How Do You Know That You are a Writer?
How do you know that you are a writer? A big question to ask seven and eight year olds approaching the end of grade two. Most would rather discuss summer plans, demonstrate talent show routines or show off their newest fidget spinner trick. But still, I asked, unsure of what their responses would be, hopeful that the weeks spent planning, writing, editing and publishing stories made a tangible impact on the eighteen faces scattered around my classroom carpet. I knew that they were writers. As I read each of their stories huge smiles spread across my face, I laughed over and over again, and I felt satisfied at a job well done, these kids embodied the writing process! But that’s not the point is it? After all the time and effort put into their stories (and all of the other writing we worked on this school year) did these children believe that they were writers? I hoped they would say yes, I hoped upon hope they would say yes because… and recognize in themselves the evidence that yes, each of them were writers.
“Yes because I now use punctuation like periods and question marks and I didn’t use them at the start of grade two."
“Yes because I am inspired by other writers (*who’s books) we have read this year.”
“Yes because I use more interesting words in my writing now."
“Yes because I can use the dictionary to help with my spelling and I didn’t do that before."
“Yes because I love writing and want to do it all the time.”
“Yes because I can write poems and stories."
“Yes because at the start of the year my writing was chicken scratch and it is much better now."
“Yes because my writing has a beginning, middle and end."
I love writing, spoken by a student who hated writing in September. A student who struggled to put a full sentence down on a page, this child now viewed himself as a writer. All of my students did. Some students’ writing was more polished, longer or more detailed, but each student created pieces of writing they valued and reflected the reasons why each believed that, yes, I am a writer.
That is the point. Students learning, students applying, students growing and students successfully reflecting on the processes they have embodied throughout the year. My success as a teacher is rooted in student success and failure and the reflection we mutually engage in to keep moving forward as learners.
Shannon is one fifth of the gr 2 team at DDS. She’s a wife, parent, avid reader and Whovian. Her students inspired her to write because if they can be writers so can she!
That is the point. Students learning, students applying, students growing and students successfully reflecting on the processes they have embodied throughout the year. My success as a teacher is rooted in student success and failure and the reflection we mutually engage in to keep moving forward as learners.
Shannon is one fifth of the gr 2 team at DDS. She’s a wife, parent, avid reader and Whovian. Her students inspired her to write because if they can be writers so can she!
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