content & mechanics: understanding first grade writers
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Content & Mechanics:Understanding First Grade
Writers
PISMP TESL SK JAN 2013
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Writing
Process
Organizing ReflectingPlanning
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The Complexity of the Writing Process
Children travel through stages of development asthey gain an understanding of the processes ofreading and writing (Graves 1983; Calkins 1986).
Writing development is not necessarily linear, even inyoung children (Flower & Hayes 1980). Effectivewriters do not always follow a strict succession, from
planning the ideas to translating the ideas intowritten words to reviewing the product.
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The Complexity of the Writing Process
Both content and mechanics are important skills toaddress with beginning writers(Avery 1993).
However, it is important that teachers begin bynurturing childrens desire and attempts tocommunicate through writing, regardless of writingability. Writers first need to have a genuine purposefor writing and become comfortable in taking a risk
before learning all of the conventional rules of writing(Routman 1991).
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Problems Faced by Teachers
Our theoretical backgrounds and teachingexperiences lead us to believe that the mastery ofwriting skills occurs at a different point for eachchild.
This pedagogical lens encourages us to value theknowledgeeach student brings to the writing processas we carefully support individual growth along thedevelopmental continuum.
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Problems Faced by Teachers
Unfortunately that support is easy todescribe in theoretical terms yet quitedifficult to enact in a real classroom
setting, especially when teachers have toaddress state standards that seem todisregard the developmental process.
We sometimes find ourselves not havingthe time to let the children grow at theirown pace.
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Problems Faced by Teachers
As we reflected on these struggles, we realizedwe had somehow lost sight of what wasimportant to us as teachers: buildingrelationships with children that allow us tolisten to them, share responsibility for learningwith them, and use their insights and needs toguide our instruction.
Overemphasizing mechanics would hinder thecreative process of developing interestingcontent.
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Developing Question
How can we effectively emphasize story
content in our writing instruction?
When we do emphasize content, what
emerges within our studentswriting?
What does this journey look like for the
students and for us as teachers?
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How To Help Children To Write?
Some of these initial action ideasincluded focusing children on writing
content by using story webs and other
tools that help develop storylines andusing samples of other first gradewritingas models for their own work.
Collaborationhelped the children improvethe content of their writing.
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Design of Study
Children anlalyze the technique of someof their favourite author.
Children discuss the use of descriptiveand informative writing with theteacher.
Children talk about how they as authorscan use personal experience as theirstory ideas.
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Data Collection and Analysis
Teacher journal
Teacher conferences
Observation and transcripts of children
conversation.
Children writing samples
Interview responses, written reflection of the
writing process by the children.
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Findings and Discussios
1. A disconnect between what the school system wanted children to focus on in
their writing and what was natural to them as writers.
2. Our own difficulty focusing on the content of writing as we found ourselves
unconsciously commenting on the way the children writing look.
3. Defining the inconsistencies we saw in childrensattention to mechanics as their
stories gained variety and depth of content, their attention to mechanics
decreased.
4. The struggle children had making complex writing ideas look right, because
they lacked an understanding of complex writing structures.
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Teachers Struggles to Focus on Content
Proper punctuation is concrete rather than an
abstract concept, so we found ourselves
migrating toward this area even when we had
consciously decided not to. We kept getting
trapped.
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Defining the Inconsistencies in
Childrens Attention to Mechanics
As stories gained variety and depth of content,
attention to mechanics decreased. In other
words, when the children began to explore
with their writ- ing, punctuation skills they
had previously mastered suddenly
disappeared.
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Expressing Complex Ideas
We faced our anxiety about writing instruc-
tion and discovered the importance of
accepting the nonlinear fashion in which the
first-graders grew as writers.
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Conclusion
Teachingis a dynamic process that requires us
to be reflective practitioners who continually
create, analyze, and reevaluate the
experiences we create for the children in our
classrooms.
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Summary
If we are too focused on mechanics, itwill hinder childs ability to be creative(content); and vice versa.
Teachers are trapped to catch up onthe syllabus and wanting to help theirstudents to develop their skills.
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Thank
You
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