Writing strategy groups are the instructional practice of writing with students. Strategy groups are a key component of a balanced literacy program. Strategy groups are similar to guided writing groups in that they are both effective methods of small group instruction designed to meet the varying needs of students. Guided writing groups and strategy groups differ however in several ways. Whereas guided writing groups typically span several consecutive days, strategy groups tend to be quicker and accomplished with a workshop session. Another difference is that during a guided writing the group members may compose a joint piece while in strategy groups students works on their own independent writing pieces.

Specifically writing strategy groups are small, flexible groupings of students who share similar needs such as the need for developing stamina, collecting ideas and elaborating. Teachers observe students during shared writing, interactive writing, independent writing and writing conferences and use the data collected to assess the needs of students and form strategy groups to target needed areas of instruction. Strategy groups are also used to provide enrichment for students who have already mastered certain skills.

Writing strategy groups usually take place during the writing workshop. A teacher may lead several groups within a given workshop or combine group work with individual writing conferences. The architecture of writing strategy group is usually as follows: (1) the teacher names and models an identified strategy and then (2) the teacher observes and guides students individually as they practice and apply the strategy to their own piece of writing.

The goal of strategy group instruction is to provide the necessary scaffold for students to apply the strategy at hand to all of their writing.