Video: First Day of Independent Writing
Video--from October 2021--at bottom of post
In this video, you are going to see my students’ first attempt at drawing and writing on their own during whole group writing time. I think you’ll be impressed; I sure was. But, of course, I totally prepared them to be successful with this and I was sure they would be.
How did I prepare my students to write independently by October?
As many of you know, my whole group writing time, for the first six to eight weeks of school, consists of the students and I drawing and writing together, step-by-step. We draw a picture every day and then we start to put a letter that matches a sound we hear (b for bee). Soon, we are writing two or three sounds (cat or brd). Next, we move into two word phrases, emphasizing that sometimes we know a word and can just write it and other times we have to listen to the sounds for the word (the pig, a gtr). During the last two weeks of guided drawing and writing, we try some complete sentences. Examples this year included It is hot and I see the red brd. Students learned how to listen to sounds and choose the letter to write for each sound. They practiced proper letter formation. And, they learned how to lay their finger down and make a space between words.
We also learned many letter names and sounds during whole group phonics and small group instruction. Students are quite familiar with letter names and sounds by this point in the school year and they definitely understand that words are made up of little bits of sounds that match some of the letters we know.
I have introduced a few irregular high frequency words, just enough to get them going: I, the, a, see, is. We will add more on a regular basis.
All this work has built their confidence. They know about staying on task, persisting, and not being impulsive (think first!). They can articulate many of the letter formation cues and realize that they are in charge of what their pencil is doing. I have watched them go from ground zero to confident and curious with their nascent reading and writing skills. I know they are ready to try writing independently; if they weren’t, I wouldn’t ask them to do it yet.
What do writing journals look like in kindergarten?
Each student gets a journal. The journals—at this point in the year—are a cover page with approximately ten pieces of plain white paper. No lines. Lines comes later, usually by the end of November for every student. You will see as we go along how and when I decide to give a student paper with lines. When it is time, the lines will be one inch apart with no dotted middle line. I never use a dotted middle line. They are not necessary, in my opinion, and are just a visual distraction. You will see that students can make letters the correct size—tall, short, or hang down—without using a dotted middle line. Notice that the journals, and thus the paper, is in the landscape position. This makes it easier for students to write across the page and cross the midline.
The journal cover has all the skills that students will work on, including first- and even second-grade writing skills. Students will become familiar with what is on the journal cover and what skill/goal they are currently working on. Of course, I do not talk about the journal cover and writing goals just yet. But I will start tracking what I am observing and use the journal cover as a checklist and means of determining teaching points.
What do students write about?
I always tell students what they are going to write about/what the topic is for the day. I do this for several reasons:
Kindergartners don’t know what journals are. They have no idea what people write about. They won’t know what to write if you expect them to “write about anything you want to.” They don’t realize that they know a lot and probably have a lot to say.
Providing a topic sets the students up for success. You should give a topic that the students know a lot about. I start with the Busy Bee because they all love the Busy Bee and we have been talking about it and drawing it and writing giant Busy Bee notes for 40 days now. I know they can all draw the Busy Bee. I know they have plenty to say about it. Other topics will be related to our weekly themes and read alouds. I will always give a topic that the students know a lot about so that they can get started writing right away.
Teachers often share with me that students write the same thing every day—I love my mom or I like recess or Sammy is my friend or My teacher is nice. Giving them a topic will require them to branch out and try new words and sentences. They will learn that, hey, I get it, we can write about almost anything!
Providing a topic teaches young students to stay on topic while writing. Instead of a teacher saying, “What else can you write today?” she can ask, “What else do you have to say about this?” or “Tell me more about what we’re writing about today.”
When you give students a topic that they know a lot about, they will start writing almost immediately. There will be no sitting around thinking about what to write about. Students will look forward to hearing what the daily writing topic is. Usually, my students stop drawing a picture after just a couple of weeks and start getting to the writing right away because they have so much they want to say.
If you are a paid subscriber to Busy Bee Kindergarten, you will see my daily writing topics in the lesson plans I post each week. You will get many ideas for topics but, more importantly, you’ll learn how to choose topics that students like and will be successful with.
What does the teacher do during journal writing time?
First, the teacher does not sit at a table and call students over to conference about their writing. The teacher must be up and on the move. I try to circulate around the room at least three times. The first time, I write the date on each student’s paper and say a few words of encouragement to get them going. As they get some writing on their paper, I find a teaching point—something specific to them and their writing goals—and talk to them about it. I tell them what I expect to see them working on when I come back around a third time. The third/last time around, I check to see if they followed through with what we talked about, and if they did, they get a star on their paper. The star indicates closure, more to me than to them. As I circulate around the room, I know that any student who does not have a star needs my attention, needs more instruction, or just needs to try harder to do what I asked of them.
The above paragraph is a quick explanation of what I do while teaching writing. As the weeks and days go on, I’ll share many examples (via video) of the teaching points I find, how I teach a room full of students one-on-one, and how I move students along the continuum of learning. My method of teaching writing is not only highly effective, but easy and rewarding to implement. There are no lessons to plan or follow, no curriculum to buy, no materials other than paper and pencil. And this approach gives every student what they deserve—writing instruction tailored just for them!
What should I notice in the video?
Since it is the first day of independent journal writing, I start by explaining about the journals and what the expectations are for using them.
I tell the students what they will be drawing and writing about.
I hand out the journals and students go to a seat and “open up to the first clean white page.”
You’ll see me circulating around the room about three times. As mentioned above, the first time around I talk to each student briefly since they are just getting going.
You’ll hear two types of teaching points: procedural teaching points and teaching points about writing.
You’ll see that I am always on the move. Occasionally I sit down next to a student whose teaching point is going to take more than a couple of minutes, but mostly I keep circulating about the room. I call this “independent” journal writing, but the students need constant encouragement and feedback which can only be provided by moving quickly amongst them.
Students already have many skills in place for this early in the school year: thinking of an idea to write, directionality, letter formation, listening to sounds, writing a few high frequency words, and spacing between words.
You’ll see confident writers who already display a joy of writing.
You’ll probably glimpse my aide, Miss Lori, in the background. She circulates around the room as well and basically does what I do. She has a very good understanding of the development of writing and is invaluable to me during this time.
As I circle around the room a third time, I use a star in the corner of each journal to bring closure to the writing time. Students will learn that a star from me does not mean that they are done (I do want them to continue writing until writing time is over); a star means that they worked hard and did what I asked of them when I talked to them about their writing. If, when watching the video, you hear me ask a student to do something specific, try to watch for me getting back to that student and checking to see if they followed through. This is hugely important. If they learn that you’re not going to check, then they won’t push themselves to try harder and try something new.
Attempt to get a sense of what I ask students to do. Even on this first day, I want them to try something that is just slightly out of their comfort zone. I am looking for a skill that is in their zone of proximal development (ZPD); that is, something that they are on the verge of doing correctly or independently, if only someone would suggest it, encourage them, and push them a little. That someone is the teacher.
Just a reminder that my mission here at busybeekindergarten.substack.com is to help teachers figure out how to teach kindergartners to read and write. This is important work as we try our best to give the gift of literacy. I do try to get some compensation for the 20+ hours of work I put in per week making videos and writing this blog. You can support my work plus get free lesson plans and all the materials by signing up for a paid subscription.
Alright! I hope you like the video and that it is helpful. If you have any comments or questions, please put them in the comments section (rather than an email to me) so others can follow along as well. Thank you!
They did a great job! I am most excited to watch/ mimic your progressions in writing.