Lauralee Green's "A Look into Writing Routines for Kindergarten and ESL"

How do I create the kind of classroom routines that encourage students to write?

A few weeks into my first year teaching Kindergarten, a student approached me and asked, “Mrs. Green, why do we always have to come to your house?” I laughed to myself and told him that I did not live at the school, but that this was the classroom we use when we are together to learn. That year I had the standards and precious little else besides glue and construction paper to teach with. “So why do we go to Kindergarten everyday?” was a question I was also asking myself.

I scrambled for books to read and projects to teach science, math, and social studies. The only writing I could think to have them do was the ubiquitous journal. That first year I learned to model writing words around the room, drawing and writing stories, and I also took dictation for stories told to me. A colleague, who is a teacher consultant, shared with me about interactive writing, a technique whereby the pen is shared with students as a text is created on chart paper.

After attending the orientation for the 2007 ISI at Redwood Writing Project, I began researching about writing with young children. Since I am also an ESL teacher, I looked through books about writing with English Language Learners as well. Armed with research to inform my practice, I have clear direction how to proceed with both groups of children.

Like the students in my Kindergarten class, newcomers “often rely on drawing, moving to more elaborate drawings with labels and then to composing original pieces of writing.” (Samway 2007 pg. 58) Authentic writing and reflective writing is encouraged for all students. Silvia Ashton Warner used the Language Experience Approach (LEA) to teach reading with language minority students. It is also beneficial for young writers.

In the LEA, students dictate a text, which the teacher records on paper for the class. “The dictated text then becomes the reading material for multiple readings and for skills teaching.” (Samway 2007, 1999. Pg.184) In Write Now! pg.68 by Tunks & Giles, Morrow quotes: “The premise of LEA is that: what I think is important; what I think I can say; what I say can be written down by me or others; what is written down can be read by me and others.”

Through my research, I have found that writing needs to occur everyday; children already come to school knowing that they can write, and as their teacher I need to analyze their areas of interest so I can guide them as they choose their own topics to write about. My job as a teacher is not to criticize by pointing out errors, but to teach the process of drafting, revising, editing, and publishing, and let the child take charge over what is written down.

With my Kindergarten class I will continue my current routine and add portfolios for assessment. As I make writing an integral part of the day and have students select their own topics and keep their drafts in writing folders, they will know that when students come to “my house”- we will write!

References:

Graves, Donald H. 1990. Discover Your Own Literacy. Portsmouth,N.H.: Heineman.

Graves, Donald. 1983. Writing: Teachers and Children at Work. Portsmouth, N.H. :Heinemann.

Samway, Katharine Davies. 2006. When English Language Learners Write. Portsmouth, N.H. :Heinemann.

Samway, Katharine Davies and Denise McKeon. 2007, 1999. Myths and Realities, Best Practices for English Language Learners. Portsmouth, N.H. :Heinemann.

Tunks, Karyn Wellhousen and Rebecca McMahon Giles. 2007. Write Now! Portsmouth, N.H. :Heinemann.