Writing is something I struggle to teach my students. This year my students have such a wide range of abilities. I have about 3-4 students who cannot write anything but illegible scribbles. They do not understand the concept of letters and words yet. They are still not even able to copy their name. Then I have students who are already writing sentences on their own.
I am working on starting a writing workshop in my classroom. The first few weeks I attempted it, but have not been happy with it. I have not seen my students progressing and I feel like I could be using my time better. I am hoping that in writing my paper for this class I can get more ideas on writing workshop.
"Implementing daily writing workshop takes a big chunk of literacy time, but it is worth it. The children get excited about writing and that is important. Reading and writing are connected. When you are conducting writing workshop you are also working on reading skills." (Writing workshop in Kindergarten Angela Behymer)
I know that reading and writing are connected and I need to find a way to stick it out with the writing workshop.
I did have a light bulb moment last week. We finally pulled out white boards to use whole group. (I'm not a big fan of white boards whole group because someone is fighting over something, even though everyone should have their own materials.) Well we were working with whiteboards and I looked over at one of my students who's writing is illegible and I could actually read it on the white board!?! Well I'll have to keep that student working more with the white board to help with the his motor skills.
I can totally relate to you on writing with Kindergarten kiddos. It really tries your patience. I have some kiddos who are writing initial sounds, others sounding out words without a problem, and then others who are scribbling. I keep looking at the wide range of writing ability in my class, wondering what I am going to do. I want to do a writing workshop, but I am uncertain how to approach the process. I know my kiddos would benefit, but I am hesitant about where to start and whether or not they could handle the process. I really enjoy white boards, but you are right they are difficult to use whole group especially in Kindergarten. I have some kiddos who are successful in writing letters and their names on a white board, however when they are handed a pencil and paper it is a different story. It's encouraging to see a student who is struggling experience success when using the white boards. Plus, the kiddos love the white boards so, it's always a great way of keeping them engaged. Writing for all grade levels is difficult, but there seems to be something even more difficult about it in Kindergarten. It's a fun challenge though! ~Stacia :)
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