Sunday, September 23, 2012

Reflecting on Writing Checklists


            The class we had two weeks ago, focusing on writers’ checklists, I thought was very interesting and eye opening.  I have really only experienced children writing, from a teacher’s perspective, in fourth grade and third grade.  Therefore, seeing the different expectations of writing based on the common core standards for all grades was fascinating.  It was really fascinating to see the standards for first grade next to the standards for second grade, and then being able to compare them.  It was also interesting to see all of the checklists together and then noticing the progression from first grade all the way to third grade.
            I am placed in a second grade classroom for my practicum and since I have been at the school there has been very little free writing.  I also only come in two days a week, which might have something to do with it, but the only writing I have seen is the students writing little personal narratives for Back to School Night.  The students do, however, read stories and then are asked to write in response to the story.  Although this exercises their mind in thinking about what they read, it also does not allow for free writing.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Sari,
    Good post and I think it's important that you are recognizing that there is room for more writing in the classroom that you are in. The progression of writing is going to depend on the population that you are working with, but the standards help to guide us in the right direction in terms of setting expectations.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Sari, I definitely agree with you that students are lacking the chance to write freely in the classroom. Free writing allows students to explore their ideas without the constraints of a specific assignment. It's similar to reading, it is always more enjoyable to read a book for your own pleasure than to read a book that you are assigned and "have to" read. Free writing allows students to let loose and discover their creative side...we need more! Great idea!

    ReplyDelete