Writing to Observe, Writing to Think

Students focus on a subject in nature and practice using different writing approaches to capture their observations and thinking.

Writing isn’t just about the final product. Writing is also a tool for observation and thinking. When students see writing as more than just producing five-paragraph essays, they can start to use it as a tool and a strategy. Students can use many different approaches to writing in their journals. This activity will engage them in thinking about how to best use different kinds of writing, such as labels, shorter sentences, and longer paragraphs to capture information.