Word Banks

. . . are a wonderful thing.

They are simple.

They are individual.

They are essential, to my way of thinking.

A Word Bank is just a piece of notebook paper entitled "Word Bank" that remains blank until the child needs to know how to spell a word that he/she is writing.  They ask the teacher for the spelling and the teacher writes the word in the Word Bank.  From that time forward, the child is responsible for knowing the spelling of that particular word.

Some call this a portable word wall.

I also fill in the Word Bank if I see a misspelled word in a piece of writing when I am conferencing with a child.

The Word Bank has allowed children in my writing class to be freed of their inhibitions -- the "I don't know how to spell that long word" has left their thinking, and has allowed them to use much "bigger" words in their stories.  I've been very pleased at the vocabulary I'm seeing as I'm filling in Word Banks and conferencing with my writers.

Who are you writing with? Pt 2

I used to be the kind of teacher who stood at the head of the class and talked through the assignment, made sure my kids were on target, then retreated to my desk.

It wasn't like I didn't have plenty of work to do.  Attendance.  Papers to grade.  Parent letters.  Stuff.

Besides, they were old enough to be independent.  And if they didn't get it by now . . .  Well, I wasn't their mama.

However, now that I'm out of the traditional classroom . . .

Now that I'm older and hopefully wiser . . .

Now that I'm teaching writing as a class everyday. . .

I can see the gross and complete error of my ways.

Now my work goes undone in favor of sitting down with my young writers after I've told them what we're doing for the class session -- which goes by all too quickly.

I conference with every child.  I talk to each individual about his/her work, listening to them read, their Word Bank sitting nearby so I can fill it in as needed (more about WB's later).  We go through their story with a fine tooth comb, with me questioning them as writers.  Never criticizing (although sometimes I have to hold my tongue and search for diplomacy), always treating each eight-year old with the respect they are due.  I don't try to change their work for them -- that's not my job.  I ask questions, trying to get each writer to see his/her story with fresh eyes, and to see how it can be better with a little editing.

Here's an example of how one conversation went:

Alexandra came to me with two pages overflowing with her memory story.  It was entitled Cooking with My Dad.  I had her read it to me, and as she read past the halfway mark of the first side of her paper, the subject changed.  It began to wander to different aspects of family life, talking about how much she loved each and every member of her family and describing them.  At the end, I asked her the title of her paper.  She looked at me, blinked and pointed, repeating the title.  Then I smiled and asked how much of the paper had been about cooking with her dad.  I watched her look it over, and then she pointed to where she had begun wandering off topic.  "I agree with you.  What can you do about the rest of it?"  She looked at me, dread crossing her face as she shyly shrugged.  I laughed and told her I didn't want her to just throw it away.  "You can use those words for another story someday.  But not this one.  However, I want to know more about what it's like to have your dad all to yourself -- how special is that!"  We talked a little more about how she could elaborate on her existing story and how she would rewrite it, and then our conference was over.

I can hear your questions -- I've had them in the past, too.  Questions like:

Can you really get to every kid?
     Yes, but it takes time.
Do you think it's time well spent?
     Oh, yes!  You should see some of the results!
But I've got tons of stuff to do in my day -- I just can't take the time.
     I guess that depends on your priorities as a teacher.  Do you want to produce literate humans?  Young men and women who will be able to portray themselves as intelligent people on paper as much as in person?

I tell you what.  Try it out.  Conference with your kids for one week.  See how they do as writers.

Then see what you think about how your time is spent.

Stay tuned.

Khavan Writing

Khavan Writing
Originally uploaded by indi.ca

I loved this picture, originally posted by Indi Samarajiva on Flickr, of this child writing so earnestly.  The setting is beautiful, but he is not taken by his gorgeous surroundings.  He is intent on getting his words on paper.  He is dedicated.

And no one is telling him he's holding his pencil improperly or spelling words wrong or that he should have put a comma here instead of there.

Instead, his expression is pure and concentrated.

How do your students look when they are writing?

If they don't have this look of pure concentration and dedication, stay tuned.

Who are you writing with? Pt 1

Yes, notice I said "with"?
Um-hmmm.
I don't mean you have to be writing at the same time.  Although if you are a home-school mom and you are  working one-on-one with your student, I think it would be a great idea for you to write at the same time as your student.

However --

I also operate in the real world, and I know that most times we'd all LOVE to have the luxury of sitting down and writing, but we just can't.  More on that another time.

Anyway --

Writing with your young writers simply means that you don't consider yourself the high and mighty know it all teacher.

Please, please -- if you get anything out of this blog, it's this:  we're all IN-PROCESS!  None of us is perfect, and none of us should act like it!  If your students see a "perfect" teacher who wants nothing but perfection in return from her/his students, you'll get a big fat ZERO from them.  At least in writing.

As a teacher, we have to walk beside our students and feel their pain.  We have to be their guide.  We have to show them how to think their way through their writing.

In the end, if you follow the ways I will lay out for you, you will be amazed at the rich creativity you will see in your students' writing.  I guarantee this.  I put my career behind this.  It's almost formulaic, and yet so many have overlooked this way of teaching.

Pardon my passion.
But stay tuned.

So, you're going to write with kids?

And maybe you have no idea how in the world to do it! Maybe you're feeling WAY out of your league!

It's ok. You're in good company.

We've all felt way out on a limb with the very same assignment.

I've worked with kids for many years, and my first advice is

BE PATIENT!!!

But what does that mean, exactly?

It means, first, lower your expectations. You are not going to read The Great American Novel when they bring you their first attempt at writing.

Good, you're snickering. You're relaxing a little.

Because that's what you need to be, as a writing teacher -- relaxed.

If you are all tied up in knots, what do you think these kids are going to be?

Believe me, kids can read us better than we read ourselves. It's weird.

So relax. Tell yourself that Rome wasn't built in a day.

And then sit down. Take a deep breath.

Remember that whatever your hang-ups are about writing, if you are working with very young children, the chances are VERY GOOD that they don't have ANY hang-ups about writing -- yet.

So don't put them there. Don't tell those kids they have to be perfect writers.

Because they're human.

Just like you.

Stay tuned.