This is Genesis, my five year old daughter who has just started kindergarten and is learning to write. I thought it as relevant to share this with the class because of our conversation on September 9th in regard to the format in which children learn to write.Professor Gleason explained that children generally do not space their words and will write all of the letters in a sentence close together. Coincidentally, when I checked Genesis' homework later in the week, I noticed that she is writing in the same way that we discussed.
Below are some samples of Genesis' writing:
They both have her name written on the top. On the first page she wrote "We pray for all the families of 9-11" and on the second one she wrote a few sentences. They read, "I see a cat", "I see a bat", and "I see a mat". Notice how the writing in all of the sentences, especially the last one on page two, are written close together. This supports what we learned in class in regard to the way children write initially.
Hi Lashallah, As a student of literacy, you have a wonderful opportunity to observe a child's literacy development. Drawing and writing go hand in hand, as your child's notebook illustrates. You really ought to start collecting your daughter's drawings and writings in folders and keep them to observe her development over a period of years. This, I believe, is the best way to "assess literacy" for all children. Rather than comparing one child with many others, a child's growth over time should be recorded and observed and analyzed. This is most useful for the child and for her teachers. I'd love to see more of Genesis's writings and drawings. --B. Gleason
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Great post, Sha! I look forward to reading more of your posts.
ReplyDeleteThe children are the future, and concerned parents like yourself assure this. I enjoyed the sentiment this post gave. Thanks.
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