You Were Born A Writer

In Donna Bell and Donna Jarvis’ article, “Letting Go of the Letter of The Week” new methods are discussed on how to introduce reading and writing to elementary aged students. One of my favorite topics discussed in this article was to affirm and validate that children are already writers. The example of Mrs. Jarvis with her class was such a great idea of how to incorporate creative writing into a classroom setting at an early age. To conduct this activity the teacher should take the following steps:

1. Explain to students that they are each already writers.
2. Give students the freedom to write whatever they want.
3. Conduct an exercise where the teacher frees students of a narrow-minded idea of what a writer is by discussing different types of writing. (chart to the right)
4. Tell children to write the way they know how to write, using the chart as their guide.
5. This encourages students to practice and accept many different forms of writing communication.             

                                             

The main thing I loved about this approach was freeing students from the growing pressure placed on writing. So often students enter into situations in their later years, believing that they are not ‘good writers’. If, as a teacher I have the ability to teach my students at an early age the importance of creativity, and instill a writer’s confidence in them, I believe it would travel far in their academic life.

This also ties into what IRA NAEYC says in their position paper about teaching children to read and write.  Many topics are taken into consideration, including the increasing diversity in classrooms. As a teacher, we must be aware of this shift and variety. This idea by Jarvis is a great way to incorporate each type of learner, whether highly skilled or in beginning stages, to feel equal and on the same page.

I believe that diversity is a great addition to a classroom, because with it comes many different opinions and life experiences. This would attribute to students learning to think outside the box of their own life, and I believe having students conduct a writing journal as Jarvis has done would be an excellent way to portray this idea, and encourage students that it is okay to be different!