Literacy, on a superficial level, is perceived simply as the ability to sound out words or an over-emphasis on phonics. However, literacy is more complex than the act of oral reading. A balanced literacy program places an emphasis not only on the development of phonemic awareness, but also on language development which includes both oral and written language. It is for this reason that leaders and researchers in the field of literacy, such as Lucy Calkins, advocate that effective balanced literacy programs also include shared writing experiences in an effort to help young readers build a connection between oral language and written language.
Lucy Calkins advocates that a major premise of a balanced literacy program is the notion that children …show more content…
This is different from language experience in that the teacher is not simply acting as a scribe for her students, but is jointly composing the text with her students. The goal of Shared Writing is to help students develop composing strategies that will move them from using oral language to more literary language” (Mermelstein, 2013). Through this strategy, young readers are engaged in the act of writing through authentic conversations and with the support of the teacher who supports the act of writing. For example, large or small groups of students discuss and write about a topic, life event, or experience. The teacher uses anchor chart paper and invites students to write jointly. This collaborative writing environment elicits true discourse between and among students and the teacher. The teacher functions as a facilitator who supports with phonemic interventions and language support. It is a dynamic process. The children are prompted to write segments that they know; however, the teacher fills in or supports the unknown. Since the primary physical responsibility lies on the scribe, the teacher, the students can focus on meaning and structure rather than halting their writing because of phonemic limitations. Thus the emphasis of writing and reading becomes meaningful. Students begin to recognize that the “real” function of literacy is meaning. The goal of literacy now becomes producing, gaining, and sharing meaning through text. “The workshop has none of the emotional flatness that characterizes most of the school day. The content of the writing workshop is the content of real life, for the workshop begins with what each student thinks, feels, and experiences, and with the human urge to articulate and understand experience” (Richgels,
Lucy Calkins advocates that a major premise of a balanced literacy program is the notion that children …show more content…
This is different from language experience in that the teacher is not simply acting as a scribe for her students, but is jointly composing the text with her students. The goal of Shared Writing is to help students develop composing strategies that will move them from using oral language to more literary language” (Mermelstein, 2013). Through this strategy, young readers are engaged in the act of writing through authentic conversations and with the support of the teacher who supports the act of writing. For example, large or small groups of students discuss and write about a topic, life event, or experience. The teacher uses anchor chart paper and invites students to write jointly. This collaborative writing environment elicits true discourse between and among students and the teacher. The teacher functions as a facilitator who supports with phonemic interventions and language support. It is a dynamic process. The children are prompted to write segments that they know; however, the teacher fills in or supports the unknown. Since the primary physical responsibility lies on the scribe, the teacher, the students can focus on meaning and structure rather than halting their writing because of phonemic limitations. Thus the emphasis of writing and reading becomes meaningful. Students begin to recognize that the “real” function of literacy is meaning. The goal of literacy now becomes producing, gaining, and sharing meaning through text. “The workshop has none of the emotional flatness that characterizes most of the school day. The content of the writing workshop is the content of real life, for the workshop begins with what each student thinks, feels, and experiences, and with the human urge to articulate and understand experience” (Richgels,