Wait! How can you increase student talk with quick writes, that seems weird? There are different ways to use quick writes during a lesson which will help you increase student talk.
One way to use quick writes to increase student talk is to have students work together to collaborate on the quick write. As the teacher, you give the class the same prompt, or a different prompt to each group, and have the groups write about the prompt. The groups can write on post-it notes, poster paper, or any other place you would like to collect their responses. At the end of a set period of time, the groups can share out what they responded with the rest of the class.
Another way to use quick writes to increase student talk is to give the prompts to students to write about individually. Then, after a period of time, have the students share with a partner, group, or full class. This way students have already thought through their responses and may be more comfortable to share what they have to say, rather than thinking quickly. Having students do a quick write first, before talking, also allows students who take longer to process questions the chance to share their responses.
Quick writes can be done in any content area. Check out this idea sheet for some quick writes in different content areas. Also doing a search online regarding a specific topic might bring you more ideas. I have also found some awesome quick write ideas in a book called "Independent Reading: Inside the Box" by Lisa Donohue. I have a copy in my office if you want to check it out! You could also create an anchor chart around expectations during the two different types of quick writes.
