Kindergarten - 2nd Grade

Kathryn Robinson WriteMath Enterprises Inc

Writing Lesson #3

Le

t’sWrite About School...

Writing Lesson #3 (Kindergarten - 2nd Grade)

Let's Write About School Just Write: All Year Long - Kindergarten www.WriteMath.com

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Week 3

………….Children write best about objects and material in their visual environment.

They have great difficulty writing about a concept, object, animal, or person that is not

within their field of vision. Writing, description, and elaboration improve if the object

of the writing endeavor is physically situated directly in front of them or framed in a

picture. It is extremely difficult for a beginning writer to adequately write about

something that they saw earlier. A beginning painter always has an object in front of

them to paint, so why not allow the beginning writer the same opportunity. If you want

kindergarteners to write about it, put it in front of them. During this week, students will

be reading and writing about their immediate environment – school!

Let

’sWrite

About School...

Writing Lesson #3 (Kindergarten - 2nd Grade)

Let's Write About School Just Write: All Year Long - Kindergarten www.WriteMath.com

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Week 3

Objective: To make a book about school.

To add details to illustrations

To discuss the word ‘topic’

To explore Phonemic Awareness activities to assist with spelling

Materials: Chart paper for modeling

Writing paper

Enlarge Brainstorming Chart to poster size and laminate (template after

Activities Sheets for the Week) Dry erase markers

Materials for Spelling: Copies of the Student Upper & Lower Case Letters and Words Writing

Chart for each student (template after Activities Sheets for the Week)

OR

Copies of the Student Lower Case Letters and Words Writing Chart for

each student (template after Activities Sheets for the Week)

OR

Copies of the Student Lower Case Letters Writing Chart without Words for

each student (template after Activities Sheets for the Week)

Enlarged copy of the One of the previous writing charts for the teacher

(poster-size is best) (template after Activities Sheets for the Week)

Day #1:

1. Read a book like Tiptoe into Kindergarten by Jacqueline Rogers, We Like

Kindergarten by Clara Cassidy, Mouse’s First Day of School by Lauren

Thompson, or any book about school. As you read the book, discuss the parts of

the kindergarten in the book that are the same as or different than your

kindergartener’s classroom.

2. Travel on a field trip to the front of the school to look at the building. Explain

that an artist needs to look at his/her subject before they can decide on what to

draw and the same applies to writers and authors.

3. While at the front of the building, allow students to point out some of the features

of the school: the windows, a flag on top, a picture and words on the bulletin

board out front, trees, etc. These are all details that make the school unique.

Explain that a writer and an artist needs to include these in their work so that an

observer or reader will know exactly which school the writer had in mind.

4. Returning to the classroom, teacher models drawing the school as if he/she were

out in the front of the school.

Writing Lesson #3 (Kindergarten - 2nd Grade)

Let's Write About School Just Write: All Year Long - Kindergarten www.WriteMath.com

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Phonemic Awareness: (Time Frame: 7 – 10 minutes)

1. Students are seated on the floor in a semi-circle. It is much better for the students

if no one is sitting next to you. When they are not looking at you in the same

direction, some students begin to reverse the letters.

2. Distribute a copy of the Sound Chart (template after Activities Sheets for the Week) to

each student. I recommend that you make two sets of the sound charts for your

room. Students writers need the chart in front of them during ALL writing

experiences. They will also need a copy at Spelling Time every day. Having a

duplicate set will eliminate the loss of time caused by looking for their charts at

their desks.

I would rather use the Writing Chart with only the lower case letters since they

are more useful in writing.

If students are beginning to just copy the words off of the bottom when they are

not needed, use the chart without the words.

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Ó 2005 Kathryn Robinson

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Writing Lesson #3 (Kindergarten - 2nd Grade)

Let's Write About School Just Write: All Year Long - Kindergarten www.WriteMath.com

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3. During Day #1, just ask students to point to the pictures as you call them out

sequentially moving across the top row. This lesson is just basically a picture

recognition lesson.

Teacher: “Can you point to the apple?” (Watch for everyone to be pointing to

the correct picture by themselves or with the help of a neighbor.)

Teacher: “Now who can find the box and point to it?”

Teacher: “I bet no one can find the cat!”

Teacher: “How about the duck?”

Tell the student what the names of the pictures are. If a student calls out a word

and it is not what the picture was intended to represent, he/she may have

difficulty remembering which word represents the picture. Therefore, I move

carefully through the top row asking students not to call out words because I am

checking to see if they are listening and watching.

4. Continue pointing out the pictures: egg, fan, goat, hat, igloo, jet, kits, ladder, and

man.

5. If time allows, ask students to find the pictures out of sequence: Find the ‘hat’, or

the ‘man’, or the ‘egg’.

Day #2:

1. Read another book about school or kindergarten - 2nd grade (Feel free to refer to the

bibliography after Day #5 of this week.)

2. On this day, students will draw and write about one area of the room. Point to the

page that you drew in the previous lesson. The word ‘school’ was the name of

the book or the ‘topic’ of the book.

3. Open the book again to any page and ask the students what this page is about.

Make sure that they can tell easily from the picture. For example, the picture and

the writing might be about the block area of a classroom. Therefore the student

will tell you that it is about “blocks”.

4. Point out that today they are going to learn about different ideas under the topic of

school.

5. Suggest that students to take a look around the room. Ask them to tell you about

the different areas that you have in your classroom. In other words, they are

brainstorming or thinking about the different areas of the classroom.

6. On the Brainstorming Chart (template after Activities Sheets for the Week), brainstorm

all the different parts of your classroom. When you write a word on the

brainstorming chart, try to draw a simple picture next to the word so that students

can locate the word. The purpose of brainstorming is to expose students to words

and ideas that they might want to use in their writing. Many students will come

up and copy the words but I do not insist that they use these words in their

writing.

Writing Lesson #3 (Kindergarten - 2nd Grade)

Let's Write About School Just Write: All Year Long - Kindergarten www.WriteMath.com

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7. Review the words and pictures.

8. Encourage student discussion about which area to write about during this lesson.

For example, many of them may want to write about the painting area. I would

recommend that the whole class vote and write about the same area. In this way,

they will hear and see different ways a writer might interpret a topic.

9. Model drawing a specific area of the classroom, adding details.

10. Ask class to assist you in adding details to your illustration. In this way, they will

focus on the details that are actually in that area. (e.g. painting area of the room)

11. After finishing the artwork:

Teacher: “Could I make an I like……. book?” (Students usually nod the affirmative.)

Model writing

Teacher: “What should I write?”

Modeling involves requesting students’ assistance throughout the writing period.

This will not only keep their attention focused on the writing but their

verbalization will reinforce the learning.

Teacher: “Could I write ‘I like to paint?’” (Someone may have suggested this sentence.)

Allow the students to help you sound through the words ‘to paint’. Make a

noticeable gesture to move over to a new word when you begin to write the word

Writing Lesson #3 (Kindergarten - 2nd Grade)

Let's Write About School Just Write: All Year Long - Kindergarten www.WriteMath.com

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This simple above-grade-level writing displays a

great deal of information. This writer sentence

exhibits a complete thought. He is able to break

a word into parts and continue the spelling on a

separate line displaying an understanding of top

to bottom writing. The sentence supports the

information in the picture. This writer is able to

begin elaborating his ideas.

This writer not only comprehends the concept of

a sentence but has begun to utilize punctuation in

connection with meaning. In the early stages of

punctuation instruction, writers often misuse the

marks. I do not recommend correcting this

writer. Through modeling and continued

practice, he will gain an understanding of the

correct use of commas. The correct use of

commas is a 1st – 2

nd grade skill anyway.

This writer loves to write. She will

improve with daily Spelling practice.

Please avoid telling her that she is not

spelling words correctly. Developmentally

she is on track for this time of year.

The following samples are the result of a writing lesson that included any school subject.

Courtesy of

Diana Baker’s Kindergarten Class

Floral Avenue Elementary School

Polk County, Florida

Writing Lesson #3 (Kindergarten - 2nd Grade)

Let's Write About School Just Write: All Year Long - Kindergarten www.WriteMath.com

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Student Lower Case Letter Writing Chart without Words

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Writing Lesson #3 (Kindergarten - 2nd Grade)

Let's Write About School Just Write: All Year Long - Kindergarten www.WriteMath.com

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