Creating Passionate Readers and Writers

Weaving Writing & Coding
Sharon Davison

https://kindergartenlife.wordpress.com/creating-passionate-readers-and-writers/

Short excerpts that show Sharon’s skill at creating a classroom that integrates learning, curiosity, and becoming independent learners.  Learners are gently guided to become “learning how to learn” learners.

“Thanks to @DonorsChoose I now have Bee Bots so that my students can explore code all year long. Last week these little, colorful bees arrived and right away my students were engaged. They were curious about “how to” get them to move and do things that they wanted to them to do. This was an opportunity for me to weave a writing theme of study “How To” writing.


So as we began to explore the bees, we needed to understand how they worked and “how to” take care of them…..

I trust my students to be able to make responsible and safe decisions independently because we have spent lots of time creating a culture where we trust and support each other. This is how my students begin to think for themselves…..

We came up with these elements that every “How To” story needed;

1.Title

2. Steps

3. Pictures that match words

4. Tells us “How To” do something

This now becomes an anchor chart that we display in the classroom as a reminder about what our “How To” stories need. Anchor charts are great because they offer opportunities for children to read independently, solve problems they face and also opportunities to ask a friend for help.

This learning experience offers all my students opportunities to create and design using code, oral language and endless ways to explore writing.

This now becomes an anchor chart that we display in the classroom as a reminder about what our “How To” stories need. Anchor charts are great because they offer opportunities for children to read independently, solve problems they face and also opportunities to ask a friend for help.

This learning experience offers all my students opportunities to create and design using code, oral language and endless ways to explore writing….”

 .....

After we explored the care of our bees I decided that my students could create their own Bee Bot out of paper and a “how to” story about how to use and care for our Bee Bots. This was a hit! Not only did every student write a story, but the stories were all different and they highlighted what they understood. Everyone was engaged, interested and successful in creating their story.

This was an opportunity for me also to notice what students understood not only how to care and use Bee Bots, but did they also understand the features of a “how to” story. They did an amazing job.