When I was thinking about how I learned to write, the first thing that came to my mind was learning cursive. I don't really remember that much about learning how to write print. I remember writing lots and lots of worksheets. Writing the cursive letters over and over again until I had it right. I remember writing out sentences and using cursive to write my name. I remember learning that it was important to write your name in cursive because that was called a signature.
When it came time learning to write stories, I remember learning to draw a picture first, and then start to write the story. I remember I had a hard time starting to write because I was and still am a horrible speller! I can recall having a picture making it easier to think of things to say. These struggles might have been overcome by being told that spelling didn't matter, it was more important to get the ideas out.
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I think it's quite funny that you remembered learning cursive in school, because it is such a huge part of the elementary school curriculum (and, I'll be so bold as to suggest that it's probably no longer necessary!). Worksheets are, unfortunately, a lot of what I see in my own classroom as well, and I think that can be helpful yet creativity-squelching. One of my favorite projects in school was writing a story of my own, with my original thoughts and feelings and creativity, and it really got me into writing in a broader sense.
ReplyDeleteI loved your thoughts on coupling pictures with writing, too. Here's a question for you: how do you think you can incorporate your experience with picture-making into your own classroom one day? Does it seem practical and beneficial?
I was having a hard time remembering how I learned to write ABOUT things until I read your post. Now I remember that most of my early writing was in books I made about my life. I first drew pictures then created stories about the picture. I think drawing is a good way to get ideas flowing for students, then eventually they can move on to writing just by brainstorming the ideas in their heads.
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