Let Them Write!

Hey there! It's official...Christmas break is here! It is hard to believe this year is half over already, but I was definitely in need of some time to rest, reflect, and get recharged for the next semester. Anybody else? 

If you've followed along with this blog for any length of time, you know that I went from teaching 1st grade to 2nd grade and then more recently into the Title I position at my school. As soon as I accepted the position, I decided to pursue my Masters Degree as a Reading Specialist (finished in August and passed the license exam--whoop! whoop!). I've also taken many opportunities to attend workshops about reading difficulties, especially dyslexia. 

I recently had the opportunity to attend a workshop, Dyslexia: Help Children Who Struggle to Successfully Read, Write, and Spell, by Mark Weakland. I was drawn specifically to this one because it was advertised as providing helpful strategies for students with dyslexia and not just the science behind it (important, but I've already learned a lot about that). Mark Weakland did not disappoint--and neither does his website! Check him out at Mark Weakland Literacy. It was a workshop geared to Tier I instruction (so applicable to all, not just reading specialists).

Anyway, one of the things that he shared was Kid Writing. WOW! I really wish I had this resource when I was setting up writing workshop in my first grade classroom years ago...

A little background for you... My first year teaching, I followed the "writing" in my basal series. As you can imagine, I did not see a lot of growth in my students' writing and I knew there had to be a better way. I spent that summer researching and found a wonderful FREE resource by Jessica Meacham. She has done a wonderful job of organizing the resources and is still sharing them for free! Her mini-lessons are fantastic for getting your writing workshop up and going in the primary grades. 

Let's get one thing out of the way. I'm talking about "free writing" where students get to choose what they write about. Copying sentences is not writing. Sentence starters and frames are not a bad thing to use occasionally or to provide scaffolding, but when I talk about teaching writing that is not what I mean. I'm talking about where we give students the opportunity to develop their own thoughts and ideas while using the sound symbol relationships we are teaching them. 

Let them write. Writing builds reading skills. Reading builds writing skills. Let them write. And read...a lot. :-)

Just look what can happen in Kindergarten when teaching kids in a writing workshop structure (this is from Kid Writing):

Some things I'm loving in the Kid Writing book that I wish I had known about when I was teaching writing workshop:

1. The magic line.

2. Teacher publishing for reading and rereading (and the way they explain it to kids).

3. Suggestions for putting high-frequency words in the room to help with spelling (and guess what? reading!). I haven't come across it in the book yet, but Mr. Weakland mentioned a "family tree" where the words that kids commonly want to use (i.e. mother, father, grandpa, grandmother, sister, etc.) are posted for reference. 

4. Assessments for identifying writing developmental phases.

If you're interested in the Kid Writing book, it is an affordable resource book. Check it out here. 

Hope you enjoy your Christmas break! And yes, in case you are wondering, I'm blogging a bit more lately. :-)