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Lesson 1
I have attached three of my students writing samples, an above grade level, on grade level, and below grade level. Their writing has not been edited yet. However, students attempted their self editing checklist. Next, we will move to peer editing.

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2nd lesson

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2nd lesson

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2nd lesson

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and rubrics attached

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Portfolio Outline and Introduction Jennifer Phillips

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This is a look into a PD we had to attend for writing. Since my portfolio is on writing, I wanted to showcase how I am trying to better myself as an educator.

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I have attached the rubric we use for grading informational writing. When using the rubric, it can still be subjective per teacher. Therefore, we try and grade writing pieces together as a team to be consistent. Rubrics give us a starting point when looking at our students writing. If we find a student is a 4 we then begin to look at a 1st grade rubric to extend our higher students. However, it is very hard to receive a 4 in conventions. Students are hardly perfect when it comes to this area. We also use this rubric to help our students create a goal for the next writing piece.

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I have attached our building goal for writing and what we are expected to do in kindergarten.

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Lesson 1

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Mrs. Wills is an influential kindergarten teacher/curriculum writer. We use a lot of her resources in kindergarten to supplement our mandated programs. We use her blogs to develop better teaching methods.

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Genre writing in kindergarten is not as difficult as you might think. I have been working on various types of genre writing in a kindergarten classroom and we have been having a blast!

Informational Text

When I first started working with this class, they were just wrapping up informational text writing. We were ready to head into the writing genre of small moments. But not everyone was ready to let go of informational text. In my opinion, that is okay. Just like there are types of genres I like to read, there are also certain types of genres I like to write in. So do students. As long as the student attempts writing the genre we are working in during the 4 weeks of instruction, I am happy. If they can demonstrate proficiency in that genre, they I don't ask them to restrict their writing.

This boy CLEARLY knows a LOT about insects and bugs. It is his passion... so naturally he wants to write about it.

Small Moments

So we launched our small moment genre writing by introducing a few of the anchor charts for this unit. This class was really struggling with being risk takers with their spelling. But after a few days of lessons, they became quite independent little spellers. The spelling panic was behind them!

Soon we had a little Rocky Mountain Fishing! I love her mountains! Check out the details in her illustrations!

Fiction Writing

We spend about 4 weeks in each genre before we move onto another genre. Next up for our writing was fiction writing! Oh! My! They really love this type of writing and it is a great way to finish out the year. The students are excited. We have only worked on fiction for a few days, but they took to it immediately.

I have never learned so much about Minecraft than I have over the last few days. Minecraft... all day, every day! Sigh! However, we can still see the qualities of fiction regardless of the subject. More importantly, when students select the topic of their writing, they are more engaged. [NOTE TO SELF: It is not about me.]

Here is another piece from a student. I love how she added labels and speech bubbles. Speech bubbles were part of our mini-lessons and she added them to her fiction writing.

This line... LOVE: "Next the hedgehog was about to give up until..." Building anticipation! She even used the ellipsis! I may have gotten goosebumps over this piece.

We also add the genre writing anchor charts to our strategy wall. I just layer one chart over the other. In this way, if I have to go back and remind a student of something I have already taught them, they are literally at my fingertips.

So there you have it!

YOU CAN FIND OUR ENTIRE WRITING CURRICULUM BY CLICKING HERE.

We love genre writing in kindergarten. It provides enough variety to keep us extremely engaged which, in turn, keeps us moving along the writing continuum. As I said, I don't require the students to ONLY write in the genre we are studying, but the fun and creativity are infectious.

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Genre writing in kindergarten is not as difficult as you might think. I have been working on various types of genre writing in a kindergarten classroom and we have been having a blast! When I first started working with this class, they were just wrapping up informational text writing.

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Introduction to Informational Writing Unit

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Introduction to Informational Writing Unit

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American Symbols

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Introduction to Information Writing Unit