First graders have been working very hard lately on their writing skills. These skills apply to so many aspects of first grade life! We write to share our knowledge during our project workshop, connect with friends by writing letters, and express creativity through fiction writing and poetry. Recently, we have been practicing editing our writing to make it the very best it can be. Soon, a writing piece from each student will be sent to the LAD Fair to compete against other local first grade writers. The LAD fair is a local writing competition hosted by the Language Arts Department of Southwest Missouri. More information about the LAD Fair can be found on their website.

In class, we utilize the 6 + 1 Traits of Writing to make sure our writing is the best it can be.

IDEAS: Start with a great idea.
ORGANIZATION: Make your words and sentences easy to read.
VOICE: Express your own voice through your writing to make it yours.
WORD CHOICE: Choose interesting words.
SENTENCE FLUENCY: Write sentences that are fun to read and make sense.
CONVENTIONS: Use appropriate capitalization and punctuation, and apply the spelling rules you know.
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PRESENTATION: Use your nicest handwriting and keep your paper neat.

Students have been completing whole-group writing assignments along with self-selected writing projects that are of high interest. Recently, we practiced persuasive writing while also working to help our community by writing persuasive pieces about why someone should adopt specific cats and dogs from local animal rescue Rescue One. Students selected which pet they would like to write about from a wide range of pet pictures and then read all about the animal using the fact sheet and “My Story” section printed from Rescue One’s website. Students used the personalized information about their selected pet to share what makes that pet so special and why someone should give them a new loving home. After writing, students revised and edited their work and then made a neat and tidy final draft.

Arlo

Lucy Faye