First of all, I do not like posting my picture!
I love the passion that Regie still has for literacy and children even after 40 + years of being in the field. I know, in the most passionate way, that all of my children are capable of greatness in the areas of reading and writing. I struggle with the element of time. I have searched and can’t find two extra seconds to rub together during the school day. Therefore, I must learn to make the absolute most or even more than the most out of the precious time I have. As I reflect on the year just completed, I ache for the children for whom I feel I have short changed. I see the faces of the little K-5ers that needed more support than I gave them. I definitely need support in this area of my development.
Another struggle that I face each day is in writing. When working with emergent writers, I find that many are capable of putting their thoughts down onto paper in a way that I can decipher their thoughts. However, often times when the author of a piece attempts to read his writing, he is unable to read his own piece. In discussing this dilemma with other professionals, they, too, have had the same experience. Is this a “normal” developmental stage for emergent writers? How do I help that child/ren be able to cross that bridge more effectively?
In reading the passage about “doing more writing for valued audiences and purposes,” I had a thought. Kindergarten children seem to love writing because it is novel and “a thing” that grownups do. Therefore, writing is so very cool to the five/six year old child! I have worked with a few kindergarten children who are reluctant writers. I am thinking of one child in particular, that I shared with our Reading Interventionist this past year, who just shuts down. His primary language is English. He does exhibit a strong control of the language and of vocabulary. He knows how “stories” work. He just shuts down. He is very artistic and does a beautiful job drawing his stories, and he has demonstrated that he is ready to begin putting words to his pictures. He has control of letter/sound match and is able, with assistance, to sound-blend words. Some thoughts that I have on how to encourage all writers, but especially the reluctant writers, is to have Pen Pals…..I know….this is not a new idea at all. However, for a tiny little K-5er, to write to and receive replies from various people in the school, such as administration, custodians, cafeteria folks, teachers that a child knows via siblings, just might give these reluctant writers a reason to compose.
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Hey Charesse, When I taught third grade in Florida and my sister taught kindergarten in a neighboring school, my third graders were pen pals with her kindergarteners...it was an awesome experience for both groups...something to think about...hmmmmmmm :)
ReplyDeleteI bet you have a GREAT picture!
ReplyDeleteI can tell you that nothing makes my 5th graders happier than to get mail from someone else in the school! We'd LOVE to be pen pals next year if you'd like!
ReplyDeleteAlso - about those authentic writing experiences - I had to really focus on that this year because of the writing entry for National Boards. I have to say that once I started focusing on this, it became a lot easier. And it REALLY made an impact on the kids' motivation to write! Most of the time they were writing amazing pieces and never thought of it as "writing" because it wasn't done during Writer's Workshop! (Easier for me to do since I was teaching math/science at the time!) One tool I focused on because of the wide audience was online wiki pages. Next year I am going to try to publish most of their work on their wikis. And I bet you can guess which audience members they were most concerned with - not parents or other teachers, and certainly not me - it was their friends! Maybe next year we can also be your writing buddies! We can help your kids type their pieces if you want.
Anyone else have suggestions for activities with valued audiences and purposes?
Chareese, I too have been thinking about ways to have my students write for a purpose. I have been thinking about how cool it would be to have my own children this week call the newspaper and or Irmo News to ask could they write a piece about my farmer friend winning farm of the year (2010). He is to be in a parade this Sat. in Lake City. I thought it would be cool if they write a piece getting a story from their points of view, since they spend so much time at the farm. Then I began thinking about authentic purposes for my students to write pieces for next year and what would be meaningful to them. Like pursuading the principle to do something cool that they would get a laugh from, or pursuading the lunch ladies to cook something really wonderful for lunch one day like steak and baked potatoes. I thought it would even be a neat idea to get their ideas on what they might like to write about. I love how Regie has my mind going and school has not even begun for next year!
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