Proactive Pathways for Engagement

At NCTE this year, I had the honor of presenting about literacy engagement with Ellin Keene, Jen Scoggin, and Hannah Schneewind.

Since my part of the presentation is about the intersection of social-emotional learning and writing instruction, I organized my thoughts using the ICEL Framework (Wright, 2010). The ICEL Framework helps teachers analyze learning by looking at four areas teachers can actually influence: Instruction, Curriculum, Environment, and the Learner. Rather than focusing on student “problems,” it guides teachers to proactively examine the factors around the student that we can adjust to support success.

For each domain, I’ll share one tip to engage writers so you leave feeling more control over your instruction, curriculum, and environment, and more empowered to understand the learners in your class.

Instruction: More Involuntary Participation?

During a presentation about culturally-responsive teaching, my assistant principal, Dr. Daniel Hecht, shared a shocking argument: 80% of classroom participation should be involuntary. I decided to try it. Using random name-picker tools like flippity.net or a cup with popsicle sticks, I warned students that I would call on them during our read alouds and writing minilesson. Engagement skyrocketed because kids had to stay tuned in, and an added bonus was that this strategy removed teacher bias from who gets called on.

Curriculum: Start saying “YES” more.

Many teachers think their rigid curricular resource tells them what to teach. I challenge those teachers: Start saying “yes” more. When kids have more choices during writing workshop, they are more engaged. Work with your PLC or teaching team to unpack your state standards- the curriculum that actually tells you what to teach.

For instance, during a personal narrative writing unit in second grade, I told students they have to write true stories about their lives. Yet upon reviewing the state standard, I realized I could open this unit up to more choice. How would you expand a personal narrative unit after reviewing this standard?

2.W.2.C.a Write fiction or nonfiction narratives and poems that establish a situation/topic based on the student’s experience or imagination.

Furthermore, taking breaks from genre studies for independent writing projects or Freewrite Fridays allows you to provide instruction related to standards that aren’t genre-specific, such as those related to grammar and mechanics.

Be the teacher who says “yes” when kids come to you with creative and exciting writing ideas. After awhile, they’ll stop asking permission, and trust their own identity as an author.

Environment: Create a community of writers.

Students are more engaged in a safe community of writers where they are trusted and encouraged to experiment and take risks. To create a writing community:

• Let writers talk while they work.
• Source peers as teachers.
• Be a writer yourself! Model vulnerability and “walk the walk” so you are a true member of the community.

Learner: Understand your students as writers and as people.

I first heard this phrase from Carl Anderson and Matt Glover in Becoming a Better Writing Teacher (2023), and I love the distinction between knowing who your students are as writers, but also as people. Here are some ideas for connecting with learners:

• Communicate with students through reflective notebooks.
• Facilitate class circles during morning meeting.
• Start a take-home notebook: A notebook that goes home with a different student each night, and they read what they wrote (usually what they did at home that evening) upon returning the next morning.
• Encourage students to develop, define, and use a unique-to-them writing process.
• Ask students to choose the kind of feedback they’d like to hear.
• Behavior is communication: Consider what student behavior is telling you about instruction, curriculum, or environment.

These ideas help you understand what kinds of writers your students are, while sneakily helping students learn that about themselves, too. They even give you insight into who your students are as people beyond the classroom.

But wait, there’s more! After my presentation, Jen and Hannah shared insights from their research about how students with different self-perception engage with reading. It was especially interesting to think beyond “positive” and “negative” self-perception. For example, a positive self-perception of oneself as a reader doesn’t necessarily mean the student will always be engaged. If you want to learn more, this will be in their upcoming book, Readers Matter (2026) from Stenhouse.

Ellin wrapped up the presentation by reminding us that teaching engagement is not “soft” learning. Kids who are engaged are the ones who retain and reapply their learning. If you don’t teach kids how to be engaged, they aren’t actually learning much at all.

References

Wright, J. (2010). The RIOT/ICEL Matrix: Organizing data to answer questions about student academic performance & behavior. Intervention Central.