7-minute write (edutopia)

 The research confirms her assertion: Writing both records and generates thought, leaping forward in sudden bursts of inspiration before doubt emerges and the author senses the need to loop back and revise, close gaps, and clarify their thinking.

Asking kids to “quick write” for 3- to 10-minutes gives students a low-stakes space to put pen to paper in response to a prompt. Quick writes are versatile, simple, and repeatable; they can be assigned several times a week, and can become a staple of paper notebooks across subject areas.

Middle school English teacher Meghan Rosa uses 7-minute writes “almost daily” as an “idea generator.” Students write the date and provocative statement like “homework should be banned” at the top of notebook paper, then share and refine the resulting written work in pairs. In social studies or history classes, students might engage in a 5-minute, written reflection about the importance of a towering figure like Frederick Douglass, or quickly respond to a prompt like “Was the U.S. Civil War avoidable?” to commit some initial thinking to paper.