Kindergarten Teaching Points

Kindergarten Launching Writing WorkshopTeaching Points  Writers add movement marks to people and things in their pictures to show their readers what was moving in their story by looking at each person or thing in their picture and asking themselves, “Was this person or thing moving?” Then, if it was moving, they add movement marks to the parts of the person or thing that was moving.  Writers get ideas for writing by thinking of something they really love or are passionate about. They think of a one time story about that thing they really love or are passionate about.  Writers get ideas for writing by thinking of one time they never want to forget.  Writers get ideas for writing by thinking of one time with a special person.  Writers get ideas for writing by thinking of one time at a special place.  Writers think about who they are writing for before they get started. (Page 163 & 164 in About the Authors by Katie Wood Ray).  Writers make a special part of their writing seem really important by repeating it (writing it again) in another place in their story (chapter 8 in Wondrous Words by Katie Wood Ray).  Writers make their writing feel real to their readers by using the specific name of things in their writing (instead of candy, write Starburst / instead of drink, write Sprite).  Writers use quiet voices during Writing Workshop so that everyone can work without being disrupted.  Writers talk about their writing during Writing Workshop by asking themselves, “Do I need help with my story right now? Do I need help with an idea right now?” (you may want to model talking not about writing and then model talking about writing).  Writers have five minutes of no walk, no talk at the beginning of Writing Workshop, so that they can reread their writing from their folder and make writing plans for the day (it’s good to set a timer for the 5 minutes, so that when it goes off, they know they can talk about their writing – you also don’t have to do this mini-lesson if you feel your kids don’t need it)  Writers put the date on the paper by (using a date stamp / looking at the chalkboard to see what the date is) so that they can always remember when they started a piece of writing.  Writers use an ABC chart to help them write letters and words in their stories by thinking of the word they want to write, saying the word slowly, matching the sound/s they say/hear to a letter/picture on the ABC chart.  Writers go back to their old pieces and add to the words and pictures by looking at one page at a time and asking themselves, “What else should be on this page?”.  Writers make the pictures and words match in their stories by drawing the picture of what was happening first and asking themselves, “What words will tell what was happening in my picture?”  Writers stretch their stories across pages by saying across their fingers what happened first, next, and last. Each finger becomes a page in their book.  Writers plan their stories by touching each page and saying what is happening on each page before they write their story.  Writers add speech bubbles to their pictures so that whoever reads their story will know what the characters were saying. Writers do this by looking at their picture, closing their eyes, and asking themselves, “What were the people saying to each other on this page? What did I hear? What could they have said?”  Writers add the weather and time of day to their stories by looking at each page and asking themselves, “What was the weather and time of day in this part?” Then, they add details to show the weather and time of day.  Writers add the ground to their pictures first, so that whoever reads their story will know where the story takes place and so that the characters aren’t floating in the air.  Writers add to their pictures by adding feelings to their characters’ faces. They look at each person in their story and ask, “How was this person feeling in this part of the story?” Then, they add details like smiles, frowns, tears, eyes wide open, and more to let their reader know how the people were feeling.  Writers add thought bubbles to their pictures to let their readers know what all of their characters were thinking in their story. Writers do this by looking at each character in their story and asking themselves, “What was this character thinking about in this part?”

Management Issues  How we use our writing folders (green/red or sun/moon or any other organizational method). It’s good for you to have a writing folder to use for modeling, in addition to all of your writing on the charts.  What to do when we feel finished (add to our pictures, add to our words, start a new story).  How we talk to our partner.  How we talk with the teacher during a conference.  How we sit on the carpet in the meeting area.  How we get our folders after the mini-lesson.  Responsibilities during the mini-lesson (quiet during connection and teach, but sharing during active involvement).

Charts for Launching Created During Mini-lessons Story Ideas:  Think of a special person and 1 time with that special person. (Pictures, pictures, pictures of special people!!! Maybe you could have them bring in photos of special people in their lives for the chart.)  Think of a special place and 1 time at that special place.  Think of a special thing and 1 time with that special thing.  Think of a time you were happy, mad, or sad.

What to do when I feel finished:  Add to my picture  Add to my words  Start a new story

Ways to add to my story:  What did I hear?  What did I say?  What did I see?  How did I feel?  Weather and Time of Day