WRITING
Reading and writing are as connected to each other as addition is to subtraction. One is decoding the written word and the other is encoding it. The skills needed to become proficient in either of these processes are overlapping, clustered, and interdependent. At any time children in my class are learning several of them simultaneously. Often children who struggle with one do much better with the other. Doing a lot of both will take advantage of the strength of one to help develop the other.
It is important to write often. Every day we do lots -- in the form of Writing Aloud, Shared Writing, Guided Writing, and Independent Writing. Almost every day I model writing -- writing aloud in front of the children either on the overhead projector or the board for all to see - listing the schedule, making charts, or writing directions, as well as 3 minute quick-writes (more about that later).
Shared Writing involves the contributions of the children in the class. One example is during Daily Oral Language. I write a sentence on the board, usually repeating something I’ve heard someone say. Whut is daily oral language anyway ast tyler The children use this activity to apply spelling, punctuation, and capitalization skills. They try to find all my mistakes. Together they find misspelled words, forgotten quotation marks, missing capital letters and end marks. We are developing the language of conventions of print and slowly acquiring an understanding of how they are used. (Someone once said, “Sanity is the ability to punctuate!” I think it might have been Ogden Nash.)
Another example of Shared Writing is “Mystery Sentence”. Essentially this is basic Hangman. What an opportunity to apply our knowledge of the English language. All words require at least one vowel so the children ask about the vowels. Context is important. So is syntax. And of course phonic and structural clues are key to decoding my secret sentence. It doesn’t take long for children to realize that asking about Q will not bring the results that asking about S might bring. The children delight in defeating me -- guessing my sentence in 10 guesses or less. Creating charts together and writing experience stories are more examples of shared writing. All students contribute and see how the ideas and words are translated into print.
Guided Writing might occur with the whole group, a small group, or with just one child during a writing conference. Over the period of several months each child will have the opportunity to dictate his or her story as I write it on the overhead projector for all the children to see. Writing problems that every author confronts are discussed and solved aloud, sometimes with the support of the teacher and the suggestions of peers. What to write about? How to begin? What details to include? What to write next? And how to end? These may all be solved in a collaborative manner. Since these are questions all the writers in the class will confront over and over again, it is interesting and educational for the class to learn how each of their peers thinks about these problems and how they make decisions. Matters of spelling and punctuation, voice, organization, and sentence structure come up naturally and are dealt with in context and are therefore meaningful and memorable.
Almost every day we have Writers’ Workshop. Each child has a spiral notebook in which to keep work and ideas for stories. Writers’ Workshop might begin with a story, article, or poem - something that illustrates the focus of the writing for the day. When we write fairy tales and legends, the children will read and listen to books of that genre as well as write one together or watch the teacher write one on the overhead to see what the writing process looks like. When we want to focus on letter writing, the class will hear and see stories that incorporate a letter or message. We will write letters together -- perhaps thanking another class for inviting us to a performance or to the principal or librarian, or pencils. When we write expository pieces I will take the students through the writing process from gathering information, organizing their facts, creating paragraphs, and editing for publication.
When attention is directed to a particular element of writing like sentence structure or voice, we will read something that illustrates that concept. For example, when talking to the children about word choice - choosing less common words instead of ho-hum, everyday ordinary words, “The Elephant’s Child” by Kipling might be a good selection to read to the class. This story is filled with interesting word choices such as “the great, gray-green greasy Limpopo River all set about with fever trees” and when we talk about repetition, the class is sure to hear Maurice Sendak’s “Where the Wild Things Are.” “. . . and they gnashed their terrible teeth, and they rolled their terrible eyes . . . .“ Sometimes I read something that another child in the class has written that is a good illustration of an area of focus.
Other traits of writing that we will be thinking about this year are ideas/content (plot, setting, and characters, as well as details that clarify and enhance), organization, sentence structure, voice, and conventions of print such as spelling, penmanship, capitalization, and punctuation -- things that make the writing easier to read. Conventions are also examined in other areas of the curriculum. They are tools that help people be good communicators. Sometimes parents wonder why a paper may not be corrected for spelling and punctuation. It is because developing writers cannot think of everything or be attentive to everything at once. The task of writing a simple paragraph would become overwhelming and discouraging to a first grader if all the good writing traits must be attended to at once. Also, when one must concentrate on conventions, the magic is not as likely to appear. As children develop their writing skills and as they experience 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade, they will become more and more accustomed to several rough drafts before the final form appears. They know that professional writers go though many, many drafts with perhaps more than one person offering suggestions and help. But for younger writers, to go through a long process time and again would be discouraging, time consuming, and surely kill their desire to write.
There are many times when the writing topic is up to each child. At the beginning of the writing period there might be a 5 minute “think.” This is the time to germinate the idea and decide how to begin. If you came in the room then, you would find it very quiet while each child is thinking what they would like to write about: a dream, a favorite vacation, what they are going to do over the weekend, their family, or a pet. Or we might start with a 3-minute quick write, in which case I think of the topic and supply the ‘start’. Usually I will model at the board or overhead. Perhaps the start will be “Long ago . . .” or maybe “If I were a ...” The children keep track of the time as I write out loud. At the end of three minutes they say “STOP!” They see that I have not finished (usually) and am also anxious to go back and add something here or rearrange something there. Then it is their turn. They all copy down the same starting phrase that I used and at the signal they write furiously for 3 minutes. At the end of that time, volunteers read what they have written “so far”. Sometimes we can’t wait to find out how it will end or wonder about something that was left out. This gives the writer new momentum and an eagerness to go on. For the rest of the writing time children rework their quick-write or continue with some other writing project that is “in progress” in their spiral notebook. At the end of the year the children will take their spirals home. By examining them parents can see the progression of growth as a writer over time.
During Writers’ Workshop there is no shortage of volunteers to share what they have written. Writing for an audience builds motivation and helps children write in their own voice. During the writing time I circulate among the children helping them organize their ideas or plan their format. When a child has chosen a piece to ‘publish’ they will examine it for words they are not sure that they spelled correctly. Often I will type it on the computer or the children, as in the case of letter writing, will rewrite it by hand, correcting the mistakes that have been edited during our writing conference. As the children are able to extend their writing time I will be able to type manuscripts. I prefer to do this in the presence of the author because as the story is typed, the author or I may notice when something doesn’t sound right or perhaps there is a place where more information needs to be included. It is then that revisions will be made. Perhaps something will be added or deleted, some words or sentences combined or perhaps run-on sentences (the personal favorite of most first graders) will be changed to help the flow and meaning. Adult typists serve as editors. These times help prepare the students for taking on this role for each other as they move up the grades. When the piece is ready to print, the student may illustrate it -- ready for others to read and enjoy. And we do. Seeing our work in print is so validating.
SPELLING
During Writers’ Workshop, as has been mentioned previously, the emphasis is not on conventions of print during the creating stage. Most first graders are ‘early phonemic’ or ‘developing spellers’ (see Spelling Continuum below) -- writing a letter for each sound they hear. And as the year goes by they add more and more words to their personal list of words that they spell correctly from memory. During the editing stage, the children are encouraged to find the words they have written that they aren’t sure about and we will check them. At the front of their workshop journals they can refer to the list of 100 most common words they need. After checking there, I will correct the rest “for free.”
Spelling instruction takes a variety of forms. We do not use a spelling textbook which assumes every student needs to learn the same words and the same amount of words at the same time. My goal this year is for each child to learn to spell the 100 most common words that children use in their own writing, not just for a Friday test, but spelled correctly in their daily writing. The words which appear on their weekly study and test list are those that appear in the Most Common Words list. A list of these words is attached.
At the beginning of the school year all the children have been given a pretest of these words. There is no reason for a child who knows how to spell many of the first ten words on the list to study them all for a week. Instead, each child has his or her own special list based on the words that were missed in the pretest. Each Friday your child will bring home a list of words taken from those he or she missed on the pretest. This is homework. On the following Friday, the children will have their spelling tests and a new word list will be prepared for them for the following week. Reading the list, writing (copying the list), spelling the words orally, and writing them without looking are all ways to practice these words. Sometimes writing the words with a crayon and then tracing over the letters with a finger helps a child memorize the order of the letters.
Waiting in reserve is the second 100 most common words and the third 100 most common words. We almost never run out of words, even for the most enthusiastic and gifted spellers in our class.
One of our favorite class activities which invites good spelling practice is “Hidden Words”. The letters R S I T F might be written on the board. The children try to arrange these letters to make as many other words as they can, like IT, IF, IS, SIT, FIT, SIFT and so on. Of course we all want to figure out what word could be made using all the letters. A strength of this activity is to find word families among the words we make - it, sit, fit for example.
Spelling research suggests that good spellers possess a photographic memory, are prolific readers, and attend to details. Good readers tend to be good spellers because they have many occasions to see words in print accurately and recognize when a word does not look right. Good spellers are also responsible writers -- they find out how to spell a word they aren’t sure about, especially when it is to be read by others.
PENMANSHIP
Aa Bb Cc Dd Ee Ff Gg Hh Ii Jj Kk Ll Mm Oo Pp
As a part of learning to communicate well, children learn how to write legibly. This implies a certain amount of standardization in letter making. Physical growth and development must cooperate in this venture. Physical dexterity and hand-eye coordination are not always fully developed at this age. “Knowing how” and “doing it” are two different things. Thank goodness good penmanship is not a marker of intelligence. However, that does not mean our students aren’t taught the “how to”. It is important for children to know how to properly form the letters so they can more easily adapt to a cursive style later on.
Forest Ridge Academy has adopted the Zaner-Blowzer penmanship method. It is one among many from which school districts choose. In the primary grades the focus is mainly on forming the letters correctly, the most difficult part, since most children come to school already having invented their own way in their eagerness to be writers. At school most letters are formed from the top down. When children first start making their own letters when they are young, they usually start from the bottom and go up. This habit is rather strongly established by the time they finally meet up with formal instruction. It is probably as hard for a child to change a writing habit as it is for an adult to stop smoking. In any case, I emphasize starting from the top, staying on the line, and leaving a ‘finger’ space between words. Floating letters and run-together letters are the biggest factor in illegible handwriting in my class.
We do have formal penmanship lessons, focusing on one or more letters that are formed in similar ways. I always ask the children to inspect their efforts to find their most perfect example. In order to do that, they must apply the criteria: is it formed correctly and does it stay on the line. And, does it look like the model? Most of the children look forward to learning cursive writing in second grade. To them, writing cursive is like getting a driver’s license to a teenager. A huge benchmark. We can hardly wait. Yes. For both!
SPELLING CONTINUUM
The following stages of spelling do not correspond easily to grade levels. The development of good spellers depends not only on brain maturation, reading ability, and experience applying phonics and word structure knowledge but also to effort and determination to spell correctly. For example without the last two factors present, even an adult may continue to be a developing or transitional speller. And some first graders may be transitional spellers. It all depends.
Stage 1: Spelling Awareness
In this stage children draw and mark on paper with awareness that writing and drawing carry messages. They use marks that approximate writing but that others cannot yet read.
* draw without words
* writes words in scribble form
* assigns own message to writing
Stage 2: Pre-Phonetic
In this stage children are aware that print carries a message. Children’s pictures become more detailed and they are fascinated by print. They explore the relationships between written and spoken words and between letters and sounds. They emulate adult writing using some known letter shapes.
* uses writing-like symbols to represent written language
* uses known letters or approximations of letters
* writes own name
* assigns a message to own symbols
Stage 3: Early
In this stage children show a developing understanding of the sound/ symbol relationship. Their words show a correspondence between the sound and the letter. They represent words with one or a few letters, usually the beginning or ending consonants.
* uses left to right and top to bottom orientation of print
* represents a whole word with one, two, or three letters, mainly
consonants
* more accurately matches letters with sounds, often writing words
with correct beginning and ending letters
Stage 4: Developing
In this stage children are using the relationships between sounds and their symbols to spell words. The words begin to have symbols for sounds in the middle of the words and begin to include vowels. Children can spell some commonly used sight words (the, I, and, at, in. . . ).
* writes most consonant sounds in a word
* writes one or more sounds in the middle of a word
* inserts strong vowel sounds
* includes some commonly used sight words
Stage 5: Transitional
In this stage children have an increased sense of awareness about correct spelling. They continue to use phonetic strategies and begin to use visual and meaning-based strategies, too. They begin to proofread their own spelling, sometimes recognizing when words do not look right. They use a wider bank of known words and sight words correctly. This stage is a critical time for spelling development. Most children take a long time to move through this stage toward independent spelling.
* begins to use visual strategies, such as knowledge of common letter
patterns and critical features of words
* is developing a visual memory for the correct spelling of words
* recognizes and applies complex vowel structures
* uses word structure, meaning, and derivation as a spelling strategy
* develops use of spelling rules
* uses a variety of sources to obtain correct spelling including
electronic spell-checking.
Stage 6: Independent Spelling
In this stage students are aware of many spelling patterns and rules. When spelling a new word, they use multiple strategies and are able to recognize when a word is not spelled correctly. They hold a large bank of words in memory. They consult resources to check spelling after writing a draft and before completing a piece of writing. They are aware of the social obligations of a writer to spell correctly.
* uses patterns and rules that are characteristic of the English
spelling system
* accurately spells prefixes, suffixes, contractions, compound words
* consistently uses silent letters and double consonants correctly
* effectively spells words with uncommon spelling patterns and words
with irregular spelling such as aisle, quay, and neighbor
* recognizes when a word doesn’t look right and thinks of alternative
spellings
* analyses and check work, editing writing, and correcting spelling
* uses spelling references such as dictionaries, thesauruses, and
resource books appropriately
* takes risks, accepts responsibility, and is aware of a writer’s
obligation to readers to spell correctly
* uses a range of resources to extend knowledge of words