Norah Colvin

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Establishing a writing classroom – Readilearn

lessons and suggestions for teaching writing in the first three years of school

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Establishing a writing classroom, one in which children want to write, develop confidence in writing and develop the skills to write with accuracy and clarity, begins from the first day of school.

Characteristics of a writing classroom

Nine characteristics of a writing classroom are:

  • purposeful writing occurs throughout the day in all areas of the curriculum,
  • the process of writing is modelled,
  • children’s writing is scaffolded,
  • children write in response to set tasks,
  • children write about topics and in genres of their own choice,
  • the message is paramount,
  • writing conventions; such as spelling, punctuation and grammar, are learned by writing,
  • children’s writing is celebrated, and
  • children enjoy writing.

If children are provided only with writing tasks and topics set by the teacher, they may view writing simply as a task to perform, something to please the teacher, rather than as a vehicle for self-expression or for sharing imaginative and creative thoughts and stories or information.

Opportunities for writing occur throughout the day and should include:

Continue reading: Establishing a writing classroom – Readilearn

Comments

13 responses to “Establishing a writing classroom – Readilearn”

  1. Anne Goodwin (Annecdotist) Avatar
    Anne Goodwin (Annecdotist)

    I love reading your accounts of how I ought to have been taught as a child!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Norah Avatar
      Norah

      You can’t hear me, but I’m laughing. 🙂 Thanks, Anne.

      Like

      Reply
  2. Patricia Tilton Avatar
    Patricia Tilton

    Excellent post. I don’t remember having much in the way of writing classes that encouraged creative thinking — most were just reports. I listen to my great granddaughter (12) talk about all of the stories she writes based on prompts at school. She let me read one at Christmas and I was impressed.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Norah Avatar
      Norah

      It’s a good thing that children are provided opportunities to be creative. How lovely for your granddaughter to share her story with you. I’m sure being able to do so meant a lot to her.

      Like

      Reply
  3. Jacqui Murray Avatar
    Jacqui Murray

    Excellent! I have an opening on Ask a Tech Teacher February 1st but I don’t want to rush you. There’s also one mid-February–around the 18th. I have lots more dates available when we get into March. Just let me know what works for you–or simply send the article when it’s done and we can schedule it then. My email is askatechteacher at gmail dot com.

    Thanks, Norah. I look forward to finding out more about Readilearn through your wonderful voice!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Norah Avatar
      Norah

      Thank you so much, Jacqui. I’ll be in touch. We can work something out – for both your blog and mine – when the posts are written. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  4. Jennie Avatar
    Jennie

    Excellent, Norah.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Norah Avatar
      Norah

      Thank you, Jennie. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Jennie Avatar
        Jennie

        You’re welcome, Norah. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

        Reply
  5. Jacqui Murray Avatar
    Jacqui Murray

    I’m a big believer in this, Norah. I have Quick Writes, using a variety of tech tools while practicing good writing. They’re very popular!

    BTW, we’ve talked about you guest posting on Ask a Tech Teacher. I’d love for you to write an introduction to Readilearn and how it’s used in the classroom. Non-commercial but informative. I had never heard of it before I found you and I bet there are others out there who feel the same. Would that be possible? I’m thinking about posting it in early March–does that give you enough time? Thanks for offering to share your expertise with my readers!

    In my case, any topic that fits using tech in teaching works for me. I’d be happy to post about some of the unconventional ways I teach writing–with tech tools. Or ???? Let me know what works for you!

    This will be fun, Norah.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Norah Avatar
      Norah

      Hi Jacqui,
      I knew you’d be keen on any ways in which we can get children writing in the classroom.
      I like the sound of your Quick Writes. I think I’ve read some of them on your blog. You posted some fun ones about the time of Thanksgiving, if I remember correctly.
      I would love to write an introduction to readilearn for your blog, and I’d love you to write a post about Quick Writes or using technology in teaching.
      I always loved using the (little) technology that was available and was very fortunate to be one of the first to have computers in my classroom. I had two in 1985. Many of us still had only two in the naughties. While the technology has changed a lot in the last decade, sadly many teachers and children still don’t have good access, and many teachers don’t know how to make the best use of the technology that is available to them. So a post on that would be wonderful, especially unconventional ways to teach writing using tech tools. That sounds like my sort of post.
      Can’t wait. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  6. robbiesinspiration Avatar
    robbiesinspiration

    A wonderful post, Norah. I am always excited when I read something like this and wish I had seen guidance like this when I was helping Michael learn to write. We used the collaborative writing technique because it seemed like a useful thing to do.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Norah Avatar
      Norah

      Thank you, Robbie. I wish I’d been able to offer you some support when you were helping Michael learn to write. You seem to have done pretty well anyway. Hopefully others may find the ideas useful. Collaborative writing is a great way for anyone to learn. We learn so much from each other and sometimes the synergy can be quite powerful.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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