How to Differentiate Writing in Kindergarten

Teaching kindergarten can be so tricky because every student comes in with a different set of skills. Some students are reading fluently, some have been exposed to letters/sounds and some are still working on name recognition.

Writing in kindergarten can be so challenging because you are putting together the phonics skills they’ve mastered in reading time. Here are some helpful tips to make writing a fun experience for everyone:

Some students are going to just draw their story

We need to meet students where they are academically. If they are still working on name recognition, why are we expecting them to be writing complete sentences? They aren’t ready for it. 

Plus, drawing is the first step in the writing process. Explicitly model HOW to draw things with your students (preferably you did this whole group with my Illustration Unit in the beginning of the year). Remember, drawing IS writing. They can draw every step, part of a story, you name it - while the majority of the class is writing sentences/labeling. 

I promise, this will make it so much more enjoyable for the student AND you. When they’ve started grasping some letter sounds, transition them to labeling.

Some students are going to draw/label independently and use a sentence stem

Honestly, if you have realistic expectations during Writers Workshop - you and your students will thrive so much more. 

Some of your students may have their letter sounds mastered but are working on writing the sounds they hear. If they drew themselves at the park - they will first label their picture phonetically. Maybe they write the word tree like “tre” and park like “prk”. It may not be spelled correctly conventionally BUT they wrote all the sounds they heard!

After they labeled, they can choose from a simple sentence stem like “I see the” and copy that down. The last word of their sentence they can copy one of their labels. They might write something like “I see the prk” 

Some students will write independently the whole time

My favorite part of writing is when my high flyers can write the whole time independently but to the untrained eye - their writing may look like they were struggling more than the students who were labeling and using a sentence stem. This is because these students are writing ALL of their words phonetically. Sure, if they come to a sight word they’ve mastered, they’ll most likely spell it correctly but their writing is going to be FULL of phonetic spelling - and that’s the goal! Confident writers who are using all of their tools to write the entire Writers Workshop!

I believe differentiation is key to every lesson in writing which is why I create differentiation books for each of the units in my writing units. Each student will receive a book based on the same topic but all will be geared to their individual needs. This allows everyone to work at their own pace AND the best part: no tears and confident writers!