Writing

Each day your kindergartener is writing for a variety of purposes. In small group we write a dictated sentence. The sentences vary is complexity based on the students developmental needs. This is something that you can easily do at home.
Materials- paper, ABC chart, pencil
I say the sentence and the children listen. For example, " The blue dog is happy." The children say the sentence as they count the words on their fingers. 
Then, we say it again. Lastly, the children write. I encourage them to use their abc sound chart when writing their words. Phonetically spelled words are appropriate. However, their high frequency words should be spelled correctly.
The following words have been taught and practiced.  
At, am, can, go,is,me,my,see,the,to,up,we
Your child is expected to be able to read theses words in and out of context as well as spell them.
After the children write their sentence, we expect them to go back and retread their sentence and put magic buttons under their words. This is our way of editing.
When the have placed a magic button it means that they have checked their word, have used finger spaces, and have punctuation.
A more complex sentence would be, " I see my dog and my green frog at my house."

Before you go to the store or when you are creating a list of things to accomplish around the house, ask your child to help you to write these lists. On Sunday, Gus wanted to bake. First, we discussed the ingredients we needed.  Then, I asked him to write them down in his Ninja Turtle notebook. I should have taken a picture of the list. It said C for cake, P for pretzels, M for Marshmallows, I for icing. It was a fabulous opportunity for him to practice letter formation, for me to see what letter sounds he knows, and for me to get to the store and remember what we needed. ;)

Please share with me and others what writing looks like at your house. You can post onto this blog.  We are only as strong as one another! Please share what is working at your house.