As children across the country are headed back to school after months filled with starts and stops, teachers are eager to begin the school year strong. Once again, we are meeting with teachers as they look to create better writers in their classrooms. We all know that students learning has been interrupted and impacted. We need to address the situation, but the real question is “How?”
We recently read an article about Kobe Bryant. A sports psychologist had come to do an article on Kobe leading a youth sports camp. The psychologist asked Kobe if he could carve out some time to meet. Kobe’s response, “I can meet you at the gym at 4:00. 4:00 AM, not 4:00 PM.” When the psychologist arrived, he found Kobe practicing the basic basketball moves he would teach the children a few hours later. Asking Kobe why he would need to practice such basic moves, he was amazed at the answer. “It’s the basics that make one great!”
That’s also the key to being great in the classroom – carving out time to teach the basics. In writing, like every other curriculum, in order to soar, children need the basics.
Writing in Complete Sentences: Too often, we believe that children need to write a paragraph/essay at the start of the school year. However, students must be able to write in complete sentences before moving on to longer pieces. In Write Now – Right Now, this is called Team Complete. Speaking in complete sentences and writing in complete sentences is essential prior to writing essays. Take the time to teach and review this skill, and then provide students an opportunity to practice, practice, practice.
Writing Short Answers: In Write Now – Right Now, these are called Shining Star Answers. Once students are competent and confident in writing complete sentences, it’s time to learn to write quality short answers. Students must be taught how to understand what a question is asking, find supporting evidence in text, and write a quality short answer. All the rules for writing a complete sentence apply. To reinforce this skill, require students to answer 1 or 2 questions to a specific text, not answer 15 questions! Use all curricular subjects to practice, practice, practice.
Providing students quality prompts: It is a teacher’s responsibility to provide students with an objective for learning. This includes writing prompts for students that clearly state what you want students to know and be able to do. Providing students with well-defined prompts helps students plan, gather appropriate details, and write on topic. Use all curricular subjects to practice, practice, practice.
Teach Planning: Teaching planning is key and well-worth your time and effort. Like a map, a plan helps students write clearly from beginning to end. Plans provide students a structure to organize ideas, take notes, and use as a guide when they move to the drafting process. Students can create plans for all curricular areas. This is an essential skill and students must be given time to practice, practice, practice!
Look for Part II of Getting Back to Basics . . . coming soon!