Writing Time

  One of the biggest changes, in my opinion, for the kids entering 2nd grade is writing. In first grade, many of the kids still numbered their sentences, or started each sentence at the pink line, and many used very structed (age appropriate) sentence forms. This year, I have to transition them from this type of writing to paragragh writing that flows together in a relatable sequence much like a conversation. 

  This is where you really begin to see the correlation between writing and reading. Kids who are fluent readers typically are able to transition into paragraph writers because the stories they are reading are more fluid often with paragraphs on many pages. Most readers in the 1st grade levels, who only read picture books, see the sentences broken across the pages not written in paragragh form like chapter books. 

  I can hear you now, "Why is this so important Ms G?" They are expected to write 5 paragraphs in 3rd grade! If our expectation is to write a 7+ sentence story that has an introduction, beginning, middle and end, with time order words (first, next, last, days of week, long ago, etc) and a conclusion (that does not say "the end") it's extremely hard for the 3rd grade teachers to get 2-3 paragrahs out of the kids, let alone 5! While 7-10 sentences in 2nd grade is worthy of a 3 on the report card, there is no real correlation to how they will be successful in 3rd. 

   Yes, it's still early in the year. Yes, your child can be successful for this year with this 7-10 sentence goal. I am just preparing you (and the kids) for an even bigger gap they will have to jump over next summer. 

    In our writing instruction, we have begun learning how to revise and edit our stories to make them more interesting and correct. We are using 2 acronyms: ARMS and CUPS.

       REVISION means to comb over the story looking places where they left out words or for ways to bump up its interest level. When revising they use ARMS...

          A-  add- Can I add any words or sentences or information to make my story better. 

          R- remove-  Should I remove any words that don't make sence, or are repetitions? Are any of the sentences confusing or on a different topic? Do I need to cut anything from the story. 

          M- move- Is there any words or sentences that would fit better in a different part of the story? Did I retell a story with the last thing I did at the beginning? 

           S- substitute-  Did I use big kids words or sight words only? Is every feeling word in the story happy or sad? When can I change "happy" to thrilled, ecstatic, jubilant, or even glad? Is the person on the rollercoaster really just sad or happy? Instead of "like", what else could I use? Should every sentence about my dad begin with "My dad"? 

          See with just this revision part, our sentences should become more interesting. Also, a 7 sentence story soon becomes 8, 12 or even 20 sentences where I can show the kids how to break it into paragraphs! 

          Next comes editing! EDITING is when you "clean up" the story. 

CUPS is not really hard, but most kids think everything they do is brillant (and it is because let's face it, they are 7 & 8) and without error! However when we read their stories as adults we immediarely want to tell them what's wrong with it instead of praising them for their efforts. In the beginning, all kids will say they checked their writing for CUPS but they have lots of errors because they reread it to themselves and it sounds exactly how they wanted it! But they have to be taught to reread it critically and think the following things: 

           C- capitalization- Are the correct words capitalized? Does each sentence begin with a capital letter? Are all proper nouns capitalized? Do you have capital letters written randomly as capitals in the middle of words?

           U- usage-  Subject and verb agreement throughout the story. If it's a story that has already happened, do all of the sentences have past tense verbs? 

            P- punctuation- If you have 7-10 sentences... then you need 7-10 periods (.),  exclamation points (!), and question marks (?) where they belong. Many of the kids think a period (.) can just be placed at the end of the writing lines, not where the actual sentences end. Others write a full page of text with 1 period. Are other end marks used? Did you try different types of sentences? Are commas (,), quotation marks (""), and apostrophes (') used correctly?

          S- spelling- "Finally, spelling!" I'm sure you are sure thinking! This is last because honestly, it is the least important. I tell the kids who are so nervous about misspelling each word to "Let it go!", sit down and sound out thier words and "keep writing". Now I can hear many of you, "Why Ms G? I want my child's writing to be their best work!" And I assure you, so do I! But what happens is that they are so flipped out about spelling, they rarely actually finish a writing assignment. Worring about spelling stops the flow of their creative thinking! I want to remind you, the students are not required to spell every word correctly! In second grade the 200+ Dolch sight words learned and memorized in kindergarten and 1st grade should always be correct (on the final writing peice they turn in,) but other words such as roller coaster, ballerina, elephant, touchdown, surgeon, Chattanooga, and any other large content words do not have to be perfect! As long as their large words are spelled phonetically close to the correct spelling, that's what we expect.  We use their attempts at spelling these large words to teach reference skills. I know things like dictionaries, thesauruses, card cataloges, and newspapers are considered dinosaurs in our technological age, but the kids still need to learn how they are used. Thus some of the spelling TIC-TAC-TOE activities.

          I just recently introduced Peer Reviews with the kids. They do thier own revising and editing, then show a classmate the story to see if it makes sense to another student. The kids really took well to this idea. Below are a few pictures of the kids writing independently or conferencing about "Small moment" stories. 

By the way. I started this post Friday. I have revised and edited it like 8 times. If you remember, I have mentioned that I had major difficulties with language arts to the point of being tested for Special Ed! Have you ever heard of a high school senior qualifying for special ed? Honestly! But, that's another story, for another time....the point is that even in college, I relied on the story frames and the rigid writing structures I was taught throughout elemenatry, middle and high school to complete assignments. I was getting negative remarks and poor grades on my essays. I had to learn to let go of my fear of writing mistakes, write what I was thinking, and then get help with the mistakes. This change in thinking has made a huge difference in my life as a professional and my self confidence.