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“I used to think the writing teacher teaches students how to write.  Now I believe the teacher helps students to use writing to share with each other and with their teacher what they are learning, and by this practice to develop their ability to write.  The students are making writing, but the teacher is making writers” (Stafford, 2007, p. 219).  This is something that I believe I try hard to do in my classroom.  A lot of my time is spent with students sharing their ideas and writing pieces with one another.

“This is the perfect excuse for not writing: no time.  But the real writer refuses to fall for it.  Writers write.  In notebooks, on napkins, at the kitchen table surrounded by dirty plates” (Fletcher, 2013, p. 128).  I appreciate that Fletcher acknowledges the lack of time that teachers feel, especially when it comes to teaching writing. But, I have learned that this is not a valid excuse for me to us in my classroom.

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Essential questions are posted in my classroom along with important words and anchor charts.

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So many thoughts come to mind when I think of my ideal writing classroom. The biggest thing I would dream to have is more time. Even just 15 or 20 minutes more would be a huge help in guiding my beginning writers through the process. I would also ideally have more writing spaces throughout my classroom. I would love to be able to provide more time for my students to share and interact with one another. More time would allow more students the chance to share their writing, and the opportunity for more meaningful peer collaboration on writing. I also would like to have tables instead of desks, because I feel as though this would allow for more flexible seating and groupings to be made, which can benefit first graders.

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I am fortunate enough to teach in an affluent school district with a lot of resources. We have instructional specialists in our buildings to help us figure out what resources we can and should use to help our students. We have a curriculum map that was created as a district for each elementary grade level to ensure that each child is learning the same concepts at the same time during the year. My first grade teammates and I work very well together, so we plan our writing lessons together and adapt as needed for our own classrooms. Additionally, because of the district I teach in, there is an overwhelming amount of parent support. Parents read and write with their students at home. My students have someone at home who is able to help them complete their homework. Additionally, I have a lot of parents who are willing and able to come in to the classroom to volunteer their time during centers and writing.

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My district uses a writing binder in all of its elementary schools.  In the binder, students have a dictionary that they can use to look up words.  It contains folders that help guide students through each step of the writing process, as well as grade level word walls, a table of contents, and revision/editing tools.

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Below you will find a photo of the writing nook center in my classroom. This is a place students can write at during Daily 5 or during writing time if they choose.

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Writing Community: Physically and Socially Promoting Writing

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Writing Community: Physically and Socially Promoting Writing

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If you walked into my classroom during the day, you would see desks arranged in groups of 4, although my students honestly spend the majority of their day around the room at centers for math and Daily 5.  There is a designated writing center in the classroom for our Daily 5 centers, but if students wish to sit elsewhere they have that option.  When our 30 minute writing block comes up in our schedule, we often gather on the back carpet to listen to a mentor text and discuss or to complete a pre-writing activity together.  When it comes time for students to begin writing, they are allowed to choose a comfy, cozy spot in the room where they write best (we go over the expectations of comfy, cozy spots at the start of the year).  Students share their writing with partners.  If they wish, children are aloud to sit in the rocking chair to read their writings to the class as well.  The class then tells the student in the chair what they liked about his/her writing.  Students are learning that their words matter and that their peers want to hear what they have to say.  A growing word wall is posted in the classroom beside the writing center table so students can always look up words.  We also share writing on Seesaw with the class and with parents.

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A new task I have taken on this year is teaching my students about what it means to have a growth mindset. Since teaching my students about this concept, I have noticed an increase in their willingness to take chances and make mistakes. This is a crucial notion in writing: that whatever I write has value and that even if I make a mistake, it is okay. This is something we will revisit constantly throughout the year. My students have also begun setting goals for themselves and we talk about how having a growth mindset can help us achieve those goals.

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Promoting Writing and Literacy Physically in My Classroom 

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Promoting Writing and Literacy Physically in My Classroom 

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My classroom has a writing nook, which is a designated area in the room in which students can go to write.  This area contains anchor charts for our current writing mode, anchor charts for the writing process, our first grade word wall (words added throughout the year as they are mastered), and various writing tools that the writers in my classroom can use.  Students are seated in groups at their desks for collaboration purposes in all academic areas.  We create a lot of anchor charts on the traits of writing, the process, the modes, beginnings, endings, etc.  Essential questions are also posted related to our current goals for writing and all other subject areas.  Students have access to a variety of writings through our classroom library and we have a mentor text library that students can look back through for ideas and characteristics.

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Promoting Writing and Literacy Socially in My Classroom

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Promoting Writing and Literacy Socially in My Classroom

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We do a lot of activities in writing where students can share with a partner or with the class, if they choose.  We also have peers complete editing checklists or offer ideas on improving our writing. I haven't started it yet this year, since it is still the beginning of the first trimester, but in the second and third trimesters I have my students keep whole class journals. In the journals, students respond to a prompt.  Each child in the class gets to write in the journal, and the children then get to read each other's responses.  I also make class books of the students' writings so students can look at and read their peers' work.  Additionally, if students complete a writing piece, they are allowed to showcase it at our reading nook, so that their classmates may read their writing during read to self time.  I also refer to my students as writers and authors often, so they learn that they are in fact a writer.

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Writing Community: My Beliefs on Classroom Community

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Writing Community: My Beliefs on Classroom Community

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I believe that creating a community of learners is crucial for all aspects of education.  If I expect my students to grow and learn each year, they have to know they are in an environment in which they will always be trusted and respected for who they are, where they come from, and how they learn. We spend a lot of time at the start of the year establishing this community. We do teamwork challenges. We practice how to be a good partner and a good classmate. I model a lot of language we use to help friends solve problems or fix mistakes. Additionally, each morning we do a morning meeting in which we sit in a circle, discuss our day ahead, any challenges we have been having, and each child has the chance to share something with the class. At the end of the day, each child gets to share their favorite part of their day or something new they learned. All of these things have helped create a strong community in my classroom.

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I feel as though I write in both of these social aspects of writing. Things such as my college papers and lesson plans are written for myself but they are shared in a public space as well with my professor, classmates, teammates, and principal.
I also write a lot privately.  Endless to do lists, grocery lists (I'm a list queen most days), notes on student progress, journal writing, and a planner are all kept private for my eyes only.  Truthfully I prefer private writing because there is no fear of judgment attached to private writing.

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My favorite time to write is in the morning. I feel like that is the time when I am most alert and able to focus on the writing task at hand. I do a lot of my college assignments on weekends early in the morning, as I am able to devote the time and thought necessary when I am fresh. If I wait to do any type of writing until after work during the week, I often get too distracted because I am exhausted and unable to devote the time that is necessary to make meaningful writing.

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My favorite place to write is on the deck of my house. The photo below is the view that I see from my deck when I am sitting in my favorite chair. I write a lot out here when the weather is decent, whether it is my grocery lists, my to do lists, my grad class work, or my lesson plans. I find this to be a calm, orderly place where I am able to escape from the world and find a little peace to write. I look at this area as an escape from reality and a place I go to often when I need to clear my head.