Jeremy Joye, September Blog Post #2: Children's Success as Readers and Writers

This article highlights the story of a young boy named Matt, who transferred from a different school with a slightly less than positive review from his prior teacher. The review, however, could not have been farther from the experience Matt's new school was having with him. According to his prior teacher, he had no business being in the current grade, much less skipping a grade. He had shown little to no progress in her class. Yet, he was showing great potential with his new class. Both teachers eventually came to a compromise and agreed to let Matt be tested and let the results dictate where he belonged (in regard to grade level). The results showed that he was reading well beyond his current grade level. The difference in experiences with Matt lied mostly (if not solely) in the perspective of the teacher. One approach allowed for very little individuality while the other encouraged Matt to express himself a little more freely and instilled a little more self-confidence.

As teachers, we can easily get wrapped up in what is "supposed" to be. That word is "supposed" to be spelled like this. You are "supposed" to be writing this. Children develop confidence as writers and readers by learning to express themselves in ways such as writing or reading about things that interest them. In order to achieve this in my classroom, I have done away with most writing prompts. Journals are free writes now and every so often the students engage in bookmaking activities in which they may tell their own story or retell a story we have been reading about.