Learning to Write With Interactive Writing Instruction

Linking Instruction to Independent Writing
At the end of every lesson, Diane explicitly linked her 
instruction to journal writing. She said, “When you 
are writing in your journals, you can…,” and then she 
made precise statements about the ways students 
could use specific aspects of her instruction to sup-
port their writing. These comments were essential to 
the students’ learning to write. For students to apply 
the knowledge and skills they learn in one context 
(e.g., interactive writing) to another context (e.g., 
journal writing), they must recognize the similarities 
between the two (Vygotsky, 1978). Specific features 
that link the related activities must be apparent and 
make relevant the students’ cognitive resources 
(Rogoff, Radziszewska, & Masiello, 1995). After these 
“linking” comments, Diane would often add, “That’s 
what good writers do.”
What the “Good Writers” Did
Journal writing provided students an authentic con-
text for enacting the thinking and behaviors of “good 
writers.” Diane permitted students to talk freely and 
work collaboratively because she knew that col-
laboration can improve writing quality (Graham & 
Harris, 2016). As they wrote, some students took 
up the “good writer” persona. These excerpts are 
illustrative:
Karen and Kirby are writing collaboratively and try-
ing to decide on a topic. Kirby suggests that they write 
about reptiles. Incredulous, Karen responds, “But I 
don’t know anything about that!” (i.e., “Good writers 
write about things they know about”).
Bailey and Wiley are writing an informational text 
about monkeys. Wiley shares what he knows about 
the topic, including the spelling of words they will use. 
When Bailey expresses her surprise at his knowledge, 
Wiley says matter- of- factly, “I read” (i.e., “Good writers 
do a lot of reading”).
In addition to assuming the “good writer” per-
sona, the students used the concepts, conventions, 
and strategies that Diane had taught to mediate 
their journal writing, as detailed in the sections that 
follow.