Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Reading to Write

Reading to Write

Some teachers and parents complain that their students or children cannot write. Big problem! 

Guess what? This is a secret so please keep it confidential. Some teachers and some parents don't know how to write either!

The solution is simple. Read first, write later. Children and adults who read widely are usually well-informed, have a wide vocabulary, and have an instinctive understanding of grammar.

The bridge that connects Reading and Writing is a writing class in which a teacher who knows (1) how to write and (2) how to teach writing allows the students to stumble and fall. But the teacher gives constructive feedback and cheers the students to get back on their feet. Then run and sprint!

Bella's writing ability at this point is at the beginners' level. But she loves to read! 

She loves to read so much that she reads her picture books, Bible stories, math books, etc. long after everyone has gone to bed.

She loves reading aloud and acting out different scenes. She had a lot of fun reading this particular book:



Written by Lauren Child, it is a post-modern picture book. No, I didn't tell Bella and the other kids that they were reading a post-modern book. That's the amazing and interesting thing about it. They took to the book like fish takes to water!




Free Writing Output by Bella


"I Was Lost in the Big Z O O!"

by Ysabella Anne C. Asuncion
April   , 2015


"I was lost in the big zoo." This was the writing prompt which I gave the kids for their first free writing activity. This was what Bella wrote:

I was lost in the big zoo when we went there one summer. I kept looking at the koalas until I relized (sic) that Mom, Dad, and Lucas were out of sight. I felt sad and started to cry. The animals stared at me. I cried louder and louder till my Dad found me.



Bella's Acrostic Poem

B E L L A

by Ysabella Anne C. Asuncion
May 1, 2015



B - eautiful

E - xcellent Singer

L - ovely Lady

L - oving Dawter (sic)

A - spiring Artist

Note:  I keep a child's "invented spelling" to document his/her development. In this case, Bella invented "dawter" based on the sound of  the word. Makes sense, doesn't it?