Already Ready Nurturing Writers in Preschool and Kindergarten by Katie Wood Ray & Matt Glover

1. Already ReadyNurturing Writers in Preschool and Kindergartenby Katie Wood Ray & Matt Glover

2. This book is not about teaching writing; • it is about nurturing writers – • helping them grow and develop • When thinking about developmentally appropriate expectations for preschoolers we must always take into consideration: • the child is a writer (already ready) • the child is 3 or 4 years old

3. UnderstandingYoung Writers

4. What It Means to Be a Writer A pre-schooler writer…. • composes for stretches of time • makes picture books • goes through a writing process • uses ideas from books read to them • shares and keeps their books • reads their books • Example: The Dinosaur & Flower Book

5. Jeffery is a Pre-school Writer The Cold Bear, by Jeffrey Pg. 1 Pg. 2 “Because his hands are cold he wants to go skiing to make him warm.” “The bear can’t find a mitten because he can’t find a glove and because of that he has to have to let his hands be cold.” Pg. 3 Pg. 4 “Because bear is warm, he ate his meat bone. A hedgehog invited him over to his house, because he had a fire going. Then the bear invited the hedgehog over to his house because he had ice cream.” “Bear dreams about a bone that has meat. So he can eat it. This bear likes meat because it makes him warm.”

6. Observations of Jeffery as a writer • Makes picture books • Uses ideas from books read to him • features of stories and books • sequencing of story • using word bubbles to show that a character is dreaming. • knowledge learned during recent read alouds • The Mitten • study of hibernation

7. For the Pre-school writer…. the written product means very little without the child being there to represent it when he or she is actually writing • Noah's Book - 'The Machines That Make Everything Come to Life'

8. Transcription and Spelling Development Figure 3.1 • Developing the skill of transcription • takes a long time • requires a lot of experience writing and reading • follows sequence of stages • scribble writing • random strings of letters • invented spelling • conventional spelling

9. Scribble Writing Figure 3.2 Researchers have found that the marks are made with some intention in mind and only appear as random scribbles. Over time the letters begin to resemble actual letters.

10. Random strings of letters Figure 3.3 Children begin to remember what certain words look like, particularly words in the environment, so it’s not uncommon for a sight word to show up among all the random strings of letters.

11. Katie Wood Ray and Matt Glover suggest reasons for NOT transcribing student stories- • transcription is not a prerequisite for compositional writing • preschoolers are not even moderately adept at spelling • it will be years before they can engage in transcription without thinking about it and pay full attention to the thinking process of composition • not knowing much about transcription actually frees writers to put more energy into other aspects of writing.

12. Three Dimensions of Composition • During the pre-school years, young writers learn about • texts • focus • representation of meaning- pictures, words, both • meaning should remain constant over time • organization should remain constant over time • genre and purpose • process • intentionality- planning topics and revision • revision to solve problems and make sense • what it means to be a writer

13. Composition Development • During the Pre-school Years • Developing the skill of composing • takes a long time • requires a lot of experience writing and reading • follows sequence of stages of making books with • no focus- children label pictures (Figure 4.1) • loosely connected focus- children talk about what is in the pictures (Figure 4.2) • focused text- children narrate a story prompted by the pictures (Figure 4.3) • Growth in this area is evident when these readings sound more and more like picture books • Example of a pattern book - The Pink Penguin • Composing follows a sequence of stages : • a book with no focus (children label pictures – Figure 4.1) • a loosely connected focus (Figure 4.2) • a focused text (Figure 4.3) • Children read books • may simply label pictures • may talk about what is in the pictures • Teachers of young children can refer to texts as a story or list • Growth in this area is evident when these readings sound more and more like picture books

14. Figure 4.1 – Cold In Summer, by Leila Pg. 1 Pg. 2 “A snake is sleeping. It is cold out.” “This is a spider sleeping.” Pg. 3 Labels for Pictures Figure 4.1 “The dragon is sleeping.” Fig 4.1

15. Figure 4.2 – A Loosely Connected Text Christmas Holiday, by Aubrey Pg. 2 Pg. 1 “This deer only has one baby horn.” “The deer is protecting itself with it’s horn.” Pg. 3 Pg. 4 “Clara is riding the deer like a sleigh.” “But the deer died and now it’s slimy.” Fig 4.2

16. Figure 4.3 – Focused Text A Cold, Cold Day, by Charlie Pg. 1 Pg. 2 “The snake grew and grew and found a place to hibernate.” “Once upon a time Gogo the snake was getting to hibernate.” Pg. 3 Pg. 4 “Gogo the snake went inside the igloo. He started to warm up.” “Gogo the snake takes a nap.” Fig 4.2

17. The Child’s Image of Self as Writer • Hold two ideas simultaneously- • The child is a writer • The child is four years old • Important that children develop an image of themselves as writers- who make books • Initiative driven by desire and belief • Must be valued as the writer s/he is– at this moment of time • Children share their writing on their own terms • If the adults don’t acknowledge a child’s writing simply because it’s not yet representational, then they never see the amazing thinking about writing she is capable of doing. • Focus on the process – Not the product

18. Nurturing an Identity • of Self as Writer • Pre-school children need opportunities to • develop an image of themselves as writers- who • make books • be driven by desire and confidence • be valued as the writer s/he is– at this moment of time • share their writing on their own terms • focus on the process – not the product • If the adults don’t acknowledge a child’s writing simply because it’s not yet representational, then they never see the amazing thinking about writing she is capable of doing.

19. Teaching Practices that NurtureYoung Writers

20. “Making” Picture Books is Important because… • they are familiar • illustrations carry the weight of the meaning – allowing them to talk about what they see illustrated in text. • children extend what they know about communication and composition. • picture book format encourages persistence, stamina, and independence • activity is fun and developmentally appropriate • multiple pages force the issue of composition • Although picture books are just one kind of text- • the understandings children develop while making them • can be generalized to all kinds of texts.

21. Classroom Environments that Support Young Writers

22. Writing Activities that Support Young Writers

23. Instructional Practices that Support Young Writers

24. “Show me what you can do and I can help you get a little bit better” Lev Vygotsky