Writing in elementary classrooms
To be honest, I have a lot of work to do in the realm of writing. For many years, I avoided or did not truly recognize the importance of teaching students to regularly express thoughts, ideas,or feelings in coherent ways. Writing seemed to take so much time, and I quite frankly didn't think I was skilled enough to teach others to write effectively and with growth in mind.
However, the more I read and visit classrooms, the more I am called to speak to writer's workshop and response writing. Should we use journals or not? What about picture prompts? What about those kids who can never seems to find an idea that resonates long enough to build a rich paragraph or two? How do you conference with all those kids? Can't we just write for the month of October and then May?
So, in order to address some of those questions, and to encourage teachers to embark on the writing process with all ages of students, I will post my thoughts and more importantly the thoughts of the experts in writing here, with the purpose of giving you ideas to think about. This is not a comprehensive writing site-just a collection of ideas and thoughts surrounding writing in elementary school.
However, the more I read and visit classrooms, the more I am called to speak to writer's workshop and response writing. Should we use journals or not? What about picture prompts? What about those kids who can never seems to find an idea that resonates long enough to build a rich paragraph or two? How do you conference with all those kids? Can't we just write for the month of October and then May?
So, in order to address some of those questions, and to encourage teachers to embark on the writing process with all ages of students, I will post my thoughts and more importantly the thoughts of the experts in writing here, with the purpose of giving you ideas to think about. This is not a comprehensive writing site-just a collection of ideas and thoughts surrounding writing in elementary school.
yearly Writing Schedule-sample |
Narrative for a emergent writer begins with pictures. Having students visualize their story, tell a partner and then draw their story details are the first steps in the writing process for Kindergartners and Grade Ones. Encouraging questions about their "story" leads them to including rich detail which can then be conveyed through the written word be it labels or through scribing or written text.
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This is a sample of a yearly schedule for writing in a grade one class. It features the teaching of different genres and corresponds well with the Alberta POS. Writer's Workshop is the framework for teaching throughout the year. PW denotes Power Writes, quick lessons that take 1-2 mini-lessons. The Power Writes are from tony Stead's Explorations in Non-Fiction Writing.
Here's what I believe. Students are writers from the earliest age. Pre-school kidlets LOVE to grab markers, paintbrushes and other cool tools and make their marks upon paper or other medium such like sidewalks, kitchen walls, sand boxes. My own kids loved those soap pencils, and they couldn't wait to get into the tub to mark up the bathroom tub. They know they are communicating something when they put the chalk to the sidewalk etc. and they feel empowered. And then, after a creative first year in Kindergarten, they enter grade one, and are expected to produce something specific, in a controlled fashion and this has a tendency to ( excuse my french) suck the joy out of writing. At least, if there is little purpose behind that writing, this can happen. Trying to re-motivate a non-motivated writer is a herculean effort so what we do in the youngest grades surrounding writing matters. At the earliest grade levels, we have to be inspiring, and invite them to write with a specific purpose in mind, while supporting their fear of the writing act itself. This support comes in the form of real purpose, supported talk and discussions surrounding the topic, and formats of expression that resonate with them. Beyond the fictional narrative, little non-fiction is introduced, modeled and studied, yet we know that children LOVE the real world and respond so beautifully to discovery learning. As most functions of our adult lives require non-fiction writing-filling out tax returns, writing a driver's test, applications, complaint letters, emails, recipes, work plans, creating unit plans, grant applications, observation logs etc. why wouldn't we place more importance in the teaching of non-fiction through opinion, argument, persuasion instruction, explanation, description and procedural text?
More on Non-Fiction to come!
More on Non-Fiction to come!
" Children write personal narratives and stories not because this is the limit of their experiences, but because they don't know how to write outside these forms. Their writing demonstrations, expectations and engagements are limited by us, their teachers."
Tony Stead, 2002
writers workshop-all grades
Writer's Workshop is a format through which students learn the writing craft through teacher mini-lessons and modeled writing, followed by independent practice, revision, editing and possible publishing of their work. A teacher can focus on Fictional or Non-fictional writing during this time. Writer's workshop should be a regular feature of every elementary classroom. There is also a need for quick, more independent writing work that occurs in LA and also in content-area work, such as writing a science observation, story problems in math, a timeline in history etc. Students need exposure to many types of writing and as mentioned previously with a purpose in mind. If a teacher has a well-planned, exciting and engaging format for introducing her students to the writing form, she is off to a good start. The process looks something like this;
Select the purpose; All students need a purpose for writing. The purpose stems from the writer's desire to record thoughts and ideas on a topic, and through interests and experiences. Once the purpose is known, the writer determines the best vehicle for expressing that thought or idea. This is the text type. This would be the format such as a letter, an essay, a poster, a fictional narrative, or report for example. See non-fiction text types and purposes on the non-fiction page under the Writing tab.
Finally, the writing of the piece involves several steps which comprise the writer's Workshop. After the text type is modeled to the students for its structure, specialized language or purpose, they begin the composition using planning, composing, revising, editing and publishing.
Writing requires time and planning on the part of the teacher. A year-long writing plan ensures that purposes and text types ( grade dependent) are addressed and time to write each day in workshop or quick write endeavors is essential. For more on writer's workshop, please see NON-FICTION writing section of this website.
writer's workshop
Writer's Workshop is a heavily researched approach to writing. It is simply, the author's process.Process writing includes thinking,planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. In the educational classroom context, teachers instruct students during short mini-lessons on the craft and structure of writing, allow time for students to write and apply strategies while the teacher confers with individual students, and then concludes with a sharing session. The format is typically a 10 minute mini-lesson by the teacher, followed by independent writing time ( 30-45 min) followed by sharing for approximately 5 min.
To the right below, are the roles and responsibilities of both teacher and student during Writer's Workshop.
To the right below, are the roles and responsibilities of both teacher and student during Writer's Workshop.
writing folders
Students need a place to house their drafts, their graphic organizers and their lists of topics. Adding some supportive elements such as an alphabet strip for grade one, a COPS list, a story map, a goal section, high frequency word list, common words such as animals, places, family members etc. transition words etc., basically anything that will allow your students to write without having to leave their space.Thanks to teachers of GPCSD for allowing me to take pics!
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writing anchor charts for grades 1-6 |