Back Pocket Prompt #7 · Writing support

Writing scaffolds in ~12 minutes, not 40. The thinking stays theirs.

Build a three-tier start kit for one writing prompt: starters, a chunked plan and a model paragraph.

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Slide 1 of 6. Photo background. Writing support Writing scaffolds in ~12 minutes, not 40. The thinking stays theirs. For the kids still staring at minute ten.

Slide 2 of 6. The problem Minute ten, and six kids haven't written a word. They're not refusing. They don't know how to start, and one support doesn't fit all of them. Three tiers, ready before class. The kids still do the writing.

Slide 3 of 6. Paste your writing prompt, then type: “Make a 3-tier start kit for this prompt for [grade]. Tier 1: 4 sentence starters. Tier 2: a 3-step plan with one question per step. Tier 3: a model paragraph on a different topic that shows the structure. Don't answer the prompt.” Your prompt only, no student work. Use your school-approved AI tool.

Slide 4 of 6. The human check Before you hand them out: Does any starter do the thinking for them? Cut it.; Is the model on a different topic, so it can't be copied?; Vocabulary at your kids' level, not the AI's?; You decide who gets which tier. Kids can move up. Scaffolds come off as kids grow. Decide now when you'll stop offering Tier 1.

Slide 5 of 6. The payoff Where your minutes go Spend the time you save kneeling beside the first kid who's stuck, before the second one gives up. Building alone: ~40 min, Three versions from scratch With AI + check: ~12 min, Check included

Slide 6 of 6. Keep this one in your back pocket. Save it for your next writing assignment. Send it to your ELA team. Comment POCKET and we'll DM you all 10 back-pocket prompts, free. Back Pocket Prompts · built by a teacher-developer and a data scientist

The problem: Minute ten, and six kids haven't written a word.

They're not refusing. They don't know how to start, and one support doesn't fit all of them. Three tiers, ready before class. The kids still do the writing.

1. Paste your writing prompt, then type:

Your back-pocket prompt

Make a 3-tier start kit for this prompt for [grade]. Tier 1: 4 sentence starters. Tier 2: a 3-step plan with one question per step. Tier 3: a model paragraph on a different topic that shows the structure. Don't answer the prompt.

Your prompt only, no student work. Use your school-approved AI tool.

2. The human check: Before you hand them out:

Does any starter do the thinking for them? Cut it.
Is the model on a different topic, so it can't be copied?
Vocabulary at your kids' level, not the AI's?
You decide who gets which tier. Kids can move up.

Scaffolds come off as kids grow. Decide now when you'll stop offering Tier 1.

Where your minutes go

Building alone~40 minThree versions from scratch

With AI + check~12 minCheck included

Spend the time you save kneeling beside the first kid who's stuck, before the second one gives up.

Related prompts

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