I sit here tonight uncertain of what I should write. I honestly don't feel like writing either. I guess this is how students feel when we tell them..."go write a story". My kindergarten partners and I have been working hard to incorporate verbal storytelling into our writer's workshop this year. We know that kindergarten kids can tell all kinds of stories, but when it comes time to write a story they freeze up. I'm sure some of it is the fear of not knowing how to write certain words, but I think a lot of it is they don't realize that the stories they come in and tell me with excitement can be the same stories they write and publish.
This very idea is what we are trying to accomplish with verbal storytelling. We spent many days just telling stories during writer's workshop, trying to work our way up to the bridge that takes us from telling to writing. Many of my students have crossed over, but not all. Only with time, practice, and comfort will they be ready. It is our jobs as teachers to guide them and give them the tools they need to make it to the other side.
Oddly enough, moving from talk to writing is a skill that most students still haven't mastered or gotten over the fear of by 8th grade! It is incredible that you do this kind of work with your kindergarten students!
ReplyDeleteKeep the talk going. They need it. Reflection allows us to talk our way through writing as well, just like you did in your slice. Loved it.
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