Young Children - March 2008 - (Page 26) Brian T. Kissel Train Tracks Observing Young Children Reenvision Their Writing Four-year-old Tessa is often quiet as she writes in her pre-K class. While her friends talk to one another during this time, she sits silently, reflective and busy. She ignores her peers’ conversations, happily writing on her own. In the first several weeks of school, Tessa writes train tracks on her paper that she calls “choo choo trains.” Day to day she changes little on her paper as she composes the same basic text. She explains that these tracks run behind her house, and her father often comes home on the train. Tessa’s writing and subsequent commentary happen regularly through the first months of school. During October, Tessa’s teacher, Ronda, reads Autumn Is for Apples, by Michele Knudsen, to the children. This nonfiction text generates discussion and excitement. The children make many comments and ask questions. When Ronda composes an example of writing for the class, she draws an apple tree and writes, “Apples grow on trees” (see “Ronda’s Writing Demonstration”). Each child tells Ronda their writing plans, then sits down to compose. Later that day Tessa once again creates a familiar image, three tracks on a blank page. Then she picks up a red marker and places a round dot at the bottom of each track. Next she makes shapes at the bottom of her page, using the purple marker and fills in the lines with red. Ronda asks Tessa about her writing. “I write choo choo tracks and red apples,” Tessa responds. A pples on Young children use writing to show their understanding of their world, and their written texts display their integration of various influences. Ronda’s Writing Demonstration Brian T. Kissel, PhD, is an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Brian teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in language arts and writing development. His current research examines early writing acquisition in prekindergarten classrooms. btkissel@uncc.edu ® 2, 3 ssa’s writing clearly shows her use of a process termed reenvisioning. As she writes, she thinks about new possibilities, pictures how to add them to her previous writing, calls to mind what she has learned from class or home experiences, and reflects on how she can combine new and earlier experiences. Tessa repeats the familiar (train tracks) and adds new information (apples). She merges the teacher’s curriculum (apples grow on trees) with a child’s experience (her train tracks) to form an integrated image in her writing. She retains the emotional core of her story and displays new understandings (see “Tessa’s Train Tracks Reenvisioned”). Te 26 Young Children • March 2008
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