Start the Year with a Simple Writing Assessment

Last year I wished I had provided more writing practice for my students. Now that's easier to say than do since our standards and expectations truly exceed the student/teacher hours or energy in a day, but this year I do want students to write every day.

I also want to be more aware, from the start, of each child's writing needs.  Ralph Fletcher inspired these new goals earlier in the summer at The Wayland Literacy Institute. To know my writer's well, I'll begin the year with the creation of online composition websites and offline writer's books and a simple assessment. The assessment will ask students to write me a letter. Then I'll use this checklist to evaluate each child's work and create teaching/learning writing goals for that child. 

How do you start your writing year?  What kind of initial assessment do you use?