What is "Everybody Writes"?
Everybody Writes is a technique in which a teacher poses a question to the class and all the students take a few minutes to write down their answer. While the students are writing, the teacher will circulate the room looking over their shoulders at their answers. After around two or three minutes, the teacher will call on students to share their answer and the class will discuss the posed question. The key idea of this strategy is that it gives students the opportunity to thoroughly think about the answer in writing before they share and discuss their ideas with the class.
Everybody Writes is a technique in which a teacher poses a question to the class and all the students take a few minutes to write down their answer. While the students are writing, the teacher will circulate the room looking over their shoulders at their answers. After around two or three minutes, the teacher will call on students to share their answer and the class will discuss the posed question. The key idea of this strategy is that it gives students the opportunity to thoroughly think about the answer in writing before they share and discuss their ideas with the class.
Why is it Effective?
Everybody Writes is an effective strategy because of wait time (the about of time that elapses between when the question is asked and when the answer is told). The average wait time is three to five seconds. This is not enough time for the brain to think deeply about all the possible outcomes and answers. Everybody Writes allows students to take a few moments to think about the answer and write it down. This also helps with children not being as afraid to be called on because they have had a lot of time to think about their answer. This technique increases participation also because of having time to think. By writing down their answers, students are practicing their writing skills. Students are also more likely to remember the information when they write it down. This answer could also increase student’s self-efficacy (feelings of effectiveness for a certain task) towards answering questions in class.
Everybody Writes is an effective strategy because of wait time (the about of time that elapses between when the question is asked and when the answer is told). The average wait time is three to five seconds. This is not enough time for the brain to think deeply about all the possible outcomes and answers. Everybody Writes allows students to take a few moments to think about the answer and write it down. This also helps with children not being as afraid to be called on because they have had a lot of time to think about their answer. This technique increases participation also because of having time to think. By writing down their answers, students are practicing their writing skills. Students are also more likely to remember the information when they write it down. This answer could also increase student’s self-efficacy (feelings of effectiveness for a certain task) towards answering questions in class.
Implementation in My Classroom
I plan to teach elementary students in the future. An example of using the Everybody Writes strategy in my classroom would be for a sixth grade lesson on Lois Lowry’s book The Giver. I would pose the question “The society in which Jonas lives in values precise and accurate language. Why and how important is choosing the right words in our society?” I would give my students 3 minutes to write down their thoughts. As they are answering, I would walk around the room looking at what my students were writing. This will give me an idea on who I could call on first to get the discussion started. I would call on various students to discuss their ideas and I would facilitate the discussion.
I plan to teach elementary students in the future. An example of using the Everybody Writes strategy in my classroom would be for a sixth grade lesson on Lois Lowry’s book The Giver. I would pose the question “The society in which Jonas lives in values precise and accurate language. Why and how important is choosing the right words in our society?” I would give my students 3 minutes to write down their thoughts. As they are answering, I would walk around the room looking at what my students were writing. This will give me an idea on who I could call on first to get the discussion started. I would call on various students to discuss their ideas and I would facilitate the discussion.