Writing/Handwriting
We begin writing from the very first day of school in Kindergarten. Young children go through many stages in the writing process. It is similar to how they began to talk. They did not say, "May I have my bottle please?" first, but rather they made approximations of sounds for words, and went through many other stages before getting the entire sentence out. The same is true in the writing process.
This year we have begun using the Lucy Calkins Units of Study for teaching writing. We use Writing Workshop time as a time to learn how to make our writing more readable to an audience as well as how to make our writing appealing to our readers. The children become authors from the first day of school!
Students in Kindergarten are also introduced to many different genres of writing through whole group as well as independent center work. Children write opinion pieces, how-to pieces, personal narratives, and persuasive pieces.
Handwriting:
We use the Handwriting Without Tears program to guide students in how to hold a pencil, and letter formation. The series was developed by an occupational therapist to make handwriting easier for students. The language used is big line, little line, big curve, little curve, and the letters are taught in groups to make connections for the students.
We also practice where the letters should sit on the line as well as how to form a sentence.
This year we have begun using the Lucy Calkins Units of Study for teaching writing. We use Writing Workshop time as a time to learn how to make our writing more readable to an audience as well as how to make our writing appealing to our readers. The children become authors from the first day of school!
Students in Kindergarten are also introduced to many different genres of writing through whole group as well as independent center work. Children write opinion pieces, how-to pieces, personal narratives, and persuasive pieces.
Handwriting:
We use the Handwriting Without Tears program to guide students in how to hold a pencil, and letter formation. The series was developed by an occupational therapist to make handwriting easier for students. The language used is big line, little line, big curve, little curve, and the letters are taught in groups to make connections for the students.
We also practice where the letters should sit on the line as well as how to form a sentence.