroom management strategies
do you use to carve out time to meet with
students privately?
3. What could go into a checklist for
drafting?
Disclaimer
Awarded through a cooperative agreement from the U.S. Department of
education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), Grant
#H327G090004-10, PowerUp What Works was developed by a team of
experts in education, technology, differentiated instruction/UDL, and
special education at the Center for Technology Implementation,
operated by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) in collaboration
with the Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) and the Center for
Applied Special Technology (CAST).
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