SOL #11
My students are doing the classroom Slice of Life Challenge. They are impressing me with their commitment to writing every day. This school year I have required three blog posts a week, so they are used to a rigorous posting schedule. The other day I mentioned how many words a first grader had written (178!), and they set off on a self-made word count competition. But it is not the word count or their writing commitment that is impressing me. It is the voice.
Voice is a very difficult concept to teach. Here is a post-it from Writing Fix, a great resource for teaching writing. As one of the six traits of writing, voice should be taught.
From Writing Fix
I have come to believe that voice is something to be discovered rather than taught. All children come with a voice. Enter any school cafeteria and you can hear them roar. Through blogging every day, my students have become more comfortable expressing themselves, and their voices are coming through each piece of writing. Here are some samples of strong voice:
My mom has one of those smart car things or whatever.The kind where you hit a button and use it like siri. Well in my moms phone my dad is labeled as B T.in case you were wondering it means Boo Thing.So nevertheless when she says call b t it says calling Mrs.Simon mobile.So ya Mrs.Simon if you have any missed calls from her that’s why. Reed
So, today I went to the book fair. I got a calculator,pencils,2 books and a pencil sharpener.
I can’t wait to read my books tonight, and I will get a sticker for our chart for reading books.
But, I know what you are thinking ” wow those sound really boring!” They are actually not boring.The calculator is a chocolate scented calculator. The pencils were drumstick pencils. And, the pencil sharpener is …wait for it…wait for it…A MUSHROOM, and the top is an eraser {TALK ABOUT 2in1.} EmilyAfter, we walked on Bourbon Street. It was so crazy!!! There was this little boy dancing like Michael Jackson, and he was so good. I gave him $5, because that is all I had on me. After, Bourbon we went back to the hotel. My friend and I were doing flips on the bed. It was extra fun, but I almost broke my ne… nevermind that!! In the morning, we went down stairs to eat breakfast. It was free!! Kielan
Read more student posts here.
Now I need to do a lesson on how so is a conjunction. I never realized how many of my students start their sentences with so. I have time for that because obviously, I do not have to teach voice.
My voice is competing today in Round One of March Madness Poetry at Think Kid Think. Please stop by and read some great poems and vote!
Reflections on the Teche 