We Write

Nonfiction writing is an important skill for students to master. First, second and third graders have been learning and practicing sentence writing and are now moving on to paragraph writing.  Instruction comes from The Write Tools manual by Alice Greiner.

Writing instruction began when students created a single sentence about a picture or a drawing. We brainstormed words we might use in each of the three parts of a sentence, then wrote the sentence. After writing, students conference with me about their work so they can see their strengths and weaknesses.

Students are also encouraged to use the CUPS acronym - does my sentence contain proper Capitalization, Usage, Punctuation, Spelling?  First graders sing "My Sentence Needs a Check." (Ask your first grade student to sing it to you.)

Currently, students are learning to put their ideas into a single topic paragraph. It's important to plan for a paragraph by first making a web of ideas, then narrowing those many ideas into a T chart of three or four Big Ideas and then adding Tell Me More information. (Ask your second or third grader to name the three parts of a paragraph.)

So far students have written about favorite recess games, colors they like to use, yummy fruit, snacks, and school supplies. Writing is hard work. Just ask them! But it is a necessary skill that also helps students become more proficient readers.