interactive writing??? strategies?? still deciding!

[Stacey Saulsgiver]

Hi
I have been teaching kindergarten for seven years and I LOVE it. Everyday the five year olds grow tremendously in their skills. Those that don't are many intriguing challenges for the year. I am thrilled to be part of their enthusiasm for learning. They want to learn and our eager to learn. I don't how you all do it in the upper grades. Bless you!
Writing is an integral pat of the curriculum but unfortunately it is one that is often shoved to the side. With my little ones I have grasped first hand the concept read in many books of "writing to read". Writing drives their reading abilities.
Currently we do journals in the classroom, celebrations of writing, author chair of their published books and we create big classroom books spun from a mentor text. I want to do more trait writing in the classroom and using the trait language with that.
I am thinking about interactive writing in the classroom with Marzano's strategies for my demonstration. I am intimidated by the fact it appears everyone knows exactly what they are doing and I appear to be a step behind. I know myself enough to know that I am slow to get started but finish strong.
Stacey Saulsgiver

[Sarah Russell]

With passion like yours for your students, I'm sure whatever you come up with will inspire us all! I would really love to see what you do with interactive writing, especially. I'll bet that if you can use it to get 5-year-olds using the traits, then I can use it to get 15-year-old Language Learners using the traits! Have you decided on a trait to emphasize or mentor texts for the trait? If not, then how will you decide? Based on student interests? strengths? first grade writing benchmarks? I can't wait to see how this takes shape!

[Amy Webber]

Hey Stacey!
I am looking forward to watching and learning from your interactive writing demo. I don't know much about interactive writing, so I am hopeful that I will be able to use your strategies to implement them into my own classroom just down the hall. ;) I know that incorporating Marzano's strategies into your demo will be a great resource because that can be used throughout the grades.

[Patty Foncault]

I had to smile when you wrote that you "don't know how you all do it in the upper grades." I feel the same way about kindergarten teachers. My very first sub job was in kindergarten and I was extremely exhausted at the end of the day. That's one grade I know I would never want to teach simply because of the high energy that is needed. My hat is off to you. I am looking forward to your presentation, too, and I know it will be a good one.