Surfing to Success

Surfing to Success

  • Home
  • About Me
  • My Resources
  • My Classroom
  • Google Apps for Edu

Teaching Writing using Google

June 21, 2016 By Mercedes Hutchens 17 Comments

Teaching writing is so much easier using Google.  Here are seven of my favorite ways that using Google Docs or Google Slides helps with writing instruction.

7 Ways Writing Can Be Easier in the Google Classroom | Help your students during writer's workshop in a whole new way.

Organizing Writing

How many times has a student lost their draft or prewrite in your classroom?  I couldn’t begin to count the times.

There are so many strategies for organizing writing papers but the need for those strategies goes away when it becomes digital.  Personally, I like to use Google Slides so that the Prewrite, Draft, and Final Copy are all in one neat little package.

7 Ways Writing Can Be Easier in the Google Classroom | Help your students during writer's workshop in a whole new way.

But, even if you want to have several documents, they can all go into a folder.  The beauty is this folder won’t get left at home or have papers falling out of it.

Paperless

How much time to you spend passing out papers, collecting papers, asking who a nameless paper belongs to?  The list goes on.

Save Paper with Google Slides

Besides saving time and trees, it saves clutter.

Quick and Painless Editing

Commenting in Google is quick and painless.  Select the section you want to comment on and click comment.  This will highlight that section for the student so they know where to look.

Writing with Google Select a Text to Comment

Tip: Set up a routine that only you can mark comments you initiated as resolved.

Real Time Writing Assistance

Some students need constant support.  When you have a classroom full of students who need that continual support, Google can save you a lot of running around. It also allows you to help those students that don’t want others to know they need help. Open several tabs for the students you want to help in real time.

This is a screenshot of me working with a student who believed he was done with his assignment and wanted to move on to a choice activity.  I highlighted part of what he needed to fix and was able to watch him make corrections.  He made eye contact with me when his correction was done and I gave him one other quick task to complete.  During these 3 minutes, I was also able to comment on another students writing.

 

Writing Google Real Time Help

I’ve found this real time help can be invaluable for my English Language Learners.  I’ll watch them get started and it quickly becomes evident if they understand the task.  If they need additional help, I walk over and help them one on one.

Writing Resources at Their Finger Tips

Often while they are writing, I’ll have anchor charts and sentence starters projected onto the screen.

Project Anchor Charts

Students don’t always write at the same pace, so another great feature is the ability to include the charts in their assignment so they can access them whenever they want to.

Link to Anchor Chart

Take the Fear of Making a Mistake out of Writing

As a kid, I remember clearly choosing different words when I didn’t know how to spell something.  I’d use a simpler word rather than a new vocabulary word because I didn’t want to have my teacher circle the word in red.  Once students know they can right click a word underlined in red to correct the spelling, that fear is gone.

correct spelling

I used to have elaborate systems like writing dictionaries they’d bring to me to have me spell a new word for them.  Now, they mange this independently with a simple right click.

Copy / Paste Makes Writing Final Drafts Easier

I had a teacher that made us rewrite our drafts over and over until they were perfect.  I hated writing that year.  Now, with copy and paste students can turn their drafts into final products quickly and easily.

Copy Paste

 

What is that Resource?

Most of the photos and gifs in this post are from my Compare and Contrast writing resource.  This resource focuses on writing simple paragraphs while comparing and contrasting characters, setting, and events.  You can use it with any literature you are reading with your students. The settings and events portions could also be used with non fiction.

Compare and Contrast while writing paragraphs | for the Google Classroom| Compare and Contrast Characters, Settings, and Events| Prewrite using a Venn Diagram | Graphic Organizer for Paragraph Writing | Sentence Starters and Key Word Anchor Charts for Comparing and Contrasting

More Writing Resources for the Google Classroom

Sentence Writing Resources for the Google Classroom

These sentence writing resources are a great way to help students refine their writing while practicing typing.

1

#SPRINGSAVINGS Restate the Question: Sentence Writing for the Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 83
#SPRINGSAVINGS Restate the Question: Sentence Writing for the Google Classroom

Students will practice writing complete sentences by restating the question. This interactive digital resource in Google Slides drag words from the question to create answers. Then students type their own answer stems. Two versions are available for differentiation.

1
Upvote
React with Emoji
0
2

Use Quotation Marks to Write Dialogue for the Google Classroom | TpT

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 53
Use Quotation Marks to Write Dialogue for the Google Classroom | TpT

Digital graphic organizers take students through the process of writing dialogue. Students learn to use correct capitalization and punctuation with several opportunities to apply the use of quotation marks during creative writing activities. My students loved creating fun conversations.

1
Upvote
React with Emoji
0
3

Meaningful Sentences: Vocabulary Development for the Digital Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 45
Meaningful Sentences: Vocabulary Development for the Digital Classroom

Digital graphic organizers take students through the process of writing meaningful sentence. Students learn to use context clues and synonyms to write complete correct sentences that demonstrate the meaning of a word. 12 editable slides can be used repeatedly for

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
4

BUNDLE: Respond to a Picture Prompt Sentence Writing for the Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 33
BUNDLE: Respond to a Picture Prompt Sentence Writing for the Google Classroom

Students write a complete sentence correctly while responding to picture prompts. This digital resource in Google Slides lets students look at full color photographs while responding. After you've introduced the activity, this could become a bell ringer!

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
5

Respond to a Picture Prompt Sentence Writing for the Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 17
Respond to a Picture Prompt Sentence Writing for the Google Classroom

Students write a correct complete sentence while responding to picture prompts. This digital resource in Google Slides let's students look at full color photographs while responding. This resource contains: •a teacher download with tips and instructions.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
6

Respond to a Picture Prompt Ocean Sentence Writing for the Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 6
Respond to a Picture Prompt Ocean Sentence Writing for the Google Classroom

Students write a correct complete sentence while responding to picture prompts. This digital resource in Google Slides let's students look at full color photographs while responding. The pictures in this resource focus on ocean creatures like fish, dolphins, otters and sea turtles.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
7

Respond to a Picture Prompt PETS Sentence Writing Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 3
Respond to a Picture Prompt PETS Sentence Writing Google Classroom

Students write a correct complete sentence while responding to picture prompts. This digital resource in Google Slides let's students look at full color photographs while responding. The pictures in this resource focus on pets like cats, dogs, birds, turtles, bunnies, and fish.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
8

Respond to a Picture Prompt POND THEME Sentence Writing for the Google

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 5
Respond to a Picture Prompt POND THEME Sentence Writing for the Google

Students write a correct complete sentence while responding to picture prompts. This digital resource in Google Slides let's students look at full color photographs while responding. The pictures in this resource were all taken by me of birds, turtles, and more by a pond.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
9

Respond to Pictures IN THE GARDEN Sentence Writing Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 3
Respond to Pictures IN THE GARDEN Sentence Writing Google Classroom

Students write a correct complete sentence while responding to picture prompts. This digital resource in Google Slides let's students look at full color photographs while responding. The pictures in this resource focus on things found in a garden like ants, snails, bees and butterflies.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
10

Respond to a Picture Prompt LAKE THEME Sentence Writing for the Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 1
Respond to a Picture Prompt LAKE THEME Sentence Writing for the Google Classroom

Students write a complete sentence correctly while responding to picture prompts. This digital resource in Google Slides let's students look at full color photographs while responding. The pictures in this resource were all taken by me near or in a lake.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
11

Respond to a Picture Prompt AROUND THE FARM Sentence Writing Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 2
Respond to a Picture Prompt AROUND THE FARM Sentence Writing Google Classroom

Students write a correct complete sentence while responding to picture prompts. This digital resource in Google Slides let's students look at full color photographs while responding. The pictures in this resource focus on farm animals like chickens, sheep, and cows.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
12

Respond to a Picture Prompt LARGE BIRDS Sentence Writing for the Google

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 3
Respond to a Picture Prompt LARGE BIRDS Sentence Writing for the Google

Students write a correct complete sentence while responding to picture prompts. This digital resource in Google Slides let's students look at full color photographs while responding. The pictures in this resource were all taken by me of large birds many at a zoo.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
13

Respond to Pictures REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS Sentence Writing Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 0
Respond to Pictures REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS Sentence Writing Google Classroom

Students write a correct complete sentence while responding to picture prompts. This digital resource in Google Slides let's students look at full color photographs while responding. The pictures in this resource focus on reptiles and amphibians (snakes, lizards, frogs).

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
14

Respond to a Picture Prompt MAMMALS Sentence Writing for the Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 1
Respond to a Picture Prompt MAMMALS Sentence Writing for the Google Classroom

Students write a correct complete sentence while responding to picture prompts. This digital resource in Google Slides let's students look at full color photographs while responding. The pictures in this resource focus on mammals like bears, giraffes, and zebras.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
15

Respond to a Picture Prompt BIG CATS Sentence Writing Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 3
Respond to a Picture Prompt BIG CATS Sentence Writing Google Classroom

Students write a correct complete sentence while responding to picture prompts. This digital resource in Google Slides let's students look at full color photographs while responding. The pictures in this resource focus on big cats like lions, tigers, and snow leopards.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
16

Respond to a Picture Prompt MONKEYS & APES Sentence Writing Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 2
Respond to a Picture Prompt MONKEYS & APES Sentence Writing Google Classroom

Students write a correct complete sentence while responding to picture prompts. This digital resource in Google Slides let's students look at full color photographs while responding. The pictures in this resource focus on monkeys and apes. This resource contains: •a teacher

Upvote
React with Emoji
0

Paragraph Writing Resources for the Google Classroom

Help your students learn to write paragraphs while practicing tech skills like typing, spell check, and copy/paste.

1

Compare and Contrast Paragraph Writing for the Google Classroom | TpT

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 24
Compare and Contrast Paragraph Writing for the Google Classroom | TpT

Digital compare and contrast graphic organizers take students through the process of writing a compare and contrast parcagraph. Compare and contrast characters, settings, and events using piece of literature. My students loved filling out the Venn Diagrams and writing their

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
2

Descriptive Paragraph Writing for the Google Classroom Respond to a Picture

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 25
Descriptive Paragraph Writing for the Google Classroom Respond to a Picture

Students write a correct complete informational paragraph while responding to picture prompts. This digital resource in Google Slides guides students through the writing process while they look at full color photographs. This resource contains: *a teacher

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
3

Opinion Writing: Paragraph Writing for the Digital Classroom | TpT

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 24
Opinion Writing: Paragraph Writing for the Digital Classroom | TpT

Digital graphic organizers take students through the process of writing an opinion paragraph. Opinion Writing Prompts and Opinion Writing Graphic Organizers are organized into 5 Google Slide Decks. One deck has a blank for the prompt so you can edit the prompt to be anything you'd like.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
4

A Quote a Day: Paragraph Writing Bell Ringer for the Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 9
A Quote a Day: Paragraph Writing Bell Ringer for the Google Classroom

Bell ringer with a positive quote for students to respond to. This digital resource in Google Slides allows students to choose a prewrite template to fit their response to a quote a day. Students write a paragraph in response to a quote each day. Great Bellringer /

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
5

Growth Mindset Goal Setting, Data Tracking, and Reflection in a Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 11
Growth Mindset Goal Setting, Data Tracking, and Reflection in a Google Classroom

How do you help students develop a growth mindset? Give them the opportunity to set goals, track their data growth, and reflect. This paperless customizable technology resource gives your students a digital journal to use year round. The three main sections of this interactive journal are Goal Setting, Data Tracking, and Reflection. Goal Setting

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
6

Black History Month: Respond to Quotes for the Google Classroom | TpT

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 0
Black History Month: Respond to Quotes for the Google Classroom | TpT

With this bell ringer, your students can respond to a quote by famous African Americans for Black History Month. This digital resource in Google Slides allows students to choose a prewrite template to fit their response to a quote each day. Students write a paragraph in response to each quote.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
7

Chinese New Year 2018: Respond to Chinese Proverbs for the Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 0
Chinese New Year 2018: Respond to Chinese Proverbs for the Google Classroom

Looking for a Chinese New Years Activity? This digital resource in Google Slides allows students to choose a prewrite template to fit their response to a Chinese Proverb or saying. Students write a paragraph in response to each quote. Great Bellringer /

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
8

Martin Luther King Jr Quotes Paragraph Bell Ringer for the Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 1
Martin Luther King Jr Quotes Paragraph Bell Ringer for the Google Classroom

With this bell ringer, your students can respond to a quote by Martin Luther King. Perfect for MLK jr Day or Black History Month. This digital resource in Google Slides allows students to choose a prewrite template to fit their response to a Dr. Martin Luther

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
9

Women's History Month: Respond to Quotes for the Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 1
Women's History Month: Respond to Quotes for the Google Classroom

With this bell ringer, your students can respond to a quote by famous women for Women's History Month or any time of year. This digital resource in Google Slides allows students to choose a prewrite template to fit their response to a quote each day.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
10

St Patricks Day Writing Paragraphs: Respond to Quotes for the Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 0
St Patricks Day Writing Paragraphs: Respond to Quotes for the Google Classroom

With this bell ringer, your students can respond to a quote by famous Irish people and some Irish proverbs for St. Patrick's Day. This digital resource in Google Slides allows students to choose a prewrite template to fit their response to a quote each day.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
11

Presidents Day Quotes Paragraph Writing for the Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 3
Presidents Day Quotes Paragraph Writing for the Google Classroom

With this bell ringer, your students can respond to a quote by famous American Presidents for President's Day. This digital resource in Google Slides allows students to choose a prewrite template to fit their response to a quote each day. Students write a paragraph in response to each quote.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0
12

George Washington Quotes Paragraph Bell Ringer for the Google Classroom

Apr 22, 2018 - teacherspayteachers.com - 3
George Washington Quotes Paragraph Bell Ringer for the Google Classroom

With this bell ringer, your students can respond to quotes by George Washington. Perfect for Washingtons's Birthday also known as President's Day. This digital resource in Google Slides allows students to choose a prewrite template to fit their response to a George Washington's quote each day.

Upvote
React with Emoji
0

If you are just getting started using Google in your classroom, check out this post. For more posts about writing, check out this, this, and this.

Filed Under: 1st Grade, 2nd Grade, 3rd Grade, 4th Grade, 5th Grade, Google Apps, Language Arts, Technology Tagged With: Google, Writing

Comments

  1. Lyndsey says

    June 22, 2016 at 2:57 am

    This is incredible! Thanks so much for sharing all of the tips that can be implemented w/ Google Slides! It’s such a great tool to help students become better writers.

    Reply
    • Mercedes Hutchens says

      June 23, 2016 at 9:03 pm

      Thanks, Lyndsey. As soon as I started using it for writing I wondered why I hadn’t started sooner.

      Reply
  2. Kim Bobadilla says

    June 22, 2016 at 4:28 pm

    Your post really rings very true for me and what my students experience–fear of making mistakes and fear of misspelling words. I often just couldn’t start because pencil seemed permanent and I always substituted rich vocabulary for words I knew how to spell. I watch my students do the same. This is great support for all writers and particularly for reluctant writers!

    Reply
    • Mercedes Hutchens says

      June 23, 2016 at 9:02 pm

      Thanks, Kim. Isn’t it nice how technology can help take away some of the fear and obstacles our students face?

      Reply
  3. Fredda says

    July 20, 2016 at 5:50 am

    This is what I was looking for!!!! I used Google Slides with my students last year for their presentations. However, this is ingenious! Thank you.

    Reply
    • Mercedes Hutchens says

      July 20, 2016 at 5:03 pm

      I’m so glad you are inspired to try some of these ideas in your classroom.

      Reply
  4. Natalie Lebo says

    July 25, 2016 at 11:38 am

    This is what I have been looking to do with my Inclusion students. Great ideas showing assignments can be scaffolded my to fit the needs of my students!

    Reply
    • Mercedes Hutchens says

      July 27, 2016 at 8:40 pm

      Thanks! I’m working on a post about intervention in the digital classroom. It should be up in the next week. Check back, it sounds like it will help you, too.

      Reply
  5. Debbie says

    July 30, 2016 at 4:13 am

    Great post! When kids created in slides do they just keep adding slides as needed? And when you give them a resource do you just add it to their slide in the order of wherever it fits? Thanks so much.

    Reply
    • Mercedes Hutchens says

      August 1, 2016 at 4:13 pm

      Hi Debbie, Google Slides is very much like PowerPoint, the kids can add as many slides as they need. When I give them a resource, I send it to their google email address. I give each resource separately and they have it in their Google Drive. My district currently doesn’t allow us to use Google Classroom which will distribute assignments for you but it is simple to email it to them.

      Reply
  6. Kevin says

    August 14, 2016 at 6:28 pm

    I’ve always wanted to go paperless. I’m making use of google classroom this year. Do you have your students do all their writing on the computer? I teach 4th grade and although I do have access to chromebooks for the class, I may not have access everyday. Any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Mercedes Hutchens says

      August 27, 2016 at 3:06 pm

      Hi Kevin,
      I don’t have students exclusively write on the computer. I feel like the fine motor work of writing on paper is important too. If you don’t have access everyday, you can set a schedule when it comes to writing. Have students work online on some projects and have students write in a composition notebook for others. Maybe you could use the notebooks for responding to journal prompts and the chrome books for working on more formal types of writing.

      Reply
  7. Cheryl says

    October 23, 2016 at 9:59 am

    These are excellent ideas on how to use Google Slides in the classroom. I used Google Classroom with my fourth graders last year to do majority of their assignments. It was great for the student and the teacher to be able to work so closely together on their work. The comments feature was the best. I used it got math too and could students could get individual help on how to fix problems they missed. The possibilities are endless!

    Reply
  8. Steph says

    October 24, 2016 at 10:47 pm

    Is there an easy way to have all of each student’s work in an individual folder in Google Drive? I want to have all of the students’ work in a folder with their name on it, but I don’t have time to manually move all of their work myself.

    Reply
    • Kim says

      October 15, 2017 at 5:25 pm

      You could have it all under your account, create a folder for each student, and have them work inside of that. It would all be automatically saved. If you want them all to get the same item, copy it to each folder. You would need to monitor closely to make sure that they don’t get into another person’s folder. Before we got Google Classroom this year, I had students work on larger writing assignments this way.

      Reply
  9. Ashleigh Pope says

    January 16, 2017 at 11:11 am

    This is amazing! Any chance I could purchase some of your templates? Are you on TPT?

    Reply
    • Mercedes Hutchens says

      March 11, 2017 at 6:47 pm

      Hi Ashleigh, You can find my resources for the Google Classroom in this section of my TPT store. 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


Signature


Signature

Connect with Me

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Instagram Google+ Bloglovin' Email Teachers Pay Teachers Image Map Follow on Bloglovin

Search

Categories

  • 1st Grade (12)
  • 2nd Grade (9)
  • 3rd Grade (14)
  • 4th Grade (14)
  • 5th Grade (18)
  • Back to School (6)
  • Classroom (28)
  • Classroom Management (5)
  • Classroom Organization (3)
  • Classroom Quotes (2)
  • Classroom Set Up (4)
  • Fact Fluency (5)
  • Freebie (29)
  • Google Apps (17)
  • Graphics (27)
  • Growth Mindset (2)
  • Intervention (11)
  • Kindergarten (6)
  • Language Arts (27)
  • Math (52)
  • Mercedes Hutchens (1)
  • Multiplication (4)
  • Place Value (1)
  • PowerPoint (3)
  • Reading (3)
  • Seasonal (5)
  • Technology (45)
  • Uncategorized (140)

Teacher Created

Optin Form

Archives

  • March 2020
  • July 2019
  • October 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • January 2018
  • October 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • March 2017
  • January 2017
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • January 2016
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • April 2014
  • February 2014
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012

Grab My Button

Surfing to Success
<div align="center"><a href="http://surfingtosuccess.com" title="Surfing to Success" target="_blank"><img src="http://surfingtosuccess.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/mercedes-blogbuttons.png" alt="Surfing to Success" style="border:none;" /></a></div>
© 2015-2016 Mercedes Hutchens • All Rights Reserved • Design Migration by Crayon Box Learning • Genesis Framework