Welcome to teaching and to kindergarten! You are in the most exciting grade level because kids this age learn and grow so quickly. I am not familiar with Really Great Reading and how it teaches writing. But, I am going to guess that, like most writing programs, it probably assumes a lot at the beginning and jumps right into having kids write independently, as if they already know how to hold their pencil correctly, think of ideas to write, know how to formulate sentences, how to break sentences into words, how to break words into sounds, how to choose letters to match those sounds, how to control their pencil, etc. If the program skips all of this, you are going to have to do it at some point. It's best to teach all of these steps FIRST rather than having to go back and teach them after you and the students are totally frustrated with writing. So, yes, I totally recommend doing the drawing/writing together at the beginning of the year for 6-8 weeks (or as long as you can). You'll be teaching phonics during these initial weeks and your students will need quite a bit of phonics before they can write so this gives them time to acquire those skills too. Kids cannot write independently without being taught the basics first. Browse through your program and see when it makes to start using it. If you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask. missbusybeekindergarten@gmail.com
I am new to teaching and the school I will be at uses Really Great Reading for literacy. Are you familiar with RGR Countdown program? If yes, do you think I could still do this kind of writing activities in the first couple of weeks of school? I want to make sure its all working together.
I'm watching again for a refresher - we've had 2 days of writing & it's been GREAT!
A couple of questions.. 1)As you are working through the alphabet each day, do you draw the picture that is on the letter card in your room, or are there days when you choose something different to draw? 2) Will you send a new video when you take your writers to the next step in writing (beyond the first letter)?
Sometimes I draw the picture that is on our letter card and other days we draw some thing else, especially since we spend two days on each letter. As soon as the students know enough vowels and consonants we will start drying CVC words. I am introducing the in early September and then we will start the two word phrases, such as the pig or the cat. Yes, I will try to send writing videos every couple of weeks.
I used to say “you can call it the or you can call it thee but either way it’s spelled t-h-e” but I don’t anymore because I want them to call it the because that sounds the most natural for speaking and reading in our part of the country.
I am gearing up to be right in step with you this year in writing! I'm excited to start from DAY 1. I have been wondering though about the cover sheet of writing goals for their journals... I think I would like to simplify it especially for the beginning of the year when I anticipate most all of my kids will have similar goals - and I am thinking it will be less overwhelming if I just list maybe 5 to start? I realize I won't be assigning 5 goals to students, but I wanted to have a few to choose from for differentiation, depending on the writers I have from the start. What 5 beginning kindergarten goals would you recommend?
Such as great idea! I think I put them all on there just so parents know where we are heading (every time a filled up journal goes home I hope parents glance at it). I would start with:
___ I can think of an idea to write.
___ I start at the top of my paper.
___ I can listen to sounds and write the matching letters.
___ I start with a capital letter and use mostly lowercase after that.
___ I write all the way across the paper.
These are the from the top six on the current journal cover, minus the fifth one. These five should keep everyone busy for a while...
And, just a reminder, that I don't start journals until October. Right now we are drawing on single sheets of plain white paper.
This is great - I will definitely run with it. Thank you for the reminder that we don't start journals until later - with your earlier start, I'm thinking you wait a good 2 months before starting?
That's one less thing for my back to school prep list that is growing by the day!
What about coloring their drawings? Do you take time for that if time permits?
Hi Natalie,
Welcome to teaching and to kindergarten! You are in the most exciting grade level because kids this age learn and grow so quickly. I am not familiar with Really Great Reading and how it teaches writing. But, I am going to guess that, like most writing programs, it probably assumes a lot at the beginning and jumps right into having kids write independently, as if they already know how to hold their pencil correctly, think of ideas to write, know how to formulate sentences, how to break sentences into words, how to break words into sounds, how to choose letters to match those sounds, how to control their pencil, etc. If the program skips all of this, you are going to have to do it at some point. It's best to teach all of these steps FIRST rather than having to go back and teach them after you and the students are totally frustrated with writing. So, yes, I totally recommend doing the drawing/writing together at the beginning of the year for 6-8 weeks (or as long as you can). You'll be teaching phonics during these initial weeks and your students will need quite a bit of phonics before they can write so this gives them time to acquire those skills too. Kids cannot write independently without being taught the basics first. Browse through your program and see when it makes to start using it. If you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask. missbusybeekindergarten@gmail.com
Time never permits. It wouldn’t hurt, but it’s not the best use of your time.
I am new to teaching and the school I will be at uses Really Great Reading for literacy. Are you familiar with RGR Countdown program? If yes, do you think I could still do this kind of writing activities in the first couple of weeks of school? I want to make sure its all working together.
I'm watching again for a refresher - we've had 2 days of writing & it's been GREAT!
A couple of questions.. 1)As you are working through the alphabet each day, do you draw the picture that is on the letter card in your room, or are there days when you choose something different to draw? 2) Will you send a new video when you take your writers to the next step in writing (beyond the first letter)?
Sometimes I draw the picture that is on our letter card and other days we draw some thing else, especially since we spend two days on each letter. As soon as the students know enough vowels and consonants we will start drying CVC words. I am introducing the in early September and then we will start the two word phrases, such as the pig or the cat. Yes, I will try to send writing videos every couple of weeks.
Do you have a song or chant to teach the?
I used to say “you can call it the or you can call it thee but either way it’s spelled t-h-e” but I don’t anymore because I want them to call it the because that sounds the most natural for speaking and reading in our part of the country.
I am gearing up to be right in step with you this year in writing! I'm excited to start from DAY 1. I have been wondering though about the cover sheet of writing goals for their journals... I think I would like to simplify it especially for the beginning of the year when I anticipate most all of my kids will have similar goals - and I am thinking it will be less overwhelming if I just list maybe 5 to start? I realize I won't be assigning 5 goals to students, but I wanted to have a few to choose from for differentiation, depending on the writers I have from the start. What 5 beginning kindergarten goals would you recommend?
Such as great idea! I think I put them all on there just so parents know where we are heading (every time a filled up journal goes home I hope parents glance at it). I would start with:
___ I can think of an idea to write.
___ I start at the top of my paper.
___ I can listen to sounds and write the matching letters.
___ I start with a capital letter and use mostly lowercase after that.
___ I write all the way across the paper.
These are the from the top six on the current journal cover, minus the fifth one. These five should keep everyone busy for a while...
And, just a reminder, that I don't start journals until October. Right now we are drawing on single sheets of plain white paper.
This is great - I will definitely run with it. Thank you for the reminder that we don't start journals until later - with your earlier start, I'm thinking you wait a good 2 months before starting?
That's one less thing for my back to school prep list that is growing by the day!