Welcome to another exciting episode of Writing Tips for Every Grade. Today’s topic is still the littles—the kindergarten “writers.”
Here are the high points of today’s episode:
- Teach “writing” informally through reading aloud, listening to audios together, and building the child’s background of experience.
- Beware of too much “student writing” before reading fluency is reached.
- Don’t use precious reading lesson time for writing unless child learns to read through writing (rare)
- Write whole paragraphs for the child
- Use blank books—stickers, pictures, coloring books, etc., for student to dictate paragraphs to you
- Use the highlight and write over it method
- Use the dictated words that you write for the student for reading practice (language experience process)
Kindergarteners have a lot to say! When they realize that writing is the spoken word written down—and that they can write every time they dictate to you—watch out! Young writers emerge!
