When drafting in shared writing, you are aiming to engage and motivate all the children. It is very difficult to take contributions from a large number of children at the same time but they are a number of ways to increase participation. Some teachers use word cards or magnetic words and ask children to arrange them, which avoids the need to write at all. More usually, teachers write (or scribe) for the children. As well as scribing for a whole class, many teachers use small individual whiteboards for children to write words, sentences and longer passages on. They can then hold up their suggestions or show them to each other without shouting and becoming confused. Magnetic boards with letters or letter fans can be use in a similar way to spelling input. To encourage children to discuss ideas or make choice, but do limit the discussion time and maintain the page of the session. When taking suggestions from children, it is a good idea to ask them why they made their decisions and always discussion explain why one decision is better than another. This will help children learn how to become critical about their work as well as how to make decision. When you are discussing issues with children, it is very easy to lose the ‘flow’ of a piece of writing. To prevent this, always re-read the preceding part of the passage when adding new material and re-read the text so far at regular intervals. It is a good idea to say any proposed sentence aloud as a rehearsal before adding it to a v piece. These techniques ensure that all the children can follow the writing and do not become lost or bored.