“Through writing children express themselves, clarify their thinking, communicate ideas, and integrate new information into their knowledge base” (IRP, 5).  What can we learn from this quote?  For me, it is a way of letting teachers know that writing involves so much more than grammar, punctuation and spelling.  It involves creativity and individual expression, which allows children to explore and work out their thoughts and ideas.  It is our job as educators to teach children the fundamentals of writing in whatever way we choose.  To begin, I think it is extremely important to approach writing with a positive and open minded attitude (unlike the teacher in the cartoon above).

Having the opportunity to participate in decision making about their learning, while engaging in the classroom community (voice) and having options (choice), are things teachers should always offer their students (IRP, 26).  For those students who have a lot of great ideas, but are reluctant to write, why not give them the opportunity to type on a computer?  This allows them to get all of their wonderful ideas down without the stress of writing.  As Robin Stevenson explained, there are many different ways to expand a story, it doesn’t always have to be written.  If a child would rather act out the story or illustrate it, let them.  It is just as valid as writing it down.  Drawing is just as important as writing for early writers (Savage, 41).  It is still story telling.  It is crucial that teachers focus on their students ideas.  Some children’s writing development may come later than others and that’s perfectly fine.  Not everyone progresses at the same rate.  Focus on what they can do and go from there.

Providing children with resources to aid them with their writing is important as well.  These don’t have to be complicated resources, in fact, the simpler the better.  A great tool to use with children is the “Look, Cover, Write, Check Book,” (image 1 &2) which consists of a stack of scrap paper stapled together that has been divided and cut into three sections.  The student will then write a word under the look section, then they cover it, then try and write it again (2 times) without looking.  After they practiced their spelling two times, they can go back to “look” to check if they spelled it correctly.  If you choose to emphasize the fluidity of writing, have the students continue writing, leaving a blank space for words they aren’t sure how to spell (Bainbridge et al., 329), perhaps writing the first few letters (so they remember what the word is), or starring the words they aren’t sure of.  Let the students know that they can to go back to try and spell these words.  After students have been using these resources over a period of time and become more comfortable with their ideas and perhaps the writing process, they may feel comfortable sharing them.  It is important for educators to create an environment that will never judge a child or their ideas. Another great way to encourage writing is by showing them that writing can be fun!

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When I think back to writing in elementary school one word comes to mind: fun!  We were never told to sit down and write about something that didn’t interest us.  It is important to make writing fun for children, by incorporating it wherever possible.  For example, if you choose to have students write for five to ten minutes at the beginning or end of class, why not give them a fun topic to write about or give them the beginning of the story and ask them to write about what they think will happen next? If it is something that is fun and interesting they will be more motivated to write and share their ideas!

A PLO for grade one (C10) is for children to be able to “use some features and conventions of language to express meaning in their writing and representing, including appropriate spacing between letters and between words” (IRP, 54).  A great way to satisfy this while incorporating fun is to provide students with a toy to help space their words.  A spaceman or bookworm (image 3) are great examples of such toys (Savage, 43).   This will make the somewhat boring side of writing fun for the kids and; therefore, rewarding for the teacher.  The more fun writing is, the more children will feel inspired to write and the more improvement they will make! 

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It is also important to stress that there is no right or wrong way to go about writing.  Just as Robin Stevenson explained, some children may prefer to lay out the details of their story, including the characters and events that will take place before they begin the writing process and some may have one idea that they start with, which gradually develops into their story as they write it. It is important for children to experiment with writing to find what is right for them.

As educators, it is crucial that we stress the importance of revision as well. The C6 Prescribed Learning Outcome for grade one explains that children must “use a strategy after writing and representing to improve their work ”, such as revision (IRP, 54).  Many children will not know what revision is, or why it is so important, especially at primary level; therefore, teachers must educate them on this.  A great way to introduce revision as a non intimidating practice is to do it together as a class.  This can be as simple as the teacher putting up a piece of writing with obvious errors on it up on the overhead/smartboard and ask the class to find the problems and work together to find what should be changed.  Once children are familiar with the revision process, it is important to introduce them to peer revision.  

It is a great idea having students communicate with one another, giving feedback using techniques such as “two stars and a wish.”  This gives the child positive reinforcement about what they did well, which will allow them to take the “wish” into better consideration.  The fact that children are working together during this exercise is important because it creates a sense of community within the classroom, which allows children to be more open with one another. 

It is important to show that even you, as a teacher, can make mistakes.  If you make a spelling error that a student notices, for instance, thank them, and emphasize that everyone makes mistakes, even teachers.  If children know they aren’t dealing with an academic who writes flawlessly, and doesn’t make any mistakes they will feel more comfortable, willing to try new things and share with their teacher and their peers.    

Let students know that it’s okay not to finish a piece of writing.  If they begin writing and are frustrated with it, they don’t have to continue.  They can simply throw it away and start over again.  Nothing is written in stone (especially if you write in pencil - tee hee). They are still practicing writing and character development.  The mechanics of writing are being learned despite if they finish it or not. 

References

Bainbridge, Joyce, Rachel Heydon and Grace Malicky. “Assessment and Conventions of Writing,” from Constructing Meaning: Balancing Elementary Language Arts.  Nelson Education Ltd.: 2009.

British Columbia Ministry of Education. “English Language Arts, Kindergarten to Grade 7: Integrated Resource Package 2006.”

Stevenson, Robin.  EDCI 302: Guest Lecturer.  October 21, 2011.

Savage, Jennifer. “How can I effectively use the First Steps Writing program in my classroom?” 1-20.