Linda E. Martin and Shirley Thacker Teaching the Writing Process in Primary Grades One Teacher’s Approach “Lreally lke writing ... tis one of my favorite hobbies.” “lly brain gots more fl of ideas, now that think about it. And then, all ofa sudden, poof Ihave a gigantic story I can write.” Statements like these about writing are frequently heard in, Shirley Thacker’s fst grade classroom, Primary grade teachers ‘who develop a balanced literacy program, rich in literacy and lan- ‘uage experiences that include many writing opportunities, guide children in @iscoveringshow language works (Clay 2001; McGee & Richgels 2004; Ray 2004), Programs that include the writing pro- __cess help children understand thesiigtions and construction of) mi Cains 1994; Graves 1994; Harwayne 2001; Ray & Cleaveland 2004), Through the four Stages or tHE Writing prO=) Th ess rafmgs“editing, and publishing—children begin to understand the power of becoming an author (Calkins 1994).. Although much is known about how young children learn to write (Clay 1980; Temple etal. 1988), many primary grade teachers have concerns about developing a writing program, Some believe that learning to write follows learning to read (Elbow 2004). Others struggle to organize and implement a program that aligns with their established classroom practices. Thus, itis important for primary grade teachers who have successfully developed writing programs to share their knowledge. is article deseibes how one such teacher, Shirley Thacker developed and implemented a suecessiul writing program in her frst grade classroom, whichis known as Thackerville nolo we (PeRans Wea are Linda E Martin, EdD, sa assoc professor nthe Departing ot Elementary Education at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Her UC, ovearch interests incude primary grado cider’ tracy dovlp- ~y “nent and teachers profesional development eevee. ] shiiey Thacker, NBCT, teaches at WerDel Elementary in Gaston, Indane teaser for more tna 24 years mn etementry education, she rocstod er Naonl Bord Certeaton as an Atty Chidrood 15) Generaat n 208 anc er Teach Constant Gaticaon tom the Indana Witng Projet at Bal Sate Urversy 2007 —/ Seeeatn tiestioned } rooney Be ‘nol young FP INAAIEN — Cord dl omotitersiyate in ne writing oricedouThackervil Entering Thackervile, one hears soft music in the back- ground. Theres a rug area wil(Glenty of book) Siction and nonfiction, and a rocking chair forgharing stories}Print is everywhere, in the fonm of words leamed during vat us acthities—a Gord wall ons that Piya words that children’s tories aré postedputside the door. Shirley works with smal groups ata tale that ean be seen from ll corners ofthe room. Ina metal cabinet, each child has a persona le called a story drawer in which to keep works in progress, Shirley also conducts min lessons on topics related to writing in various places in the classroom, using a portable easel that holds chart paper and a whiteboard. AGariety of resources including ciffer- ent types of paper as well a tabletop computers and desketype word processors, are avallable tothe children. ‘The children ofteng nga groups corGlond}in diferent raserGom, while Shirley ‘works with individuals. The enviconment i€usy But Aue) for a classroom of 21 first-graders. If four children wanted to write about the same topic, they worked together to create a list of words they could post in their personal word banks. Young Children July 2008 Below, and in the pages that follow, Shirley herself describes how she motivated a classroom of frst-graders to use the writing process in a workshop format and how this approach affected the children’s perceptions of writing. She Includes children’s comments (using pseudonyms). Analyzing and implementing a first grade writing program Children’s writing has always been important to me, but teaching the writing process was something new. I did not ‘think that first-graders could use the writing process or reflect independently on their writing. [remembered the frustration of children in earlier classes when they could not spell words correctly or understand how to complete their ‘sentences. I viewed this challenge—organizing and imple- menting a writing program—as an ‘opportunity to learn more about how children develop writing skill Creating an environment for authoring My frst goal was to create a classroom environment that invited shildren to write. made avallablea Goes Saez PERE. Pens, colored pencils, computers with word processing pro sramenthat the children could choose from to write and publish thei work. Tntoduced the children to diferent authors by reading aloud and diseuss- ing qualty children’s erature, tion and nonfiction, o they could understand how author’ use thelr ideas to share sto- es and knowledge though wel he envionment needed to GED ‘Therefore, we collected words and categorized them ih meaning ways that would help the children when they wrote: We created a word wall for word families words ending —ame, —ime, and ake for narple) to aid in spelling, We sorted words according to themes to give eiliren new dens for writing topes. The themes evolved om avarlty of sources—oplcs discussed intteratue (the ction and nonfiction books we read), on field trips, ina school assembly, by a guest speaker. 1 collections of words, related to their writing Topics. Children can gather the ‘words during any type of classroom experience and use them later in their writing. Children collect words individu- ally, in small groups, or as a class. For example, if four children wanted to write about the same topic, they worked together to create a list of words they could post in their Methods - est. ery ronment DUA AINES,personal word banks. Most of the words were posted so the aia children could touch them. They could trace thelettersin amity Time the words, which helpedthem Schr generated remember. This was important as the children studied words to add to their waiting. ‘Throughout the year, the children made connections between the words they were earning and how those words helped them to write. Daryl explained, “You can just look around and see a word that you like, and that gives you an idea to write about.” In referring to her personal word bank, Sam stated, “If forget a word, [know where Ihave them all" Tony explained how he used a book he had read (Marc Brown's Arthur Writes a Story) to help him write a story about “Arthur: “Imade up the entire story, but [read the book to ‘make me think about how to spell Artur.” “Guest authors" rom among ‘own work or their favorite iter Writing Time Teacher generated Teacher presents a miniless Teacher/stucent generated Children choose to continue: Establishing routines for young authors Most of the children in my classroom were just discover- ing writing, and I wanted to make sure that I had adequate time for all of them. Therefore, I established basic routines in the morning for the writing workshop, which lasted approximately 60 minutes (see the diagram, “Writing ‘Workshop Routines” on p. 34). Family time. We always began the day with family time, which the children lead. During that period, “guest authors’ (Children who had published their work) shared their sto- res with the class. First grade children publish a story by developing it throygh the writing process, then putting it in book form to share with others, Publishing and sharing their work as guest authors was very important to the children from the beginning. They wanted to share their published writing with anyone who ‘would listen. They liked publishing their work their own ‘way. Some children preferred to handwrite their story on special paper, and some liked to publish on the computer. Some children preferred to handwrite their story on special paper, and some ked to publish on the computer. 32 TW nee aertiacy Teacher models wring a story, and so forth (5 min.) ‘Children write on a aiven topic (5 min.) ‘0r go back to-a work in progress (20 min.) Family time also included ‘a guest reader—a child who shared a favorite piece of lit- erature or her own published ‘work. Having guest writers and readers share written works ‘with the class helped the chi dren understand how closely ‘writing and reading relate to one another. ‘he children share te ature (20 min.) 0 (10 min) Writing time. Following fam- lly time, the writing part of the ‘workshop began. I presented ‘a minilesson focusing on an Important writing behavior, and then I read aloud a book. The book might align with a study topic, ike penguins, or show how authors develop stories, Next, the children wrote for five minutes, usually on atopic of my choice, often related to the book. Afterward, they could either continue writing on that topic or go back and write on a work in progress from their story drawer. In ither task, they followed the basic writing process. format—plan, write a sloppy copy, edit (by oneself, in peer conferences, and in a teacher conference), ereate the final copy, and publish. The process was not linear; children could revisit a previous stage before moving forward, writing on the given topic As the children learned the routines in the writing ‘workshop, I gave them more control—perhaps choosing their partners themselves or having more time to write. Eventually, | realized that the writing workshop routines ‘could be nested within any subject throughout the day. As result, the children learned that as authors, they could write for a variety of reasons, rfot just to compose a story. Developing focused mini-lessons Minilessons (approximately 10 minutes)—short, focused lessons that held the children's attention—were an impor- tant part ofthe writing workshop. I selected topics accord Ing to children's specific needs in developing thelr writing stalls. usually identified the topics during individual or soup conferences, from my informal observations while the children were writing, or by examining their writing ‘samples. For example, I might offer a think-aloud mink lesson to show children how to stay on topic when writing ‘or how to move forward when they were stuck ona new word (see “A MinéLesson about Spelling’) ‘When modeling any aspect of writing Livanted the chil dren to understand that authons'do mae mistakes. This point became an important component of most ofthe mini lessons, and the children seemed to absorb the message. Young Children July 2008ie ‘Sam stated early in the year, “You just try the hard- est that you can and do your best. But everybody makes mistakes.” Daryl explained, “If you don’t know word, just circle it; put a line under it, and then ook in the dictionary when you are done.” Susan reflected on a sentence in one of her stories: “Mmm .... “Me and my friend go to school...” You have to put fiend first and you on the end, because that Is polite. Like, “My friend and me go to school But we should change me to I” Children’s writing skills (and my understanding) grow Inmany ways, (Beinstractive for meas itwas for the children. Young Sa Thad a difficult time understanding that first ‘grade children can develop their own topics. [knew that many of the children would struggle to write one word, so in the beginning I kept the format simple to allow them to get down their thoughts. For example, | used patterned stories, such as “I like and the children filled in a word. Ina few weeks, after various minvlessons modeling how to develop a topic, they were able to write ‘a sentence or more. By October, those same children were ‘writing on the front and back of the paper. Daryl wrote about how he gets scared when his mom turns out his light ‘and papers flutter in the wind. When this work was being published, Daryl reminded me to include the writing on the back of the sheet, Pai eeeeu uss Ii) Firstgrader think that every word hasto be spt comedy, and many woud no ry o write new words unless they had the wor ght in roto them. Often, frustration about spelling interrupted their flow of ideas wie wring | wanted he cient think about he souinds in words and to wrte down atleast the besinning and ending sous. To help them, t modeled how to write 2 story and thnk outloud about al the sounds in words. {As lurote my story on the chalkboard, sounded out the words and prints the coresponding letters. 1 crcled ‘word that didnot look right, so | eau go bak to them when I rished ving the story. This minitesson showed ‘the young writers that instead of interrupting their train of oe? thought to come up with an accurate speling, they could «9 back and corect mistakes lator WWeDAS- pei Young Children July 2008 Wiel Saal Twondered, at first, when | modeled how to get a story down on paper, whether the children might copy my story rather than developing thelr own, However, | ound that the children preferred their own top- les to mine, Shelly explained, "Sometimes [Mrs. Thacker] picks topics that not all of us know about, and then that ‘makes the story shorter and not as interesting." Having) {HOICES|For writing also helped children like John, who ‘struggled with reading and writing. He wrote three pages about his dad, which he sald was his best work, Young authorsGevelop plans ‘To help the children understand why planning before writ ing is important, Ineeded to help them become aware that ‘stories are made up of Orgaiiaeé ne day, picked upa book that I thought they would enjoy, read one sen- tence, and then closed the book. When they responded with, “Hey, that’s not all!" I pointed out that they were writing only cone or two sentences and calling their work a story. This lead to a discussion about what a story looks like, and they ‘began to understand that a story includes many elements, like characters, setting, problem, events, and ending. Initially, the children dret their plans. Drawing pictures gave them time to think about the detalls they wanted to include. | encouraged them tolhare (rehearse) WEI plan, Capac ask questions that would help them ough the children learned other ways To organize thelr ideas (such as webbing), many of them ‘continued to draw pictures, because they felt that draw- ing presented more details for writing. While developing a plan about penguins, Kenzi stated, “Right now, that is all have on my organization, but I might think of more details wud sete ‘rng § en — PLAN, woe Owdli shto put in my plan, and then my story will be longer.” Daryl explained how he used both a picture and mapping to plan, “because when you get the picture done, ithelps you to think about what to put on your plan [map]. That helps me write my story so it makes sense.” twas common for the children to have more than one ‘work in progress in their file drawer. In some instances, a child would develop a plan and then move on to another topic, knowing that she could always return to the plan and continue to develop it. Periodically, the children reflected on all their works in progress. Early on, I doubted whether many of the children would reflect ‘on their writing and then complete important pieces, but Iwas wrong. While reflecting on his, plan for a new story about Peach and Blue, a book about a talking peach and a blue toad, by Sarah Kilbome, Daryl said, “Here is the Peach ‘and Blue picture. | started a good one. There Is the pond over there. Yes, this is a keeper. 1 will write a story from this.” Shelly also began a story about Peach and Blue: “Yeah, I began a 7 Children Make aneie story about Peach and Blue. But !haven't written it yet. have other stories to write, but I will finish it.I think it will, ea good story.” ‘Young authorg edit their writing In January Lintroduced the editing process. To begin, I ‘wanted the children to know that authors also have to edit. ‘This was easy to show with the book Difiendoofer, by Dr. ‘Seuss. In the back of the book is the original manuscript, ‘and Dr. Seuss explains how the story evolved throughout the editing process. I taught the children to first self-edit and then to select a peer to read the story. The children used different colored pencils to code each editing stage— blue for self-ecditing and red for peer editing. To guide the childzen’s thinking during editing, I developed a checklist of the writing conventions we had covered thoroughly, such as using capitals and ending a sentence with a punctua- tion mark. As the children learned more about writing, the checklist grew longer. Making decisions about their writing empowered the children. Kenzi shared her thoughts on editing: “When you publish, I think people that are reading [your words] should know what they are. So, we like to partner edit. The red ink is with my partner.” Then Kenzi gave an example of how she helped her partner edit: “Well, [the author] thought the word snow was okay: So, lasked some questions. Lasked ithis story had a beginning, an ending, and a middle, and if there was a big leter at the first of the sentence.” Tony showed how to stretch words out so his partner could hear the sounds: "I somebody does not know how to spell California, then | will help them: Cal--for-ni-a.” Revising a previous age othe wing oOwK) Peat uy 2008, decisions aloud tne irik WO)Young mana a conference Holding regular UonTerences both with individuals and ups of children was very important. I wanted to ‘moving from helping them, and seeing what they v ing wershop slowed hehlantomesenospendnti§ 3s very used dee cone fr te wont cheer Crary ‘working through the writing process at their own pace. The ‘ riéeded to bein charge of tier learning. | "We held small group conferences based on individual children’s needs, so the groups of participants changes. For instance, Lwould hold a confer- ence with children who needed help developing complete sen- tences. When a child was stuck the writing process, Iheld an individual conference to help him In some instances, a child would develop a plan and then move on to another topic, Dayal aire nua W ici Mirren ess Be patient! Learning takes time. Take lime to guide children through the many different activitios associated the writing process in the workshop. iA, such as self-ediing,, ‘such as peer editing, Teachers ‘also need time—to think about how to meet children’s individual needs as their writing skils develop. eee eee children can move from one writing routine to the next. This may result in a classroom that looks busy, with students working on thelr indi- vidual writing samples. Some children may be (on the floor editing with a peer, working in small getstarted again.As thechlldren knowing that she groups to develop a topic, examining their writ- [become mare lndependent; they. ing fle to finish work in progress, sitting on would at times request aconfer- ould always return lence with me to work on a spe- cifie writing problem. To monitor how often | met with children and why, [kept a log of the meet- ings and the topics discussed. (Gioual and multifaceted in my classroomSpme assessment ‘was child initiated, At the end of every term, the children reflected on their progress as they examined their work. In the process, they selected the pieces they wanted to show- ‘case for their parents and other interested parties. The chik dren, in most cases, wanted to show not only the finished product but also the drafts that demonstrated the process. ee ene SS renee ae Soe a es See ceemee ean pACIUSID' Shirley Thacker and her frst-graders demonstrate the im- portance of.chldren having a vested interest in what and how ‘they learn. Hheyeanirelieet én their progress and can learn how tomake corrections. Further, they show thal priiary | rade ehitaren can work collaboratively within their Tearing) \[environment. In the process, Shirley learned that her chile ‘dren are much more capable than she previously thought. She said it best: *My instruction has forever changed.” Cone! 3 Young Chiléren July 2009, to the plan and con- tinue to develop it. ‘the carpet reading a story similar to one they are writing, or writing using a computer. Chik dren's different locations and groupings show that they can work independently and are fully ‘engaged in all aspects of the writing process. Coma aE RATERS ag ad dacssng Se ere ees ae ae ee oie eae Cu orernier tone age reo eae oa ae ane rca Surana ne esas eee a eeor fn lec wing program seuR suppor cos ge ee eae See ee References Calling, LM. 1994. The ar of teaching writing 2nd ed, Portsmouth, NE: Heinemann, ‘lay, MIM. 1980, What i Frit? Beginning wring behavior. 3h 6 Portsmouth NE: Heinemann ‘lay, MAM 2001. Change overtime in children’ Iteracy development Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. Graves, DH. 1994-4 fesh lol at uring Portsmouth: Ni Heinemann. Elbow? 2004. Writing rt! Edvcatonal Leadership 62 (2): 8-13. Harsrayne, 2001, Writing though childhood: Rethinking process and produc Portsmouth, Ni: Heinemann. MeGee, LM. &D.JRichgels. 2004 Leracy’s begining: Supporting ‘Young readers and uvters. ith ed. New York Pearson Education. [Ry KW. with LB. Cleaveland, 2004. About the euthors: Writing work- ‘shop with our youngest unter. Portsmouth, NH: Henemana. ‘Temple. R-Nathan,N. Burrs, F Temple. 1888. Te beginnings of tuning. 2d, Newton, MA: Alyn & Bacon. Copy © 2008 by te Nana Assoiaton rhe Eaaton of Youn Citien. See Perissns and Ress nin t wu naeye ogaboutpermisions 29, 35