We Will Write: Celebrations, Cautions, and Considerations

A Backstory

It’s been a long time since I’ve heard a chorus of booos at the end of a writing session, especially one as energetic and heartfelt as at the end of my first experience watching students use the platform We Will Write. This online tool has been sweeping through intermediate classrooms and schools in my district this spring, breathing some new life into the end-of-year season of test prep and summer wind-down. 

When my fifth grade daughter came home talking about her “favorite writing game that makes her a better writer” a few weeks ago, I knew I needed to dig in and see what this new tool is all about.

How It Works

We Will Write harnesses the power of gamification by setting up anonymous teams of writers in a classroom. Writers respond to a quick prompt–a question or image–and then have the opportunity to view and vote on other students’ work. 

For a brief but thorough tutorial, the introductory video on their homepage provides a clear overview of how it works and how easy it is to set up and implement. 

Behind the Scenes

Even though it’s tempting (and fun!) to take a deep dive into the nuts and bolts of this resource, my conversations with coaches and experiences in classrooms recently have focused more on the celebrations, cautions, and considerations around using We Will Write. 

Celebrations

We Will Write‘s fast pace and competitive nature immediately gets kids hooked. Here are a few things I love:

• Immersion in Micro-Writing: Within a very short span of time, kids have the opportunity to plan, write for 3-4 minutes, review their work, and view and analyze the work of peers. Similar to the micro-writing adults put into the world on social media and text messages, the writing needs to be clear, direct, and focused.
• Writing for an Authentic Audience: Writers don’t know who will be reading their work, but they know that it will be in the hands of a peer almost instantly. This has inspired most of the writers I’ve observed to develop work that shows the writer’s best skills–otherwise, by the nature of the platform, their work likely won’t advance to the next round.
• Formative Assessment: Students often have the opportunity to write across several related prompts, each leveling up in complexity and depth. This work is presented anonymously to peers, but is identifiable on the teacher side of the screen. Work is collected across the prompts and can be analyzed for future teaching opportunities. As a bonus, writing can also be printed and given back to students to add to a portfolio or use for a future writing opportunity.
• Whole-Class Writing Analysis: Not only can students independently evaluate the work of their peers, but there are also embedded ways for kids to reflect on writing pieces as a whole class. The platform is enhanced with simple AI tools that point out writing features or encourage students to attend to specific aspects of writing in a very low-stakes way.

Cautions

As with all great resources, there are a few things to keep in mind when using We Will Write with your students.

• Balance: In a nutshell, don’t fall into the trap of “too much of a good thing.” We Will Write could consume your daily writing time–but it definitely shouldn’t. It isn’t a program, it won’t address all of your writing standards, and it won’t allow students to develop rich, well-developed pieces of writing. Be mindful of the purpose and the impact to make sure you are using it with intention.
• Accessibility: I have observed the use of We Will Write in both 4th and 5th grade classrooms, and there is a vast difference in what students are able to produce simply based on their typing abilities. It doesn’t seem to provide spell check and I haven’t yet seen a student use voice-to-text. Be mindful of the needs of your students when utilizing this tool; consider who may be limited by technology or conventions and consider what options are available to make sure they are included.
• Confidence: This tool is great for boosting the confidence of strong writers and building awareness of new skills and strategies for all kids. However, be conscious of the writers who never advance to the final round: Are they growing and motivated, or are they slowly losing enthusiasm if their pieces get passed over round after round?

Considerations

Whether this is the first time you’re hearing of We Will Write or you’re a more seasoned user, here are a few ideas for stretching this resource farther.

• Build in an Editing Minute: Micro-writing at its best allows for kids to quickly cycle through the writing process. Once students learn the rhythm of using We Will Write, try incorporating an Editing Minute by increasing the total time and reserving the final minute for some editing (or revision) work. This will give kids an opportunity to review their work before it goes live in front of their peers and will build the habit of making slight tweaks to micro-writing before making it public.
• Use the Writing as “Seeds”: Hand the printed writing back to students at the end of the week and ask them to select one of their small drafts to expand into something bigger. Support students in reflecting and identifying their most promising work to take through the entire writing process.
• Position Students as Teachers: Give kids a leadership voice by allowing a student to run a session of We Will Write, particularly the segment where work is anonymously reviewed as a whole class. Positioning kids as leaders will encourage them to ask thoughtful questions and provide targeted feedback.

One Final Thought

Tools like We Will Write are just beginning to emerge in our classrooms. As technology continues to advance at a rapid pace, we will undoubtedly stumble across even more exciting resources in the months and years to come. It’s important to remember that the excitement lies not just in the tool itself, but in its potential to help our students grow as writers (and us grow as teachers). 

As spring races toward summer, I’m excited to see new and creative ways classrooms are using We Will Write to keep the spark of writing going at the end of the year. Please share your successes and tips in the comments on this post so we can all continue growing as writing teachers together!