Writing…

about our READING

We write about a LOT of things in room 306.  We write lists, poems, sentences, paragraphs, letters, cards, notes, questions, answers, and OH SO MUCH MORE.  Writing is really difficult to learn how to do well.  There are so many components to each piece of writing we attempt.  Capital letters.  Sentences that make sense.  Proper punctuation.  Adding dialogue.  Using quotation marks.  Knowing the difference between there, their, and they’re.  Being able to use POLISH and POLISH correctly.  The English language is mean.  Seriously.  It’s not nice.  

So, taking ALL of these (and many more) things into account, we write.  We write about our reading a lot.  This helps them to understand what is happening and gives them practice with their writing skills.  I love reading their letters to me.  It takes a lot of work (for them and me!) and I love to see the progress they make.  You can practice writing at home – it’s fun and easy!  Sticky Notes!  Try this:  write a fun note to your child and stick it some place.  They get to write you back, sticking it somewhere else.  The bathroom mirror!  Try this:  Write a message on their mirror with soap.  This is a fun and quick way to write a few things to your kids - and they can do it back to you too.  Trust me, it's worth buying a bar of soap!

Last week, we wrote two paragraphs and put them in our READERS NOTEBOOKS.  The first paragraph was about a book they love they read recently.  The second paragraph was about an experience or vacation they took.  The experience could be in your own home (someone wrote about making cider!) or a fun trip you took.  As the year progresses, we will write more and more about the books they are reading.  Predicting what may happen next in a story.  Describing the setting of a story.  Writing an article about a favorite subject.  Describing character traits, or how a character changed over the story. 

We are a classroom full of writers.  Writing is an essential skill and it’s a hard thing to do.  Practice.  That’s what we need to do to get better.  I LOVE reading their letters.  It gives me a chance to learn more about them and I get the chance to interact with them in writing.  Bravo!

Write.  Write.  Write.