A special part of the Kindergarten Water class through the Christmas and Epiphany season.

Welcome Writers!

We have entered into our second week of Writers' Workshop. We will continue with our writing routines throughout the spring term. In the beginning of our workshop the students join together to learn a new writing strategy and discuss new ways to tell their stories on paper. The students are greeted by the teacher, "Welcome, writers" and the students politely respond, "Thank you!" I then model a particular writing strategy for them to practice, which today included making a plan to write a sentence somewhere that makes sense on their paper. 

Students are encouraged to add a lot of detail to their drawings in order to tell the story. The students are told they must tell a true story about something that happened in their lives. MJ is sharing about a time when he remembers a policeman stopping a car that was doing something wrong. He is hearing a lot of sounds in his words and adding many important details for the readers. 

The students are challenged to label their pictures. In writing their words, students are prompted to write the sounds that they hear in each of the words. For instance, Dash has shared his experience from Las Posadas hearing many sounds and writing the letters as he hears them. 

Sharing our experiences from the walk or drive to school has been a favorite topic for the students. Roma has labeled "me, mommy and Livy" in her picture. She is also hearing different sounds in the word school. Some students may hear every sound in their words while others hear only one sound or the beginning sound of the word. This is all very appropriate. 

Veer tells a story of him on a plane. He remembers the sky, clouds and windows. Veer and the rest of the students say their words out loud to help them hear both the /m/ and /e/ sounds in the word me. 

Challenge your children to label their pictures and spell words the way they hear them as they draw at home. When they ask you "How do I spell..." respond by saying, "What sounds do you hear? Write those letters." This is a great way to continue practicing letter-sound recognition at home and developing them into strong writers!