Yes, you read that right. Write the bike, not ride the bike. It makes no sense right now, but after this thought, you will understand how important it is to Write the Bike.
How do I put my thoughts down in a manner that is eloquent, coherent, with great grammar, correct conventions, and perfect punctuation?
For kids who are uncomfortable with any of those skills, it's no wonder why kids loathe writing. When I was a student, the fear of writing was actually greater than the task itself.
Writing a Paper is like Riding a Bike
I got my first bike when I was 5 years old. It was yellow with black stripes (can you see your first bike?) and most importantly it had training wheels. I can remember the comfort I had in those training wheels until the day my dad took them off. Both excitement and fear set in, but also support from my dad who stayed with me until I learned to ride on my own.
Later, I outgrew my first bike and had to get a new and bigger bike. By this time I also had tricks I could do on this bike. I was jumping off ramps, riding trails and hills, and challenging myself to do more on my bike. Along the way I picked up bumps, bruises, scrapes and scabs, but that didn't bother me. Failure was part of the process. I was riding my bike, getting better and more confident with it everyday, and that's all that really mattered.
Riding is Writing
In order to be an amazing writer, you must "write the bike" everyday. Writing is challenging at first until you develop a habit of writing everyday. If students have training wheels in their steps of writing, a teacher who will help them learn to write without training wheel, then bigger bikes with new tricks to try, students can learn to write the bike. Also, when students make mistakes, we can show them it's just like riding a bike. Sometimes you fall and get scrapes and bruises. Mistakes in writing happen, but we always get back up and keep 'Writing the Bike'.
Writing is a skill that can be developed in small bite-sized tasks. Everyday, your students can "write the bike" quickly by writing in the follow ways.
Tweet style responses
Note-taking
Answering in complete sentences,
Letter-writing
Journaling
Emails
Texts
DMs
Posts
Videos (speaking is writing)
As you begin the year, tell yourself and everyone you teach that they are a writer. They were born with thoughts, with speech and most importantly with a purpose. They were designed to share their purpose with others, and one of the best ways to share their purpose is through writing.
Love this analogy! Writing is hard for most students but the more they practice..the better they become.