As adults, most of us can probably remember the endless copying we had to as children to practice our writing and how much we hated it. Thanks to our new curriculum, students no longer learn to write this way. They use dry erase materials to learn to make all the shapes need to form letters.
My students are some of the most amazing 3 year olds.
They come from a Title I school in our nation's capital. Almost 100% of our school receive free lunch which makes it difficult to for our parents to provide school supplies for their child. However, this does not discourage our students from loving school and loving to learn. Despite all of the violence and poverty they face in their neighborhood, they come to school to learn because the school provides them with learning opportunities and materials they do not get at home.
My Project
Thanks to our Tools of the Mind curriculum, students learn to write through a daily activity called Graphics Practice. They use dry erase markers and white boards to learn how to make graphics. First the learn to make horizontal and vertical lines which they can they use to form letters such as E, F, and T. Then we move on to circles and bowls which they can use to learn to write letters such as U and B. This practices teaches them how to make all of the graphics necessary to make anything from letters to numbers, people to houses. It teaches them the fine motor skills need to control an writing tool to write or draw anything they may want.
We will use the materials to complete this activity each day. Each student will have access to a white board and dry erase maker or crayon to complete this activity and learn all of the necessary graphics to make anything their imagination can invent.
These materials will help improve my classroom by allowing my students to be able to complete this activity all year.
Since this is a daily activity, the markers dry up fast and boards get damaged. By December we normally only have enough materials for half the class and no money to replace them. With continued practice, learning to write will help them write and make letter-sound connections, which in turn will set them up for reading success. And we all know reading can take you anywhere.
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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