Sunday, April 24, 2011
Week of April 18
This semester my students have been working on writing workshop every morning. They started off at the beginning of the year writing their stories through pictures and then they moved gradually into labeling the people or things in their pictures and now they are working on constructing sentences first and then adding a picture or quick sketch last. Each day during writing workshop I will go around and ask certain students “Can you tell me about your story.” And they will read what they have written down. I will also walk around the room and help out any students that need help spelling or sounding our certain words but for the most part my CT likes to have the students work independently on their writing so she can assess where they are at. As discussed in Tompkins chapter 2 students should choose a topic to write about. Everyday before writing workshop my CT has the students gather on the carpet and she asks them to put on their thinking caps and to give her a thumbs up once they have a topic that they want to write about for that day. I think that it is a good idea to have the students think about a topic before they start writing just so they aren’t wasting time sitting at their desk trying to think of a topic to write about. In kindergarten the writing process isn’t as detailed as it is in older grades but I still think that it is important for students to be exposed to the writing process at an early age so that they are comfortable and familiar with it.
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I see very similar things during the writing workshop in my kindergarten classroom, also. I like to go around the room and have the students read me their stories, particularly when the writing isn't legible and they stumble through the reading. It helps them see for themselves that their writing is difficult to read and that they need to work on it. I think by having them discover this themselves they are beginning to be aware of their own writing without a teacher telling them what they need to work on. Hopefully if this continues to happen, they will begin to think about the steps (sounding out words, leaving spaces, punctuation, etc.) as they're writing instead of when they're finished.
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly how my Kindergarteners have been doing their writing! Like you, I walk around and ask my students what they are writing about and to explain to me their story. This gives them the chance to re read their work and re think about their story as well. The students in my placement have grown imensely throughout the year in their writing!I It has been so great to be able to see their progress. In my placement the students focus writing "details" in their story. Is there anything specific that your CT wants your students to focus on?
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