Monday, June 2, 2008
Group 9-Simone B- forms of literacy
In my 4th grade practicum, I am in the class during their reading and writing block. During journals I've noticed that many students have trouble writitng more than a couple sentences and others are writing half a page. Many of the students chose to draw after they write something and they usually ask, "is it okay if a draw a picture of this...?". If there are a couple of sentences the teacher will usually say "okay". If they are drawing about what they wrote they are connecting the subject, and I know that some students are very visual, but I feel like allowing students to draw all the time is hindering their writing ability. I've worked with kindergarten classes and they were prompted to draw a picture with their writing, but I'm in a 4th grade class. Some students do have trouble wrtiting and organizing their thoughts but I don't think drawing is really helping them rather distracting them from writing. Do you think encouraging drawing is beneficial or a hinderance for writing? Does it depend on their ability? And should drawing be discouraged after a certain age?
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5 comments:
Simone, I think you bring up some very good points. I am in a 5th grade classroom right now and their reading/writing block is the first thing they so after their special period (library, music, art, P.E.). Typically, my teacher will put a prompt up on the board and the student can write however and whatever they want, so long as it relates to the prompt. I can tell a few of them are uninterested in the prompt they've been given, so they really don't write much. But my cooperating teacher makes them write a minimum of five sentences. All of them somehow find the will within them to get all five sentences down... however lackluster it may be. I realize that sometimes you risk quality for quantity, you know? It's hard to get kids to express themselves all in the same way. Each student is different. I think expression through pictures or other visual arts is definitely a positive thing. However, I think if you're going to let the students draw pictures, you've got to have a balance of the two (writing/drawing).
I agree that sometimes it is really difficult to get students to write. Some of the prompts they use are very boring. My C/T has a book of prompts for every day, she doesn't always use it but I think that she should try to adjust to what the students want to write about. Maybe then they might not draw as much.
I also am in 5th grade and my in the morning the kids have to answer in their journal to the question of the day. Usually the question has to do with the story that they are reading that week. Which I have the first problem with because some of those stories are so boring that I wouldn’t want to write about them either! Teachers should also give the students a chance to write about what they want because you can learn so much about them from what they write on their own, and they will write a ton more if you find something they are interesting in talking about!
One thing that my CT does it tell the students what form he wants the answer in, so sometimes they write 3-5 sentences, a page, sometimes they write a list, or make an outline depending on the question. The kids seem to respond well to this but most of the time their would rather just write a list! I think that letting children draw after they have completed the task such as writing 5 sentences, can be helpful for all because, for that student who likes to draw they get the opportunity, and the students who doesn’t like to draw they don’t have too. It also gives the students who take more time writing a little more time because the faster students won’t be playing around and talking as much! But I agree with you Simone that they shouldn’t be drawing every single day, there has to be a time and a place! Sometimes I don’t think it has much to do with being beneficial or a hindrance, as much as a time saver. But I don’t ever think that drawing should be cut off because for some kids that’s the best way they can express themselves. I think as long as there is a balance between writing and drawing, and they are doing what is being asked of them it really shouldn’t be an issues, unless they are drawing first and never writing.
Simone,
While it is not necessarily helping the students' writing by drawing pictures if they are given some random prompt to write about, illustrating can be beneficial for literacy. For instance, the teacher could give a prompt that relates to a story that the class is reading, and have the students write their sentneces about the story. If they wrote their required sentences and THEN drew a picture to relate to it, the drawings could be a beneficial tool for aiding in the comprehension of the reading.
I agree with you that drawing does not seem to relate to writing. However, it can be useful for journal time if the teacher gives the correct prompt.
Hi Simone! I think when the certain grade comes drawing should go out of their daily schedule. Like you mentioned,in the kindergarten level drawing is excepted because they are just learning how to write. But in the forth grade students are supposed to write more and more in order to develop and improve their writing and thinking skills. I am sure they have special Art class for drawing and fun,but the reading and writing block should concentrate on reading and writing.It is not about their ability to draw, it is about improving their writing skills.
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