In this article we report the findings of a two-phase action research study focused on the role of collaborative work in the development of elementary students' writing skills at a Colombian school. This was decided after having identified the students' difficulties in the English classes related to word transfer, literal translation, weak connection of ideas and no paragraph structure when communicating their ideas. In the first phase teachers observed, collected, read and analyzed students' written productions without intervention. In the second one, teachers read about and implemented strategies based on collaborative work, collected information, analyzed students' productions and field notes in order to finally identify new issues, create and develop strategies to overcome students' difficulties. Findings show students' roles and reactions as well as task completion and language construction when motivated to work collaboratively.