The "writing process" that is taught in the Riverview School District is the method that "real" authors use in professional work. It is a method to help guide a writer through steps towards a quality, finished piece of work. It is used in all elementary grades through high school. It only varies in depth according to the developmental level of the individual author. Even "pre-writers" can help brainstorm for a class composition.

PRE-WRITE Every project requires some sort of pre-write. The type of pre-write is dictated by the nature and purpose of the finished writing.

***Webbing-- A web can be many forms but generally it is a circle containing a theme. Lines radiate from it to hold brainstormed word and ideas supporting the theme. Webs are very helpful for students who have random ideas and don't know where to start.

***Notetaking-- Notetaking requires the student to use comprehension skills. Students read short selections of non-fiction and write phrases or words that would be helpful to guide their writing . Caution must be taken that the student does not write whole passages or copy word for word. It is essential that the student understands what they are reading and writing. Sometimes vocabulary words need to be looked up in the dictionary and discussed with an adult. Notes can also be taken during an interview or film or TV show. In these cases, the students must practice good listening skills instead of reading skills.

***Story planners-- Before writing a fiction story, the students must decide what kind of fiction it is to be, whether it is adventure, mystery, etc. Decisions about characters need to be detailed. What are their personalities as well as physical traits? A setting needs to be described. Then the students needs do a skeleton outline the plot.

Draft Students draft their work by referring to their pre-write with the mind set that it is a first draft and will be altered. Therefore, I recommend double spacing.

Revising Students revise for content. They focus on making improvements in ideas, word choice, organization, voice, and sentence fluency.

Editing Students correct for conventions of Capitols, Punctuation, and Spelling.

Publishing can take the form of typing or hand writing or publishing on the web. Illustration of course are important also and need to include a great detail.