Mrs. Hart’s kids are so excited today! They have an important letter to write. It is an invitation to Mrs. Barthel’s third grade students for a "Publishing Party” on Friday. It will be a big week. Today, they write the invitation. Tuesday through Thursday, they will “fix up” and “fancy up” the special piece of writing they’ve selected to take through the “publishing process”. On Friday, their guests will come and the first graders will share their personal narratives with the older kids.
The students gather in the front of the room, eager to begin. The invitation is composed using INTERACTIVE WRITING. This means that Mrs. Hart facilitates the group while they collaboratively construct the text. Mrs. Hart makes sure that everyone has a white board during the interactive writing, since only one writer at a time can be chosen to write on the actual chart. This way, everyone is engaged, every step of the way.
There is an art to interactive writing, a constant decision making process about the balance between what the students will attempt to write and what parts the teacher will provide in the name of efficiency and keeping the learning manageable. The engagement level of her students is a clear indicator that Mrs. Hart has struck the right balance.
Interactive writing is meant to provide an opportunity for students to observe writing and reading as a reciprocal process. It allows the teacher to slow the writing process down and let children “inside the thinking” that must go on inside a writer’s head.
Interactive writing is meant to provide an opportunity for students to observe writing and reading as a reciprocal process. It allows the teacher to slow the writing process down and let children “inside the thinking” that must go on inside a writer’s head.
As I listen to the language Mrs. Hart uses in her lesson, I hear her weave essential messages into the conversation again and again. “Writers have to make decisions about the message.” “Writers need to think about what the reader knows and doesn’t know.” “Writers use ‘tools in the room’ to help them with their writing.” “Writer can change their minds.” As students hear themselves referred to as writers again and again, they undoubtedly begin to internalize this message. I AM A WRITER! I AM DOING THE WORK OF A WRITER!
This will be an exciting week in Mrs. Hart’s class. I hope I am able to join these writers, along with their friends from Mrs. Barthel’s class for their publishing party on Friday.
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