BUILDING STRONGER WRITERS (PART ONE)

My all time favorite subject to teach is writing.  It even edges out math in my book.  I absolutely love the whole process.  Watching the kids progress throughout the year keeps me coming back for more.  It must be my journalism degree talking here . . . I've always loved to write.  And, I must say that the challenge of teaching kiddos to love writing too downright excites me. It's all about "selling the sizzle" of drafting quality sentences.  If you sell YOUR love of writing and really talk it up as you toss new things out there . . . the majority of your kids will follow your lead.  I promise. #marketingintheclassroomworks

As I think about teaching writing, I want the process to be engaging, meaningful, and fun.  Writing . . . FUN?  Yes.  I have found that making writing fun is the key ingredient to building awesome writers. It's those giggles that keep kids tuned-in and begging back for more. Keep reading to learn my recipe for writing success in first grade (and late Kinder too).

I tried to break this post down into manageable chunks for you. It outlines my writing instruction/lessons for the fall trimester (see note below). I have carefully crafted my process throughout the past nine years and I continue to build on it with every new crew that walks in my door. I am not saying that this is the end all in writing instruction. However, it is a process that has proven to work very well for me . . . time and time again.  In addition to my outline, I have included a scope and sequence for fall writing instruction at the end of this post.  

**NOTES - If you are just finding this and the first trimester has come and gone, no worries!  It's never too late to jump into this process . . . especially when you notice your writing isn't where it should be. You can omit the elements you have covered or take my ideas up a notch to help match your kiddos' current abilities.  

Also, Kinder teachers . . . many of the elements in my scope and sequence will work for you starting in the late winter and early spring.**

HANDWRITING AND LETTER SOUNDS

For the first 3 weeks I ONLY focus on letter sounds and handwriting.  Their printing can always use a little quite a bit of polishing and you have to take the time to figure out where your new crew falls (ability-wise).  I have found that the familiarity of the alphabet works like a charm when kick starting the writing process.  It's a great way to get into the printing routine and you can embed a spelling element into the mix -- the perfect start to encouraging kids to use their skills to sound out words.  Let me explain this a bit more.

During the first week or two of school, I introduce one new letter a day.  I like to use Zoo Phonics in conjunction with my instruction.  The kids just seem to get the "moves" and it helps those sounds stick for your strugglers.  Once we get to the letter Ee, we start tapping and spelling words with the letters we have practiced thus far.  It's amazing how many words you can spell with only the first few letters of the ABCs (bed, dad, bad, cab).  By spelling a few words every day, I am guiding them into the solo sounding out stage.  My goal is to create a safe environment that encourages the use of phonics skills when writing.  By the time we hit week three of instruction, I hit the kids with two letters a day to help speed up the process.

Now, by the time that you wrap up the alphabet, you have spelled oodles of words and helped get the kiddos into the routine of sounding out words.  It's glorious I tell you.  But, the perks don't stop there.  I am a stickler for quality work and neat printing.  Well, alphabet review takes handwriting to a whole new level. (My buttons pop when I look at my kids' work these days . . . they have grown SO much in one short month.) 

If I can say anything here, it is GO SLOW now to GO FAST later :) I have handwriting packets in my shop (Rock Star or Baseball themed), but you don't need these to run quality handwriting instruction and spelling practice - ruled newsprint, cut in half, works great too :)

COPY STAGE (IF NEEDED)

Focusing on this stage is only needed if kiddos were not introduced to sentence writing in Kinder or the majority of your kids walk in not able to construct a basic sentence.  The first few weeks of school always includes copying some brainstormed sentences from the board, but sometimes you need EVEN more.  

Let me explain my situation this year.  My kids walked in on day one and about 3/4 could not draft a basic sentence. I didn't realize that writing wasn't a priority in Kinder at my new school. Needless to say, I had to quickly re-think my plans and scale way back. That's when I introduced the basic copy stage during the second week of school.  It worked well and was the perfect "crutch" my kids needed to find their footing when writing.  Here's my thoughts on this one.

Begin by posting simple sentence frames on the white board or under the doc cam.  Brainstorm ideas to complete the sentence and record them on the board. Invite your kids to copy the frame and complete it.  If your kids aren't accustomed to copying (or haven't done it before), I suggest writing the sentence on their desk in white board marker.  After a few of these, back off and only give the brainstormed piece (they have to transfer the sentence starter).  Finally, have them transfer the two parts on their own.   

The copying stage at its best.
This is the perfect Monday write . . . we do it 2-3 times every month :)
After a few times, my template doesn't include the sentence starter.
Snag both Weekend Templates HERE.

In addition to simple sentence frame copying, a daily sentence warm-up is a great way to help your babes familiarize themselves with sentences. These can be used as morning work, a "ticket to lunch," or as a transition piece.  

Here's how this looks in my room this year.  Every morning when the kids walk in the door, they find a half-sheet with a simple sentence on their desk.  This sentence is highly decodable and is filled with sight words. I ask my students to copy the sentence twice. This not only helps reinforce the idea of complete sentences, but it also works on capital letters, punctuation, and finger spacing.  In my mind this is a LEVEL 1 WRITING TASK (Entry Level Writer) as they are still just copying.  

Now . . . not all of my kids copy.  I have about seven "hot shots" that get a similar sheet that asks them to add details to an existing sentence (i.e. make it better).  I consider this a LEVEL 2 WRITER (Emerging Writer).  These have helped tremendously in the past few weeks and I will continue to move kids through the levels to help accommodate their writing growth.  My goal is to have every kiddo in my class to a LEVEL 3 WRITER (Developing Writer) by spring.  This top level asks kids to draft detailed sentences of their own using a word bank.  
  

They really take pride in their work when doing these.
And, the best part . . . they feel successful when writing :)

If you want to implement a daily sentence piece in your room, here are a few ideas. You can write a sentence on the board and have the kiddos copy or add to it - one group simply transfers the sentence and your hot shots can add more details.  You can also quickly make a template on your computer with a sentence and a lined font (I like Fonts4Teachers).  It's pretty easy to just keep changing a template - especially in Power Point.  Now, if you are looking for a packaged product that is all ready to go, I do have a series of Monthly Sentence Writing Warm-Ups.  Each collection contains 75 total practice sheets spanning three levels of instruction.  It's already levelized for you.

BUILDING BASIC SENTENCES

NOTE: If you have kiddos who walk in the door writing simple sentences, you can jump right into this stage after about 3-4 weeks of school.  A little copying is grand, but you don't need much. I typically start in on this instruction toward the end of the alphabet review.  

I'll be honest . . . I don't like to "hold hands" for too long when it comes to writing. So, as soon as I feel that "trust" fall into place . . . we jump on into drafting our own sentences. 

Alright, so basic sentences.  I begin with pocket chart lessons.  We talk about the WHO and the WHAT in sentences and use article, noun, verb, and punctuation cards to build a basic sentence together.  

I like to incorporate movements into writing instruction whenever possible. The kids so buy-into what you are dishin' and it keeps them giggling.  Here's my take on the who (subject) and the what (predicate).  You can totally make little posters of YOU with strange faces . . . all you need is a cameraman who will only laugh a little and Power Point :)

Once we have built sentences together in the good 'ol hanging chart, it is time to start letting the reins out a bit.  I suggest guiding them through the process via a shared writing experience.  However, I do believe that pushing them a bit at the end of the lesson is a good thing.  My caution would be to not hit them with too much too soon as the little guys tend to shut down on you. I strongly suggest that you provide a "safe" and manageable way for your cuties to tackle one  sentence on their own. (Remember - go slow to go fast.)  

In my room, my kids are given a silly sentence starter (or the WHO) and the volunteers helped come up with the WHAT.  Now . . . I should tell you that I like to make is a bit wild and I think that is the key element here.  Laughter and emotional involvement drives attention.  How outlandish you want to get with this so needs to match your style.  However, I do strongly suggest adding a little bit of silly for the little guys . . . they love it :)

Okay . . . so sometimes I get VERY silly.
However, the kids were eating out of the palm of my hand during this entire lesson.
#hooklineSINKER

I like the magic number of THREE when it comes to shared writing - sentence style.  Two is just not enough practice and four often leads to disinterest (you can't always hold the "sparkle" for that long).  So, the kids help me draft two sentences together.  The third, well, you guessed it . . . they are on their own.  I have found that it's just the right amount of push. 

Be sure to highlight their work right off the bat via an Author's Chair. Not only does it create additional buy in, but many of the kids also love sharing their work. It fosters a sense of pride . . . just what you need when you are honing little writers :)

During the basic sentence stage, the kids are doing a lot of writing during centers.  I provide a sentence starter and they finish it.  They also work with subject and predicate cards in centers.  They add the missing part to the sentence.  

I do want to say that there is NO BRAINSTORMING happening on the board at this time . . . they tap and spell. #youhavemadskillskids

Alright, so I am stopping here for now as it is time to make dinner (hehehe).  I will be back this weekend with PART 2 of this post.  To read PART 2, CLICK HERE. It's finally up :)  The next four stages are listed below.  

1. Punctuation and Kinds of Sentences
2. Drafting Detailed Sentences
3. Paragraph Writing
4. Other Types of Writing

Oh, and here is the SCOPE AND SEQUENCE that I promised for WRITING INSTRUCTION IN FIRST GRADE (FALL TRIMESTER).

If you are looking for other ways to build better sentence writers in your room, I have put all of my ideas into a ready to go SUPER SENTENCE WRITERS PACK. It's a little "out of the box," but the kids always get a kick out of the lessons and activities included in this one. You do not need my pack to use the process outlined above :)  

Thanks for taking the time to visit me. I will see you again soon.  Have a great night.  I am off to rice cauliflower . . . hopefully, I won't rice my knuckles this time.  #dollingdoesdinner