Hello Busy Bee Kindergarten readers,
This is a new type of post that I am trying out. I have some really amazing conversations with subscribers, usually starting with a question from them and ending with us both gaining new insight. I am obtaining permission to share some of these conversations (it’s not difficult; so far everyone is open to it) so that you, too, can be in on the thoughts and ideas that are exchanged.
I want you to be aware that asking for advice and exchanging ideas is a benefit of your paid subscription. You don’t have to think of it as “bugging me.” It’s part of the deal and I enjoy interacting with all of you, getting to know you better, and learning how I can improve on meeting some of your needs as teachers. It’s really cool, almost as if we’re virtual teammates with the same goal of improving our instruction and making our teaching lives easier and more rewarding.
So here it is—the first What’s the Buzz? Thank you to Dani for asking great questions, reflecting on the response, and then following up with additional thoughts and questions.
Hi There!
I am struggling with writing continuous text in my small group - teaching sentence writing is something I want to get figured out! Today we did "Smile when you wake up." My lowest group was so tough to pull through that. I do have to own the fact we have not been doing enough writing in journals, so I'm fighting a bit of an uphill battle.
Do you have any low small groups you could do a video lesson with and share it with us? I'd love to see how you navigate working with struggling readers/writers through the process of writing continuous text. Or, if you know of a video you've already posted, could you give me the link?
THANKS!
Dani
Hi Dani,
Thanks for reaching out with this. The struggle is real; I feel it every fall and into winter with my lower writers. I will provide a few ideas and also search my back videos to see if I covered this in a video.
For your small group:
1. Start with two-word phrases. Each phrase will start with the or a (examples: the fox, a cat, the mom, etc.). These provide the chance to learn the and a to the point that they hardly have to think about them anymore and also the chance to work on CVC words. They need a bit of fluency before moving into full-blown sentences. You can also start teaching them the two types of words (words we just know and words that we don't know and need to listen to the sounds for). I talked about the two kinds of words in my book. Make sure they are fairly good at writing two-word phrases before trying a sentence.
2. The first sentences you try will be three- or four-word sentences. I like you, He is big, I can run. Incorporate high frequency words you've taught and that they can possibly copy to up their fluency. They need to be fairly fluent to hang onto the sentence for more than a minute. You can also do four-word sentences at this stage, but be sure to include the, a, and other high frequency words that they kind of know or that you have posted and they can copy. "Smile when you wake up" was probably too long and didn't include enough "easy" words. All of their cognitive was going to listening to sounds and so they were unable to hang on to the sentence. (most likely)
3. You could use some of the ideas below with your small group/low group too. Give them a topic they know a lot about, have them think of an idea, jot their idea down on a separate piece of paper (to help you remember), and teach them how to hang on to their idea while trying to write it.
For whole group writing:
1. We ease into short sentences during the 6-8 weeks of drawing at the beginning of the year. During this time, most students learn how to think of an idea to write. When we transition to journal writing in October, most can think of an idea to write about the topic I provide. There are always 6-10 who cannot. For these students, we hold a quick small group meeting and help them come up with something to write about today's topic. I jot their idea down in cursive at the bottom of their journal so that when I circulate around helping kids I can remind them of their idea IN THE EXACT SAME WORDS WE SAID IT THE FIRST TIME. Slowly but surely, they learn how to come up with an idea and hang onto it during writing time.
2. For those who just cannot do the above, write the sentence yourself and have them copy it and then point to the words and read it. This will help them hear and see how our talking is written down. You can also draw one line for each word and that can help remind them that their idea had three words or four words.
Bottom line:
Model one word labels, then two-word phrases, then three- or four-word sentences. Then, let them have a try at it. Support those who cannot do it. Small group those who STILL need help and back up to the two-word phrases.
Helpful? Any questions?
Randee
This was SO HELPFUL. It reminded me of one of my greatest weaknesses in teaching - pushing too hard too soon. Something I know about myself is that my tendency in ALL areas of life is that I am always too focused on the end goal and I miss the here and now. Seriously, this is a life struggle. Funny, because today in church, that was the focus of the sermon! I need to work harder on being and living in the moment - that means being more intentional and focused on the people in front of me! When it comes to teaching, this means I need to slow down and take my students where there are now, and nudge them along at the appropriate pace. It's good to have the end goal in mind of course - we do need to know where we are going after all -- but I need to ensure I am allowing enough time for them to learn all of the skills they need to succeed!
I am excited to watch your latest video you just posted of small group instruction! I know I will glean more great ideas to keep me going in our final weeks ahead. I have high hopes for a lot more!
Thanks so much for taking the time to give me such a thorough response. I know your time is valuable, and I hope you know how much it is appreciated!
Dani
I’m so glad to hear it was helpful. I think what happens, too, is that when we realize that we didn’t teach something or are getting a late start on it, we rush it, hoping the kids will jump right in and be successful at the point we “need” them to be at right then in our mind. This is one reason I love teaching kindergarten—it works best to start at ground zero and that is so much more of a realistic possibility in kindergarten than in other grades. For example, there aren’t a lot of second grade teachers who can say, “This student’s sentence structure just isn’t there. I think I’ll have him back up to three-word sentences for a whole.” WE, however, can do that, and can do it with every child, as long as start early enough (first day of school, in my opinion), stick with it, and teach in a systematic, strp-by-step way.
Your question and response below remind me that I need to back up with a few of my students who are writing phrases in their journals instead of sentences. Now, when to do that…
On another note, I would like to start another type of post for readers that is in a question/answer format. You, by far, ask me the most questions and the most deep-thinking questions, but there are others who do so as well. I am wondering if I could start the new type of post with this conversation of ours. I would just copy your question as you wrote it, copy my answer, copy your response back, and then my response back to you and how you got me thinking about what some of my students need. I feel these conversations are super helpful, and not just to my subscribers; I am learning just as much. How would you feel about that?
I think that’s a great idea! Yes of course you can use our Q&A dialogue.
This is an incredible idea!! I love reading all the comments and responses here. I know all your responses to me have been so helpful. Sharing others questions/comments and your answers will open up a great opportunity for all of us. Teachers truly are lifelong learners! Thank you so much for sharing all of this with us!
This is helpful and a great idea!