Writing For Children

"When teachers write for children they are a model for writing. Children need to know how people think as they write and what they do when they write." ...The Teacher's Guide to Building Blocks p. 70

Beginning each day with a morning message written in dark and bold colors on line paper will help children to begin to understand what they are to do when they are asked to write.

Skills Taught during Morning Message:

**As the teacher writes, she talks about what she is writing. She lets her students know what she is writing and why she is writing it. (An example can be found in The Teacher's Guide to Building Blocks p. 72)

**What you say, you can write

**Where to start writing and the direction

**Spelling of words

**Capital Letters and when they are used

**Punctuation

**Counting of sentences & letters (ask students to find the sentence or word with the most letters or words)

**Clapping the sounds you hear in words

After several weeks of Morning Message Ask Your Students These Questions:

**Where do I start my morning message?

**What sound do you hear at the beginning?

**What letter do I write at the beginning of that word?

**Does that word begin with a capital?

**What goes at the end of that sentence? or question?

**Can you help me spell this word?

**Can you find a word that rhymes with ________?

**Can you find a word that begins with ______?