Start with Celebration!

Chapter 2 in my writing essentials book is focused on celebrating a student's work and turning students into writers. Allowing students to share their work with the class is a very important aspect of celebration. Students are fully engaged in each other's work. This also allows them to see examples of different abilities of work, often model work.

Routman also offers suggestions for making writing more meaningful in this chapter. One important thing was allowing the students to be creative and write about what they want to write about. If the teacher chooses a topic it should be appropriate and relatable to your students.
Some interesting topic choices could be:
-what we worry about
-our favorite places
-a day we will never forget
-What we're experts at
-all about us
-what we like or dislike
-heart poems
-our pets
-secrets of second graders (or whichever grade level)
-the best thing we ever did

 Another important component was to use a story a springboard for teaching and learning. When you begin a writing lesson it teaches students the proper way writing should be composed and develops a love and appreciation for writing, along with many other skills. Teachers should adjust the story to the their grade level of their students, keep the student's attention, and model writing in front of the students.

In my classroom, we format our writing time into a workshop time. This workshop consists of a mini-lesson, writing time, computer (typing) time, and sharing time; which we refer to as "T.A.G." This acronym stands for; Tell one thing you like about your friend's writing, Give one suggestion, and Ask one question. The kids look forward to TAG each day. However, I am guilty of cutting TAG short if we are running short on time. This chapter made me realize that sharing their writing is just too important to skip. My students will be more engaged to write if they enjoy what they are writing about and get a chance to share with their peers.

I am looking forward to taking the first step into making writing more meaningful in my classroom.

Smiles! :)

Writing Essentials

For this semester I have chosen the book "Writing Essentials: Raising Expectations while Simplifying Teaching" by Regie Routman. Writing is one of my favorite things to teach to my young students, however I sometimes struggle with creating and developing new ways to address my diverse population of students.

After reading the first chapter of this book, I love it! Chapter 1 focuses on simplifying the teaching of writing. One thing that really stuck out was when the author stated that she commonly found teachers who said the harder the worked on teaching writing, the more resistant their students became. Wow! That makes so much sense to me. We are always so focused on increasing results on testing and less focused on what the students are actually thinking. All I ever hear is "conventions, conventions, conventions!" This is what our students need to pass. Writing is not about passing a state test. It is about thinking, communicating, inquiring, and exploring langauge.

This chapter identified 12 writing essentials for all grade levels:
-Write for a specific reader and a meaningful purpose.
-Determine an appropriate topic.
-Present ideas clearly, with a logical, well-organized flow.
-Elaborate on ideas.
-Embrace language.
-Create engaging leads.
-Compose satisfying endings.
-Craft authentic voice.
-Reread, rethink, and revise while composing.
-Apply correct conventions and form.
-Read widely and deeply- and with a writer's perspective.
-Take responsibility for producing effective writing.

I am very engaged and excited to dig deeper into this book! :)

Check out my website, Building a Literacy Leader!
https://sites.google.com/site/buildingaliteracyleader/