Reception Writing

[Lucie]

Hi, could someone tell me

 

- how much writing (as in attempting to be phonetically correct) their current MA reception are doing with limited adult direction? e.g. a simple caption/attempting a sentence/single words.

 

- how much writing MA children are expected to do formally (i.e. sat at a table, (not all the other writing that goes on )) by this I mean how much they are expected to do in one go.

 

- what the role of the adult is in guided writing in your classroom.

 

I'm not sure I'm being clear about what I'm asking! (I'm not sure I even know).....Would you be so kind as to tell me about writing in your reception class!

 

I know my class will be totally different to everyone else's but I just would like to get an idea.....

Sorry to ramble!

Lucie

Edited June 15, 2011 by Lucie

[Guest]

Hi in my reception class I have my writing area in which I put something different every week which I model on a monday and they then choose (or not) to go in there during CI time.

Some weeks I make the writing area my challenge area (I have 2 or 3 a week) and it is expected that all will complete it. This week their challenge is to find a picture of a sea creature in a non fiction book and write a sentence about it for our class book.

 

I also have 2 writing sessions each week where my TA and I take a group each for guided writing so that each child has a guided writing session a week. In guided writing the adult is there to encourage the children and help them with hearing and writing the sounds in words, helping them towards independence and using the resources in the classroom eg. word or sound wall. Each child has a writing target and so this is refered to in the session and worked towards. The guided writing session last about 20 mins at the most.

 

We are also a school who is big on 'big writing' so every other week throughout the school we have a big writing session where the whole class writes together to relaxing music with slightly dimmed lights and this is completely independent and supposed to be in silence but we struggle a bit with that! (with us it lasts for about 15 mins and this builds until they are managing about 3/4 hr in Y2 and and hour or more in KS2.

 

During a big write session, my MA children are now able to independently write about 4-5 sentences which I can read and which have capital letters, full stops and finger spaces in the correct places. I have several girls who write and write and write running to about A4 mostly able to be read but with no punctuation. My middles can usually manage around 2 sentences independently and my less able (4 children) are emergent writing with some sounds correct but sometimes they struggle to read back what they have written.

 

Hope that helps!

Deb

[Susan]

Any music that works best, Deb?

[Lucie]

Thankx deb, jut what i was looking for

[Guest]

supposed to be Mozart! but I use anything relaxing it does add a lovely relaxed atmosphere to the classroom and it is a very calm time which the children really enjoy. Mozart because studies have apparently shown that it is the best for concentrating/encouraging creativity and something to do with brain development/sides of the brain etc If you need more info on big writing Ros Wilson is the pioneer of this.

Deb

[Lucie]

Deb, have you had training? or is this just something you have adopted...don't quite know where to start but have been thinking about big writing as my neice at a different chool does this and is very excited by it!

 

Lucie

[Guest]

No I havn't myself had the official training but our literacy coordinator has had Ros Wilson training and she has trained us through staff inset and meetings etc. We brought it in as a school 2 years ago and our writing as a school has improved tremendously as previous to it children were not given the opportunity to write independently for extended periods of time. I like it because it really does encourage independence. In big write the children have a special book and a pencil/pen that is only used for big write and a great deal is made of how special these books are and the children really value them. The lights are dimmed, a candle is lit or some teachers use a lava lamp and the music is played, Pi Corbett advocates that the teacher also sits down and writes during this time too to set an example. Ros Wilson also recommends that fruit or raisins are given to each child to munch on as they write (I don't do this and most of us in the school don't) How it works further up the school is that they do a big write a couple of weeks after the completion of a unit to see if the success criteria of that text type are embedded and because the writing is completely independent, it can be used for APP. Because I've been doing the storymaking project this year, my big writes are usually news or retelling the stories they have learned by heart.

Deb

[KST]

That's really interesting and great to read Deb, thanks for sharing! I am thinking of adopting this in my year 2 class next year to trial before trying to get the rest of the school on board as I've heard great things about it, although not had any training.

 

Lucie, as for my writing I do 1 guided writing a week. I tend to do support the use of finger spaces, captial letters and full stops and with the LA segmenting of sounds. Each group works for about 20 minutes. my MA children are writing up to 3 sentences in these sessions. They do lots more writing in child initiating learning and will write much more! But this tend to lack any punctuation and in many cases finger spaces! Most of my maps will make phonical plausible attempts at longr words in their CI writing.

 

My HA children have very good spelling and will write up to 5 sentences in guided writing and similar in CI but lack relaible punctuation and my LAPs will write 1 sentence which is modelled and supported. In their CI writing they are more likely to mark make or write list form of CVC words.

 

Hope that makes sense! x

[KST]

That's really interesting and great to read Deb, thanks for sharing! I am thinking of adopting this in my year 2 class next year to trial before trying to get the rest of the school on board as I've heard great things about it, although not had any training.

 

Lucie, as for my writing I do 1 guided writing a week. I tend to do support the use of finger spaces, captial letters and full stops and with the LA segmenting of sounds. Each group works for about 20 minutes. my MA children are writing up to 3 sentences in these sessions. They do lots more writing in child initiating learning and will write much more! But this tend to lack any punctuation and in many cases finger spaces! Most of my maps will make phonical plausible attempts at longr words in their CI writing.

 

My HA children have very good spelling and will write up to 5 sentences in guided writing and similar in CI but lack relaible punctuation and my LAPs will write 1 sentence which is modelled and supported. In their CI writing they are more likely to mark make or write list form of CVC words.

 

Hope that makes sense! x

Should've said - I'm in reception this year! Suddenly thought that sounded like i'm in year 2! That's next years challenge! x