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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Also, they do writers workshop which I agree is absolutely ridiculous. But, for my kid, it really got him comfortable writing and he is very willing to write cards and letters because he practices writing every day (Even when he couldn't write out a single word and still struggled forming letters)[/quote]

Can I ask why you don't like writer's workshop?  I teach K and I do writer's workshop daily with my students.  About 85% of them can write 3-4 sentences on a topic with correct punctuation, capitalization and correctly spelled high frequency words.  Do you feel like it isn't effective for your child?  What do you wish schools did instead?  [/quote]

My thoughts on this is that for new kindergarteners it is a bit overwhelming to be told to write because you are a writer and that it is good to just get your ideas onto a page. I think a better approach is structured writing practice and starting free writing after you can write a few words. Then you can provide feedback on what was written to teach grammar, sentence structure, and the like. I only observed it for a week of virtual kindergarten and my big concern was that the expectation that 1) you should write like you talk (this favors white, educated families over English learners and those who speak a dialect), 2) it is better to write something than to worry about how to spell the words and get them correct, and 3) if a kid cannot come close to doing the assignment-- in this case my kid could not write legible letters or blend them into a word-- it seemed like it just wasn't developmentally appropriate yet. By the end of K, he is fine and it is good. I just would not have done it so early.

The writers workshop is not a hill I would die on, just something I am willing to bet would have null effects if studied and negative effects if compared to some systematic writing interventions.[/quote]

Explicit, systematic instruction is better for everyone, most especially those who don’t come into school with the requisite background to hit the ground running in K, ELL and kids with language/reading disabilities. It’s a time waste to have kids who can’t even write words yet “writing” stories. It’s great art instruction, but not particularly useful for learning how to write. My kid is still not writing particularly well in 3rd grade and they only correct her mistakes about 50% of the time, but her illustrations are gorgeous.

At what point is it more important that she knows proper grammar, punctuation, and spelling than has “confidence?” Come on! She knows she isn’t getting it right and already feels dumb! Just help her learn how to do it FFS!!!!  You’re not doing her any favors. Her CoGAt score doesn’t match her work product. At what point might that be the school’s problem to solve? I’m exhausted.[/quote]

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