The Education Connection with Robin Wilson | Public Private and Homeschool Teachers20 Juli

How to Teach Characters: Writing About Reading Series

How do you teach first graders to write about reading without overwhelming them?

In this first episode of my Writing About Reading Series, I'm sharing one of my classroom routines for teaching students to identify the main characters in a story. This simple strategy naturally blends reading and writing together, helping students strengthen comprehension while building confidence as young writers.

You'll hear how I introduce the routine, why I don't ask students to write too much too soon, and how one simple sentence starter helps reduce writing fatigue so students can focus on thinking about what they read.

I'll also share:

Why identifying characters is a foundational comprehension skill
How I model the activity before expecting independence
How I use individual book baggies with books that match each student's reading needs
Why we complete this activity every Monday
How writing about reading naturally becomes part of our reading block
Tips for supporting struggling writers without taking away their independence

Whether you're a classroom teacher, interventionist, homeschool parent, or tutor, you'll walk away with a practical routine you can begin using with your young readers.

🎁 Coming Soon: I am working on it as we speak!! Free Download: Grab the Writing About Reading Classroom Roadmap, a one-page guide that walks you through exactly how to introduce reading responses in first grade without overwhelming your students. This printable follows the same step-by-step process I share in this episode.

You can download today's free resource using the link in the show notes.

Thanks for listening to The Education Connection! Next week we'll continue our Writing About Reading Series by learning how to teach setting in a simple, developmentally appropriate way for young learners.

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