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Language Arts

Early writing fosters a child’s emotional growth and helps develop critical thinking skills.

Writing is far more complicated than speaking as it requires planning of the message,

organization of ideas, deciding what words to use and what order to put them in. Because of this

complicated process, Hochman and Wexler (2017) argue that, “teaching students to write is

equivalent to teaching them how to think” (p. 4). Utilizing creative, innovative, and fun ways to

enhance the student’s knowledge to build these foundational skills and will allow

children opportunities to utilize what they’ve learned-which is the goal of balanced literacy

instruction. This project is a case study designed to engage a kindergarten student in a writing

process to use her voice, ideas, and illustrations, to create a book. In addition to the writing

sample, I identified strengths and areas for improvement in her writing and made suggestions for

future writing and reading.

The student in this project had positive feelings towards literacy activities. She did not

avoid reading or writing but understanding her interests and preferences made it easier to make

suggestions for future writing and reading topics. Strickland, Ganske and Monroe (2002)

describe how “situational interest” can be a useful tool for students who are reluctant readers or

writers: “Students who are otherwise indifferent to literacy tasks may become absorbed when

reading and writing topics are geared to their personal interests” (p.17). In this case, the student

selected the books about animals that we read aloud before beginning the writing activity. Then

we made a graphic organizer of the student’s personal interests to gather information about what

topic she should write about.

Teaching students that writing is a vital communication skill allows them to fully realize

that ideas have meaning and can have impact. Also, guiding students to view themselves as
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writers and to give them some sense of autonomy over their writing lets them buy into the

writing process (Fletcher & Portalupi, 2001) With the ability to say exactly what the child

means, she gains confidence that her ideas will be heard, will resonate with someone, and make

permanent what is otherwise fleeting. By creating a book of her own writing and illustrations, the

student was able share with her family a work of art that she was extremely proud of.

Classrooms are filled with diverse learners and creating different teaching strategies

should reflect that. In my teaching and understanding the writing process of emergent writers it

is important to remember, “the writing process at every age and stage it is an ‘effortful’ activity”.

(Myhill and Fisher, 2010, p. 1). Writing allows students a means of processing and reflecting on

their life experiences—experiences that are already so rich with vocabulary and meaning. By

giving this student the opportunity to tell her story and express her thoughts, I am helping her to

develop her own unique and confident writer’s voice. By guiding students to view themselves as

writers and to give them some sense of autonomy over their writing lets them buy into the

writing process (Fletcher & Portalupi, 2001) and with explicit instruction students can learn to

convey their message effectively and efficiently (Hochman & Wexler, 2017).

Kindergarteners should be given many opportunities to write while also being exposed

to books frequently, allowing them to learn the proper direction and orientation of print almost

simultaneously. Students are influenced by the models they are given and by guiding students to

understand the craft of writing through reading enables students to absorb those influences and

manifest them in their own writing (Manak, 2011). The reading suggestions made for the case-

study student were presented in the project as texts to build fluency and increase reading stamina,

but they could also be used to influence and improve the student’s voice in her writing.
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The project presented also outlines how I would move forward with individualized

conference time with the case-study student to improve her writing. One-on-one conferences

allows the writing teacher to create specific interventions based on individual student needs

while providing the support students may require to gain confidence in their writing. Using a

student’s writing to teach grammar and writing conventions is more effective than teaching it in

isolation as teachers can “guide students to correct usage by pointing out errors in the writing

they themselves produce” (Hochman & Wexler, 2017, p. 15). In the case of the student in this

project, an individualized conference would be an ideal time to review writing conventions and

correct errors that were made in her writing. Ultimately, creating a positive learning environment

where students trust the teacher and feel safe will foster the learning process and build the

necessary literacy foundational skills for success.

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References:

Myhill, D. & Fisher, R. (2010). Editorial: Writing development: cognitive, sociocultural,

linguistic perspectives. Journal of Research in Reading, 33(1), 1-3. Retrieved from

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9817.2009.01428.x

Hochman, J. & Wexler, N. (2017). The writing revolution: A guide to advancing thinking

through writing in all subjects and grades. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass

Fletcher, R. & Portalupi, J. (2001). Writing workshop: The essential guide. Portsmouth, NH:

Manak, J. (2011). The social construction of intertextual and literary understanding: The impact

of interactive read-alouds on the writing of third graders during writing workshop.

Reading Research Quarterly, 46 (4). 309-311. Retrieved from

https://ila.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/RRQ.001

Strickland, D., Ganske, K. & Monroe, J. (2002). Supporting struggling readers and writers:

Strategies for classroom intervention 3-6. Portland, ME: Stenhouse Publishers.