Routman describes the importance of teaching writing as whole-part-whole. Too often we are trying to find the right program or the right structure for teaching writing, when we should be asking ourselves How can I teach writing to make it meaningful? How do I engage and motivate students to write independently? We should always start with the big idea, so students have an idea of what is expected and what the end result should look like. Instead of focusing on skills, we want to encourage ideas. Writing for a purpose and an audience is crucial for meaningful and authentic writing.
I help in a kindergarten room every day for 20 minutes during their write-to-self time. The teacher gives them a purpose or prompt and provides a real audience – their peers. The teacher chooses two students a day to come up and share their writing. She makes it interactive and praises good ideas and thoughts. She may choose one or two things to correct through a think-aloud, but she mostly praises ideas and risk-taking.
Routman describes a fourth grade teacher teaching writing through the context of a class monthly magazine. The magazine covers many topics and everyone has a part to develop the articles. They have a real purpose for writing they can relate to. They have genuine readers that include parents, other teachers, and administrators. The students take pride in their writing and become editors of their own work for the readers’ sake.
It is so important that we understand that it is not about finding that right program. That it is about worrying about the writer as much as the writing. Getting ideas out and on paper is very important and kids need a lot of praise to do that.
ReplyDeleteI bet the kindergartners love this time of the day. Students really enjoy sharing their writing and I think the younger students even more so. They always have something to say or tell. The teacher sounds like she really knows what she is doing.
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