Lower elementary students are also given regular writing sessions. This student gets right down to it!
Although The New Century School was abuzz in March with all things STEM Fair related, Language Arts hardly suffered! Amidst the science- and engineering-oriented preparations, projects, and presentations, TNCS upper elementary students were busily working on their Informational Writing pieces.
Language Arts teacher Adriana DuPrau follows the renowned Lucy Calkins writing curriculum, as recently detailed in “State-of-the-Science Elementary Writing Instruction at TNCS.” For this phase of the curriculum, Mrs. Duprau challenged her students to choose a topic they wanted to educate others about and then to elaborate on the topic in a 1- to 2-page cohesive document. They worked on their pieces in “writing workshops.” During most of this time, students wrote independently, with Mrs. DuPrau conferring and guiding as needed. What emerges during these workshops becomes a “mini-lesson,” in which the teacher offers strategies for writing that the student will be able to apply in other writing contexts and in this way continuously cultivate effective writing and communication skills.
“Topics ranged from the Baltimore Ravens to immigrant families,” said Mrs. DuPrau. Her students also presented their pieces to the rest of the class, giving them some important practice in the art of public speaking and boosting their self-confidence in the bargain. (See a slide show of these wonderfully self-possessed presenters below.) Also of note is that the students provided an accompanying illustration, which served both to help convey the idea they were elaborating on as well as to make the topic richer for their own exploration of it. Arts integration has been receiving lots of media attention recently, but this innovative approach to education is nothing new to TNCS!
Also just in time for the STEM Fair! There was lots of seed planting and nurturing going on at TNCS this spring!
Informational Writing is the age-appropriate curriculum for 3rd- through 5th-graders, but all TNCS elementary students are given writing instruction and ample opportunities to express themselves in writing, right down to kindergarteners. Teresa Jacoby’s K/1st students, for example, also participated in a writing project that took the form of a How-To. Students were asked to explain in stepwise fashion how to approach a given task, such as making a PB&J or planting a seed. These writing pieces, too, were accompanied by illustrations.
Writing in the classroom is an integral part of learning, helping students to communicate effectively; to review and remember recently learned content; to be creative and explore a topic deeply; and to better understand their experiences and, by extension, themselves. Write on, TNCS elementary students! We eagerly await all that you have to express!
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