1st grade writers develop independence
First grade writing partners Charlie Copsey and Kaylie Kronberg worked diligently and excitedly on their books about candy and cats, respectively, Feb. 14. (Photos by Correne Martin)
Caycen Erickson wrote his informative chapter book about sharks, while his writing partner Briar Smith taught readers about dogs with her title. Each shared their book’s favorite pages.
First graders in Ms. Kelssi Copus’ class talked with their teacher about the different chapters in a book about Grandad Bluff in La Crosse.
Volunteer grandparent Evelyn Dow visited her grandson’s first grade class last week to help during writing time. She worked with Aubrey Fish on her non-fiction book about brownies.
'PAW'SING TO READ Feeling on top of the world for getting time to read with one of B.A. Kennedy School’s regular visitors, therapy dog Spencer, first grader Hayden Cejka practiced his reading skills with a book he personally chose for his sweet friend. The dog’s owner, Gerry Downey also listened, helped Hayden with his words and worked to keep her comfy and relaxed mini golden doodle awake. (Photo by Correne Martin)
By Correne Martin
Once upon a time, the first grade students at B.A. Kennedy Elementary School put their young minds to work, placed their pens to paper, and started writing and illustrating their little hearts out.
These first graders embody the spirit of the Lucy Calkins writing program, a method of writing instruction the school district has embraced for grade levels K-6. The process— which will start in seventh and eighth grades next year—focuses on fostering lifelong writers by coaching students to write for a variety of audiences and purposes. The youth write about their own lives, write consistently and develop independence as writers, according to the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (readingandwritingproject.org).
“We write every day. We do mini lessons and then we write. They pick their own topics so they’re really engaged and excited about it,” explained Kelssi Copus, one of five first grade teachers at B.A. Kennedy. This is the second year that the first grade has followed the Lucy Calkins program, but the first for the other grades. Copus said colleague Jenny Campbell, kindergarten teacher Tricia Landt and Principal Laura Stuckey attended a conference last year to educate themselves about this style of teaching composition.
Last week, the first graders were immersed in their third unit of the year, which concentrated on writing a non-fiction, informative chapter book. Previously, this year, they wrote personal narratives and how-to books. Next, they will compose reviews/opinions and end the year by creating scenes-to-series non-fiction.
Copus said, first grade has learned about the various parts of a chapter book, including the cover, title page, dedication, table of contents, chapter headlines, page construction, “first, next and finally” steps, and so on.
During the day’s mini lesson Feb. 14, Copus enthusiastically shared an informative chapter book with her 15 eager students about beautiful Grandad Bluff in La Crosse. “Do you know what I mean when I say, ‘A picture is worth a thousand words?’” she asked her class, leading them to understand how important illustrations and pictures are within their work. “Pictures answer people’s questions. They tell people about something.”
Copus then showed her crew the paperback “Sharks!” by Anne Schreiber, to demonstrate that the author/illustrator decided to design her book with pictures all over each page, not just in the same spot at the top of a page.
“You’re the illustrator. You’re the author. You can put the pictures wherever,” she stated. “Your choice, your book.” She encouraged the students to consult “mentor texts” as examples in designing their books, and to look at pictures to help them see details they may want to write about their chosen topics.
Also during the mini lesson, Copus carefully guided her students into determining the difference between the informative genre and the more favored personal narrative.
“Charlie’s writing about candy. But it’s not a story about her. She has to make sure she’s teaching about candy, like she knows nothing at all about candy,” Copus said, referring to one of her young authors.
“Yeah, you can’t use ‘I’ or ‘you,’” one of the little learners added.
The classmates’ non-fiction informative books featured topics like cats, bikes, nature and views, caterpillars, hearts, fish, sharks, dogs, money, brownies and basketball.
Not only did they write and illustrate their own work, but they also edited it themselves, under their teacher’s direction.
“But it’s their work. My pen doesn’t touch their paper,” Copus shared.
While editing, the novice authors looked for spaces between words, spelled tricky words as best they could by writing letters for most of the sounds, checked for correct past and present tense, and used punctuation and capital letters where necessary. They also talked to their fellow writing partners in class to solve most questions, before reaching out to their teacher for help.
While the class was working, Copus spent time conferencing with each student individually to stimulate ideas and assist them with answering their own questions. A couple times a week, in some of the classrooms, a parent or grandparent volunteer works with the students one-on-one as well.
Just as a fable ends with a moral, these first graders are experiencing a major lesson, according to Copus. This innovative writing workshop method is laying the magical foundation for conversations with students about their own imaginative work.
