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How Can I as a Teacher Encourage My Students to Become a Community of Writers
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Murray, Maureen McCarty |
| Copyright Year | 2006 |
| Abstract | This is the description of a teacher using the creation of a class newspaper as a vehicle to improve the writing ability of Grade 3 students. In this instance, there was the added benefit of creating a community of learners who worked and supported each other in their classroom. Notes from parents, comments from students and teacher observations provide evidence of increased ownership of the writing process as the students wrote, compiled and edited their weekly newspaper. Two children One boy, one girl Taking turns Placing sunflower seeds in piles of ten. One for you, one for me, one for you, one for me. Your turn, my turn, your turn, my turn. Not a word spoken, But To my heart, it spoke volumes. It was an unlikely pair of students: one child from a privileged home: 2 parents, stay-at-home mom who was able to be actively involved in volunteering at school, extracurricular activities such as music and sports, proper food, clothing, stimulating family holidays, and a warm secure family atmosphere. The other student: economically, physically, socially and academically disadvantaged in many ways. However, the children weren't aware of the socioeconomic variables that influenced their lives. They were only aware of a pile of sunflower seeds that lay before them. On a warm October morning, the students at Paris Central participated in a cross-graded Math activity called “The Great Sunflower Challenge.” The purpose was to count the number of seeds in several sunflowers and then collectively add the number counted for the entire school. Working in groups of six, students used different strategies to estimate, count and record. For some reason, these two students gravitated to their own spot on the playground and proceeded to count out small piles of seeds. This image solidified my focus and imprinted a vision that hopefully will last a lifetime: a vision of two children spontaneously working together, communicating and cooperating for a common purpose. It was this sense of “community” that I was hoping to explore in my action research. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Volume Number | 9 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://oar.nipissingu.ca/PDFS/V913E.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
