Examples Of Observation Of Writing In The Classroom

During the time that I was observing in the second grade classroom, I was able to observe a few methods the teacher was using during the writing period. Writing periods are usually teacher directed and include prompts or copying words in cursive. The only time that writing is student directed is when they free write (during any free time) or when they are working in groups. Throughout the school day, the teacher set aside 50 minutes of writing for the students. The writing period was used for various types of writing. I have observed the students doing a narrative and informational writing. For example, the students were to brainstorm about their favorite holiday. Then, they were to write down their favorite holiday on their webs and then think of three details to example why they like the holiday that they chose. Finally, the students were to write their web into paragraph form (in complete …show more content…
Although the teacher does not always allow time each day to work on handwriting, she tries to fit handwriting in at least once a week for 30 minutes. During this time, the students work on upward curves, downward curves, and slants by writing certain letters/letter combinations in cursive. For the duration of the handwriting period, the teacher walks around and makes sure that each student is sitting properly and that they are holding their pencil and paper at the right angle. The few examples above demonstrate how the teacher uses modeling and guided practice during writing. She models by writing in complete sentences and by filling out a web that the students will need to do for an activity. Even though guided practice is not usually seen during the writing period, the teacher did guide students by holding onto the students pencil with the student and then vocalizing how to make a curve when writing in cursive. Afterwards, the teacher would give the student time to practice the newly acquired