The Importance of Writing

In my current Kindergarden observation room, my cooperating teacher reinforces the importance of writing on a daily basis. These five and six-year-old children, though they struggle with handwriting and spelling, are being exposed to the communication process which writing involves at a very early age. Because of this exposure, they learn and discover multiple ways to express themselves through words and in doing so learn more about content and concepts encountered.

Writing is a powerful tool that can be considered a "catalyst for further learning and meaning making." When writing is considered an important part of one's education rather than a tool for testing, students can stimulate parts of the brain with more intensity, and in doing so, develop more effective ways to communicate throughout their lives. Writing and reading are often seen as two areas of study that go hand-in-hand because together they help students to think critically about information. Because of this, however, writing can sometimes be lacking in a classroom's content if the teacher puts significant emphasis on reading. Teachers must reinforce writing in the classroom because it encourages confidence in student ability to convey, explain, and support ideas, not only in academics but also in everyday life communication.

There are various styles and methods to writing. Prompting students for an on-demand response actually inhibits their writing ability because they are limited to a narrow scope of response. Authentic writing, on the other hand, often forces the students to think more creatively while completing a more broad assignment task. Authentic writers may create things like blogs, wikis, podcast, brochures, speeches, etc that engage the writer in a more in-depth thought process of what they are producing on the page. In addition to these types of writing, there are also many methods that teachers many use to properly introduce writing into the classroom. Through a series of stages, teachers can provide prewriting, writing, rewriting, and post-writing techniques that keep students engaged and invested in their work. Assignments that require lengthier products or more comprehensive skills would benefit from these staged strategies to provide the students with opportunities for skill progression.

The PAR framework is very conducive for a heavy influence of writing across content areas. Preparation, assistance and reflective tools are often enhanced by writing either notes or products that the teacher can also use as formative assessment throughout lessons. In my kindergarden class, students are invited to write throughout the day as either note-taking guides or reinforced practice to grow in their understanding of content. These strategies are very powerful tools and must be upheld by teachers if we are to produce fully proficient writers in and outside of the classroom.