Inquiry
question:
What does writing look like in a play-based kindergarten classroom?
This
is a question that many Kindergarten teachers struggle with! In a play-based
classroom, finding evidence of writing, needs to be planned and organized. What
does writing look like? This post will look at; the instructional approaches
to writing, stages of the writing development and assessment, planning and
classroom organization for writing.
Key
Instructional Approaches to Writing
It
is important that teachers and students write daily in kindergarten. As stated in the Ontario A Guide to Effective Instruction in Writing, there are 5
approaches to writing that need to be considered when planning for writing - modelled,
shared, interactive, guided and independent writing. (pg 1.4)
1.
Modelled
writing lessons: Teacher
writes daily (5 minute lessons), providing varied writing. Daily writing helps
encourage students to understand that stories matter and helps them make a
connection between oral language and written word. In my experience, sharing my personal stories about my life,
my kids, my pets, help children tell their own stories. Who doesn’t want to
talk about their cat playing with a live mouse! Note- the lesson can be whole group, small group or one-to-one.
2.
& 3. Shared/Interactive writing lessons: Allows
for children to actively engage in the writing process. They enjoy taking the
marker “pen” to write on the chart paper and share what they know. Note- the lesson can be whole group,
small group.
4.
Guided writing
lessons: are temporary
and in kindergarten will most likely be one-to-one. You might notice that a student needs immediate guidance
about strategies and you can target that learning.
5.
Independent
writing:
is done throughout the day in play/learning centres.
Writing
by the teacher and the students occurs daily in a Kindergarten classroom with
different approaches. Early writers need to observe teachers and friends
writing in authentic and well-supported ways.
Stages
of Development & Assessment
Students
move through various stages of writing at various rates. It’s important that
teachers understand the stages of the writing in order to plan and assess where
their students are, on the development scale. Teachers need to observe and
record student’s movement through these stages. Recording the date (students
can use a date stamp) and keeping samples of their work to see the growth of a
child’s written work is valuable information. Building a writing portfolio is a
great way to share students’ progress with families.
Scribbling
is writing!
When
working in the kindergarten classroom, I had to explain that scribbling is
writing, to students and to adults alike. I also, encouraged the adults, not
write on students’ work. I would ask the student to tell me about their story
and if I wanted to remember it, I would record it on a post-it note. We also
had a list of prompts and questions to ask our writers. For example, “tell me
about your picture’ or “I notice…”
We celebrate all stories, including the scribbles!
You
can check out the following link for examples of the different stages of
writing. We have the stages posted in every primary classroom, which is very similar
to the one listed from the website (see below) because it helps to remind everyone involved
about the stages of writing.
http://www.fourblock.wikispaces.com/file/view/StagesofWritinghandout.pdf
Conferences
Once
our students are writing independently then we need to observe, record, and conference with each student to help
move them along. "Although
conferences appear to be warm, informal conversations, they are in fact highly
principled teaching interactions, carefully designed to move writers along
learning pathways." -Lucy Calkins
Sharing
After
a block of play/learning time, it’s important to share the writing. Regie Routman talks about whole-class sharing, but you can also have partner
sharing. “I never skip whole-class share in
kindergarten…Students just learning to write need and benefit from having their
efforts celebrated.” (P. 207 Regie Routman) I usually had a schedule for
children to share their writing on a given day, with the whole group. Then the
rest of the class participated in partner sharing, taking turns to listen to
each other’s stories.
Planning
and Organizing a Classroom for Writing
Observing
the classroom and where children are in the stages of development will guide
the mini-lessons for whole-group, small-group or individuals. These mini-lessons
lessons allow for opportunities to introduce, assess, and teach writing concepts.
Planning for writing needs to be
intentional and authentic. Multiple opportunities for students to work
independently needs to occur daily, so what does that look like? Where is the
independent writing? Each of the centres/play/learning areas needs to be
carefully organized for writing. Providing multiple opportunities for the Kindergarten
team to interact and work with students one-to-one or small group throughout
play/learning centres day is vital to a child’s success in writing/learning.
Play/Learning
Centre
|
Materials
to Include
|
Possible
Prompts
|
Writing
Centre
|
- wide
variety of paper
-wide
variety of writing utensils
-
examples of student’s work
-envelopes
-word
cards (such as children’s names or words related to theme)
-notebooks
-book
binding material – stapler, hole punch
-magnetic
letters
-writing
folders
|
-we
talked about writing letters in whole group today, would you like to write a
letter to someone?
|
Reading
/Library Centre
|
-paper
and pencils
-clipboards
-class-made
or individually made student books
-books
with variety of formats and content
|
-I
notice in that book you’re reading, that the character writes a letter. Would
you like to write a letter to someone?
|
Science
Centre
|
-paper
and pencils
-clipboards
-post-it
notes
-student
made work
-writing
pertaining to ‘watching our tadpoles grow’
|
- Our tadpoles are growing! How can we document that to be sure?
-I
took a photo of you looking at the tadpoles. Let’s make them into a book
with writing about what you notice
|
Block
Centre
|
-paper
and pencils
-clipboard
-post-it
notes
|
-I
noticed you made a road! There are some writing materials if you’d like to
make signs with it.
|
Math
Centre
|
-paper
and pencils
-clipboards
-examples
of students work
|
-How can
we make that into a story problem? Let’s write it down.
|
From: Writing Instruction in Pre-Kindergarten Classrooms: Methods,
Considerations, and Practices. Capstone Experience, Sarah Shufelt, Peabody
College of Vanderbilt University
In
Conclusion
If
you plan, organize, provide mini-lessons and tools for writing at the
play/learning centres in a play-based kindergarten classroom, you will observe
writing everywhere!
“Young
children learn the most important things not by being told but by constructing
knowledge
for
themselves in interaction with the physical world and other children – and the
way they do this
is
by playing.” (The Play’s the Thing)
Bibliography & References
Bibliography & References
A Guide to Effective Instruction in
Writing –
Kindergarten to Grade 3- Ontario Education – Excellence for All – 2005
Calkins,
Lucy. Units of Study for Primary Writing
(K-2). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Jones,
Elizabeth & Reynolds, Gretchen. 2011. The
Play’s the Thing: Teacher’s Roles in Children’s Play. Teachers College
Press
Routman,
Regie. 2005. Writing Essentials. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann.
Shufelt,
Sarah. Capstone Experience. Writing
Instruction in Pre-Kindergarten Classrooms: Methods, Considerations, and
Practices. Peabody College of Vanderbilt University.
Stages of Writing -http://www.fourblock.wikispaces.com/file/view/StagesofWritinghandout.pdf
The above post was written for an AQ Kindergarten course!
