Artwork Writing
Promoting Descriptive Writing (Virtual Tour)
Stage of Literacy Development:
Stage 1: Beginning LiteracyStage 2: Consolidation / Fluency
Ages:
5-8
Grade Range:
K 1st 2ndFood Groups:
Primary: Text Structures & Genres
Transcript
You've probably noticed that we do a lot of art in my classroom, and I have a lot of art supplies, ones that I buy from the art supply store as well as found items. I've got crayons, markers, oil pastels, bits of cardboard, frozen juice lids, cardboard tubes, all sorts of things for when the inspiration comes. We have the things that we need to make the art that we want. You'll also notice here that I have had the children do a painting. This happens at the beginning of the year where they are still a little unsure coming in from summer, and I have them paint whatever they like. And the reason I do that is so that they are doing something that they are interested in because, of course, I am going to make them write about it. If you notice too, I've had them using what I call, the real estate of the page, I make that quite clear to the children, that they should use the whole page when they're doing they're painting. Then in their journals, they do their rough copy of whats happening in the story. You learn a lot about the children at the beginning of the year by what they choose to paint and then what they write about their painting. You also may have noticed that I've typed them up, and I find that the children really like to see their words typed up. It really makes them feel special. But the other more practical reason is that so that when they're up here on the board, that the children's writing is legible. I choose to do this at the beginning of the year because at this age and stage of their writing careers, it's very rewarding to see the improvements that have happened, not only for me as their teacher, but for them as students, to see how they've improved in their writing in June when we compare it to the work that they did in September.
Related References
Activity Objective
The goal of Artwork Writing: Promoting Descriptive Writing (Virtual Tour) is to promote the enjoyment of writing and provide students with an opportunity to practice descriptive writing.
Quick Tips
Additional Comments:
- Allowing the students to choose what they would like to paint promotes motivation. - Students are always eager to share their writing with others. Invite students to share a piece of writing during an author's chair. - Compile students' artwork writing throughout the year into a writing portfolio. Tracking students' writing progress is rewarding for you and your students.
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