Writing at home day 2

 Check out what B's writing

Writing at Home--Day 1

A former student's family asked if I could help bring some "simple writing" activities into the home. Today was my first day and I feel like we had success! We wrote 4 different times, using Microsoft Word and a traditional keyboard, with her Springboard as a way to communicate thoughts and ideas for 5-7 minutes. Between working she wanted to watch a movie, or get a drink.

Today I focused on writing about real life experiences and photos.

We went to the movies and saw Yogi Bear! When we got home I set up the computer and started writing about experience. I put in sentence starters like: "I saw Yogi Bear and it was..." I read out loud to her and then pointed to the keys as a cue for her to being writing.

Here's what she said:
gggmm likkkkkkkkk

(good movie--like)

We ate lunch and then wrote about it. Here's what she said: bb (bad)

We watched clips of a favorite movie and wrote about it. She said: "I hope I get flowers" (springboard programmed phrase) and then spelled ffffffffflllllloowwwwweeeetttttrrrrrsssss with verbal + gestural cues paired.

Whenever she touched "stop writing, I'm done." We took another break.

Photography to Support Writing

A few years ago, when I was student teaching, the classroom had an opportunity to work with a local photo studio and take pictures using a digital camera. The kids participated by taking turns using the camera to capture life through their eyes. They selected their best photos, wrote about them, and show cased their work at the studio for a fundraiser. This project has been on my mind ever since...

This summer I gave each student the opportunity to take pictures on a daily sensory walk, we printed the pictures and used them to write. The students LOVED seeing their work and had so much to say.

This is something I'm definitely going to continue throughout the year. I saw them produce more writing, but more importantly I saw their excitement for writing blossom more than ever before.

Give the camera to the students, let them take what's important to them. Watch how they shine.

Summer Mini-Group Lessons

Each day at Summer School I've been able to do mini-group lessons. During the school year I typically have students write independently, with a 1:1 partner and their personalized accessible writing tools. Working in a group, and getting peer interaction seems to have sparked new ideas and understanding in print concepts for several of the students.

As a group we select a picture we want to write about, brainstorm ideas about what we can and want to say, and then use our alphabets and writing tools to create words and phrases together. This activity takes about 15 minutes, we put our finished work on the "Writing Wall" so everyone can see what we've been up to!