Writing: End of Term 3

Term 3 is nearly over and I have been very proud of my progress with my writing this term. On a level 10 scale when beginning the writing focus my confidence was a 3. My confidence has leaped to an 8 and I feel like my teaching progress in this area has significantly increased.

The learning intentions I believe have been a big reason for why the chn are progressing. When writing they are very aware and clear in what they need to include in their writing. They also know how to be successful. Writing varies from child to child and there are a lot of skills etc to know and understanding when writing. I have found that taking on little bits as opposed to focusing on a range of things at the same time is more beneficial. The chn's work overall has improved and when they have practiced a single skill many times then it is retained.

Conferencing is another contributor to the success of the chn's writing. It's an opportunity for me to sit down with the chn and have more one on one time where we can talk about their writing and amend work. The chn are more appreciative of this and I know that they remember bits that we talk about as it's evident in their writing and they talk about it. It is another opportunity for me to work on things that the individual needs e.g. if one child out of the whole group uses a lower case 'i' every time they write the word instead of the capital, we can talk about it then.

My next focus is how to work with the lower level writers who are away for big periods of time. As I have found with 2 chn in my class, they have come back well below in comparison to when they left.