A New Way to Teach Writing in Grade Three (OR, I Always Get My Best Teaching Ideas at 5 A.M.!)
My best ideas come while in a semi-dream state in the early morning.
This morning I woke up at 4:30, and was trying to get back to sleep, when I suddenly got such an exciting idea about a new way to teach writing that I had to leap out of bed and run down to the computer (yes, I’m normally a morning person). This is often how and when I get my best ideas, after a good night’s sleep, when my mind begins to think, before I’ve gotten up. The complete idea, in its entirety, came to me within a thirty-second period.
The new idea I got today was a different way of introducing writing principles to third graders. I thought I would start by having the third graders make several lists in their writing notebooks. These lists might be entitled Things I Like to Do, Things I Like to Imagine, Games I Like to Play, and Important Thoughts I Have. Each list might be done on a separate day. I might demonstrate on the board my own example lists.
Children giving speeches.
Subsequently, I plan to introduce the idea of giving a speech. As with writing, a good speech has to have the thoughts well-organized. I thought I would demonstrate by having each student pick a topic they like off of their lists, and say, “Today I’m going to tell you about…..” Then they would have to think of three important things they want to say about that topic, and at least one example of each of the three points. In order to remember what they want to say, I thought I would teach them the method the ancient Roman orators used to be able to speak without notes: imagining the rooms of a house, and equating each with a main point. Then, I’ll have them restate their main idea at the end.
Once everyone in the class has given a short speech (over a period of days) and everyone understands the format, I’ll introduce the same ideas in formal writing. I will explain that the idea we say in, “Today I’m going to tell you about….” is the THESIS SENTENCE. Each of the three main points (by room) is a TOPIC SENTENCE. The restatement of the main idea at the end is a CONCLUSION.
I will show them how to take a topic, and make a brief outline (in their notebook, to refer to while writing), and how to write the introduction, body, and conclusion based on that outline. I will also teach them the alternate method of a tag cloud to organize their ideas.
Then we’ll look at a handful of those short essays as a whole class to see if all the parts were included.
A third-grader's work from last year (and yes, I taught them the cursive writing).
One difficulty I’ve had in the past in teaching writing, is that many eight-year-old children are not ready to understand the concept of how an essay should be organized. By tackling that idea FIRST (through the fun speeches), it will give them PRACTICE and bring the topic down to a very CONCRETE level (where most of them still are in their thinking).
So, what do others think about this idea? I’m really excited to try it!
Eileen
August 26, 2008 at 12:44 pm
I love this idea. My second grader loves to tell stories, but has struggled with writing them down because the mechanics of writing are still a chore. His hand moves much slower than his brain. I think the idea of putting it together in his head for a speech first would help a lot — it would separate the creative/organizational process and the physical mechanics of writing. Shyer kids, though, might struggle with this approach in a different kind of way.
August 26, 2008 at 7:36 pm
Well, for kids who are shy, pairing them up with a friend to do the same thing, or with a small group of three or four would work. Once the kids had an idea what to do, the teacher could put them in small groups, and give each member of the group a “checklist” to think about as each person talks. It would have questions like:
1. Did the speaker remember to say, “Today, I’m going to talk about…?”
2. Did the speaker tell or explain THREE THINGS about their idea?
3. Did the speaker restate their main idea again at the end of the talk?
Eileen
September 3, 2008 at 9:09 pm
I love this recommendation and as my son’s third grade teacher was just discussing with me that she feels children do have such a difficult time understanding how to write the order, I would love to share this with her. My question would be, how do you recommend brainstorming creative writing? And would this same writing style be used for creative writing? I personally feel children have so much to say but no way of putting it on paper! Would I use this same method?
September 5, 2008 at 9:29 pm
I think I might try to write a separate post sometime on this subject.
A quick answer is that I suggest having students make a list of their favorite books and stories. Then decide what genre those stories/books are (realistic, fantasy, adventure, romance, etc.) A student should write something of the genre he enjoys most in his own reading. Once that is decided, start brainstorming out loud ideas for situations and characters to start with. Try to map out a beginning, middle, and end. Details can be filled in as you go.
Good luck!
Eileen
February 7, 2009 at 12:34 pm
loved Your Idea and will try it out this week with year 3 class. I have also in the past used a dictaphone when working with individual students to tape their speeches and then get them to play it back and then type it up.
February 18, 2009 at 3:40 am
I also teach 3rd grade and am very dedicated to what I do. I like your ideas, especially about relating writing to the ancient Roman orators. We have learned about the roots of democracy, so my students would be interested in that connection. I’m glad I’ve found your site and look forward to reading more. I’ve been working a lot on purposeful word choice. I use my book, Doris TheSaurus, to teach my students how to choose words that give their writing deeper meaning and specificity. We use Write Traits and this has helped tremendously with those lessons.