We all SPEAK. Do we all WRITE? In my school, writing is as important as speaking and reading. For my students, many of whom are immigrants, writing is a challenge, but one that they will surmount with daily exposure to English in their many forms.
My school is located in an inner city in California.
Its student body comprises K-5 students from Mexico, Yemen, Vietnam, India, Iraq, China, Mongolia, and local students from the city. A buffet of languages is spoken, therefore; however, the focus of instruction is English. The sooner they learn it, and learn it well, the more successful they'll become.
My Project
In conjunction with the lab teacher, I oversee the school's computer technology lab. My classroom is the entire school where I serve 325 students weekly, Because many of the school's students are English language learners, all teachers focus heavily on English instruction. In the computer lab, I focus on writing literacy, specifically, narrative, expository, persuasive, research, opinion-based and creative writing. We believe that every student needs a solid foundation in writing in order for them to be effective and successful communicators in this century. We stress that writing is FUNdamental and is as important as reading and speaking.
Each week, each student is given a writing assignment. For example, it can be an essay on an historical figure or a poem. It is revised, edited and published. Our printer, therefore, is in constant use when completed assignments are published. Our biggest need is having sufficient toner ink cartridges to support 325 student publications.
Writing is difficult.
Many times, with head resting on hand, a student does not know what to write or how to start. Call this writer's block. Imagine, though, thoughts eventually come to the fore, no matter how disjointed. At least, the student is getting words and sentences written down. With revision and editing, the writing is published. There is light at the end of the tunnel! I impart to students that hard work pays off. One day, they may be authors. How great would that be!
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