Young Children - March 2008 - (Page 30) Children love to write when they have the freedom to choose topics, materials, and styles. Kallen integrated multiple worlds of influence (Dyson 1989) in his writing. His final products united an interest from home—cartoons—and the teacher’s demonstrations. In reenvisioning his writing, he took his characters and story on very different journeys. Pop culture and peer interactions At the beginning of the school year, NaKia wrote and rewrote about her family. In several pieces of writing in a row, NaKia depicted her family in a line and simply wrote her name at the top of the paper. When asked to explain her writing, she rattled off the names of family members and pointed to each figure. She always designated the large people as her parents and the smaller figures as herself and her siblings. After composing several family portraits in a row, NaKia added another member to her family: Shrek. This character, from a popular, animated children’s film, had been a hot topic of conversation among the children in Ronda’s classroom. NaKia first drew her family using a red marker and then asked another child to pass her a green one. With this, she added a green ogre, Shrek, to her family portrait. When I asked NaKia to explain her writing, she again identified each family member one by one, then pointed to the green figure, and explained, “Oh! And that’s Shrek.” (See “NaKia’s Evolving Writing about Her Family.”) Anne Haas Dyson (1997), focusing on child writers, describes the importance of popular culture in young children’s writing. Often, movies and cartoons play a significant role in the lives of young children as they talk with their peers. Shrek was an important figure in NaKia’s conversations with her classmates, so important that he became part of her family portrait and a new direction in her writing. Before the change, NaKia chose to write solely about her family. Ronda’s encouragement to make her own choices for writing freed NaKia to add Shrek to the family portrait. On a later day, NaKia took another step and incorporated Ronda’s lesson about apples into her writing. She replaced Shrek with the apples. I asked NaKia to explain her writing. NaKia: This is my mommy, daddy, sister, me. I made apples. (She points to the apples, left to right and top to bottom.) Brian: Can you tell me the source of your ideas for writing? NaKia: Cause I write about myself. That’s the plan I write about. In Ronda’s classroom, before the children wrote, they discussed their plans aloud with the whole class or a nearby partner. NaKia wrote with a plan in mind and brought new ideas into her writing. Ways Teachers Can Scaffold Young Children’s Writing 1. Make time for daily writing. Designate 15 to 20 minutes each day for writing. After reading aloud a book, lead a brief writing demonstration to introduce new skills and knowledge. Encourage the children to write together. This time to collaborate is important because the children talk and learn from each other. 2. Include writing tools and opportunities in activity centers. Provide paper, writing tools, and props—such as clipboards—that encourage children to write as a part of their play. When children write a sign to protect a block structure, take orders in a restaurant, or record what they see in the science center, they are modeling writing they have observed in daily life. Children learn and understand that writers write for real reasons, about meaningful topics, and to communicate ideas to authentic audiences. 3. Encourage children to make choices about their writing. Children love to write when they have the freedom to choose topics, materials, and styles. They might choose to write with classmates who share similar interests. Give free rein to their writing interests. 4. Let children share their writing. Each day two or three children can share their writing with the class, each coming forward to sit in a special Author’s Chair (Graves & Hansen 1983). This designated place for writers lets children explain the meaning of their writing and receive their classmates’ responses. The experience reinforces the idea that all writing carries meaning, and the process of sharing it with others lets the writer think and rethink, rediscover and explore. 5. Give writers a sense of purpose. Many times children write for and at their teacher’s direction. Teachers can broaden this experience. Set up classroom mailboxes so children can write and send letters to others. Place their stories in a notebook, and make it a part of the classroom library. Children can read the classroom stories on their own or the teacher can read them aloud. Children can write directions for an activity or sign their names on the classroom helper chart. 30 Young Children • March 2008
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