How I Get My Students to Love Writing!
As we all know, getting children to write (and write well) is a struggle. They come to us in first grade having just enough confidence to write a little "story" when really we want so much more from them! This year I made it a goal to really focus on writing in my classroom and to make what really was important to me, count the most. If you want to learn my tips for getting your first graders to also love and enjoy writing, keep reading!
Rule 1. You're going to need to be an actress.
Yes. I mean that. If you TRULY want your kids to write like authors, you're going to have to work for it. Run around the room, grab their attention, make up a character, act like them, give them personality, have a problem, solve the problem all while sweating. I promise, I swear by this. Getting the kids to think through their writing as if it was a movie is goal number one. Instead of writing, "I like cats." my kids are writing "Cats are fascinating creatures because they have sharp claws." ...all because I acted it out really well. It also doesn't hurt that they get to hear you act every day and HEAR how you're supposed to write!
Rule 2. Chill on the spelling errors.
If you're a control freak teacher this is for you. Because I start focusing with quality first I don't correct too much spelling errors at the beginning of the year, UNLESS they misspell a sight word on the word wall. This has been crucial for me because my kids have been referencing my word wall more and more and now that its January the words they once misspelled are perfect! I know you're going to want to fix everything, but trust me it's in their best interest if you don't. This also plays a role in rule 6, so keep reading!
Rule 3. Use the 10 finger writing rules!
Basically, one hand is completely filled with the five senses (sight, taste, feel, hear, smell) and the other hand is WH questions, (who, what, where, when, why?) During our daily journals I CONSTANTLY reference to this and the anchor chart we made and I've seen a HUGE difference in their quality of writing. They always want to impress me by adding adjectives and details! For this to work, you most definitely need a chart of some kind to reference EVERY DAY. If you don't reference it every day the kids won't hear it every day and it won't be as effective.
Rule 4. Make it FUN
Once January hits do Sentence Construction Room Transformation! (Another blog post) This is where you introduce the Writing Checklist HARD. Last year I started the year off with the checklist and it wore off fast and the kids ended up hated writing and it's because I started off too strong with grammar and tried to end the year with quality which didn't work in my favor. But if you think about it, as adults we always write rough drafts and edit later once you have all the details organized. This is basically what I'm doing! We really hit hard on capital letters and periods the second half of the year. Now this doesn't mean I don't talk about it, because I do, this is just saying I don't correct it in daily journals or count off on writing projects or tests.
Rule 5. Write everyday.--and do it as a class, not in a center.
Every morning we have a journal entry (based off power point) and it's usually something about myself. I share A LOT of pictures of my life with my kids, whether it's a race I ran in, when I got engaged, my pets, family, my OWN first grade picture, or even if it was what I did that weekend/break. I find it crucial to do this because you're hitting three birds with one stone. 1)You're establishing trust for overall classroom environment, but 2) you're also giving them topics they can relate and write about. Have they ever ran a race? Would they ever want too? What did you see, hear, smell? Who were they with? If they haven't been to a race, that's where the creativity comes in and they have to make up a story about if they did. And finally, 3) You're showing them something most kids never get in order to write well and that's CULTURE. When you go on trips (or even just want to go somewhere) I show them pictures! My students can see places all over the world just because I showed them. You can't expect your students to write, "I would love to see the white, sandy beaches and the bright blue water of Mexico"...if your students have never been to Mexico or have even seen bright blue water.... Depending on where you live too, the only water your students may see is the town lake which is brown. Make writing it's own research experience, and I promise you after 180 days of this, you'll be AMAZED as to what your students will bring to the table. This has worked WONDERS in my room this year and I love it!
Rule 6. Be encouraging.
Writing is hard, especially for new readers. A few tips to help be encouraging, but not overwhelming: 1) If you check a journal entry and there are a TON of errors, just pick a few to have them correct, not all of them. (I know this will be hard for you, but trust me. It's a marathon not a sprint). You don't want to mark red all over their paper while the student next to them has a perfect smiley face "100", especially when they thought that they did a perfect job on it! You want to keep them excited and proud of their work! 2) Celebrate!!! I have a stage in my classroom, and every so often I pick a student who had an amazing journal entry to read to the class and they stand on the stage, we turn on the disco lights and we all dance and cheer for that person! Yall. Get yourself a stage, because these kids will try so hard to get on that stage and be a winner...and we honestly want that for every kid don't we?
If you truly want your students to love and enjoy writing, don't be afraid to get different, be crazy and try out different characters to be that day! Be an actress if you have to be. Be a tour guide and show them pictures of places they want to go. Encourage creativity first and everything else will follow! Good luck and don't forget that you're the light!
Always,
