Slice of Life: Making Goals and Reading Meaningful for Emergent Readers #SOL20 #TWTBlog
Where did you write that?
On your conferring note.
No, no – show me. Show me where the words are on the note.
The words are right here.
Those are too messy for me to read – can you write it so I can read the words?
Students are always curious about the notes I take. I believe that is it is important to note formative observations while I teach. As teachers, we need to take the time to capture what we are noticing and wondering about our students while we are teaching. When students ask what I am writing, I typically tell them what I am writing as they watch me. They ask questions, add ideas and encourage me to “write this down.” I love how it involves them in the process of learning. It never dawned on me to use this process to teach students how to read until this emergent reader demanded it. An idea was born! I reworked my conferring note and designed it so I could write in a size that the students could read (and I worked on my neatness!).
I now end my conference with emergent readers with co-writing the day’s “note.” We decide what to say together, plan out the sentence and then “share the pen” to write the sentence. I teach and scaffold the concepts of print I am focusing on with each student. I also begin each lesson with the student re-reading the previous day’s note. I use this time to observe, prompt, and teach the student. I have even chosen some to write up on sentence strips to cut up and rebuild the sentence.
I have noticed three big impacts of doing this with early readers:
The text we are using is meaningful and it is about what they are doing and experiencing. The students are constructing both the meaning and print that represents it as we are writing. The purpose and connections to literacy are so clear.
Students are more engaged in the lessons because they are excited to write about what they are learning and how the process of learning is going from them. They like talking and thinking about themselves as learners so they are more invested.
Students are invested in the assessment process. They know their goals and are providing feedback on their next steps as learners. I am also getting to know them better as readers so my instruction is becoming more responsive to their needs.
Marie Clay taught us that it is essential that readers truly understand the foundation of literacy, “What I say I can write and what I can write I can read.” This concept seems so simple but it is the essence of being literate. When readers struggle to understand this concept, it is critical to make their experiences with literacy purposeful and meaningful. If we want them to make connections to print, we need to connect the print to what is meaningful to them. I love it when I find a “win-win” practice that saves me time and engages our students!
Thank you, Betsy, Beth, Marina, Kathleen, Kelsey, Lanny, Melanie, and Stacey for this weekly forum from Two Writing Teachers. Check out the writers, readers, and teachers here.
