It is time for us to take a look at how we are teaching our
students to write. I have been working
with older students who basically are unable to write. These students do not know how to write a
complete sentence and they do not stay on topic. Their papers contain basic writing errors –
spelling, grammar, sentence structure, and continuity. I constantly hear teachers say, “They go off
topic.”
We know that the best intervention for students is good
instruction. My concern is that we are
not teaching our students to write. Take
a look at the writing students are being asked to do in Kindergarten, First and
Second grade. They are being asked to
put together sentences and paragraphs.
There is research that supports this action but I think we ignored the
research that clearly says it is not appropriate.
Here are some points to consider and my thoughts on each one:
a.
Oral language is required for writing to take
place – Developing and telling stories at K-2 is what occurs in their
environment and is age appropriate. (This
means that students do this outside of the classroom throughout the rest of
their day.) Students go home and tell stories about their
day. Few, if any, go home and write a
paragraph about their day.
b.
Students learn best when you focus on building
the necessary skills in a systematic way – Many students are learning how to
print letters for the first time.
Practice is needed to teach this skill.
Using words and not trying to get them to write out sentences is the
best way to allow them to learn and practice forming letters and words. This also occurs in their environment. K-2 students write notes by using some basic
words. Ex. My family with pictures of
the family, I love you with a picture of a big heart. This is all a part of writing but writing based
on what is used naturally throughout the child’s day.
c.
There is a structure to writing that must be
taught. Our written language has rules
and patterns that are required to write effectively. These cannot be ignored under the guise of
teaching students to be creative writers.
Creative writing starts with the telling of good stories that are then
written down. We need to remember that
research has been stating that fact for years.
A Kindergarten student can be taught to recognize the pattern that a
sentence must start with a capital and end with punctuation. They do not need to read the words to learn
this pattern. Ex. Circle the sentences that are correct and fix
the ones that are wrong: the cat
meowed Dogs are furry Sally reads well. Making sure a sentence starts with a
capital and ends with punctuation is a pattern and it should be taught that
way. First and Second graders should be
taught the pattern that a sentence needs a subject and verb – who or what and
what did they or it do. You will get a
complete sentence if you follow those two patterns. Build on those patterns by describing the
who, what or action and your sentence will become more complex. However, without the foundation, you will not
have a sentence.
d.
You must be able to read before you can write. Students cannot write a word they cannot
read. I am not talking about copying a
word. If a student is able to write a
word correctly, it means he knows the letters for the sounds that the word
makes. Therefore, he would be able to
read that word. Students begin this
stage of writing by using just two or three letters to represent a word they
are trying to write. The remaining
letters fall into place as students master the ability to connect sounds and
letters. Why would we even consider requiring them to write sentences and
paragraphs when they are learning to develop the skill of connecting sounds and
letters to make words?
e.
The comment I get from the upper grade teachers
is the best argument for taking another look at how we approach writing with
our younger students. “I would be
thrilled if my students could just write a complete sentence. Then, I could
teach them how to write a paragraph.” Note:
This would be age appropriate and what would be occurring in their environment.
I believe that the creativity of writing begins with the
ability to tell a story. That develops
over time with oral language. We should
teach the basic writing skills, which are age appropriate and occurring in the
student’s environment so that when they are ready to write they have the
necessary skills and tools to do so effectively.
Regardless of our beliefs concerning writing instruction,
one fact remains – students need to be taught basic writing skills because a
majority cannot write a complete sentence or stay on topic. If we continue to teach writing, the way we
are currently teaching writing, we will continue to get the same results. That would be as the saying goes, insane.
