ROGERS — At Mathias Elementary School, students as young as kindergarten are learning critical thinking with a process as simple as writing.

School-wide, Mathias is focusing on the process of writing this year.

“Research has shown that process writing extends thinking,” academic coach Jane Tua said. In order to write clearly, you must first think clearly, she said. Writing forces you to clarify your thoughts.

“Writing equips us for virtually every kind of profession,” she said. Even students who don’t continueon to college will benefit from good writing skills, even if only to fill out a job application. “What we’re trying to prepare them for is to go out into the world and be successful,” Tua said.

Writers make much better readers, Tua pointed out, and reading helps in every subject.

Every grade is working on the same process, although teaching kindergartners would seem very different from teaching fifth graders. Each grade has some things in common, Tua said, beginning with the language.

In early grades, teachers may call the “topicsentence” the “big idea,” second- grade teacher Kara Davis explained, but at Mathias, a team meets regularly to “align” the language each teacher uses. By using the same vocabulary, teachers save some review time.

“We want them to move smoothly through the grades,” Davis said. “We don’t have to re-teach the same things.”

The vertical team includes a teacher from each grade level, the academic coach and the school’s administrators. One of the big decisions they made was what type of writing to focus on each year. For example, second graders are learning sequential writing - telling a story from start to finish. Third graders are concentrating on descriptive writing.

“It’s not hit or miss,” third-grade teacher Haylee Pierce said. Every teacher at the school knows what her students did the year before.

The students remember the key words from year to year, Davis said, and they know what to do.

That’s especially helpful for English Language Learners, she added.

Students who are already struggling with vocabulary don’t have to learn a newset of words for the same topics each year.

Teachers used two sets of books by Lucy Calkins as the foundation of their new writing program. Fifthgrade teacher Teresa Newton added Calkins’ writing workshops this year.

“After nine weeks, their writing has blossomed,” she said. “Kids who hated writing now love it,” she said. They want to continue when their writing period is over.

“It’s all about how it’s presented to them - not as a choice, but as a treat,” she said.

She started by giving each child a composition book to use as a writing journal. The first thing they did was decorate the notebook to make it their own.

They write about small moments, and she encouraged them to use detail.

They can write notes in their book to remind them of small moments that can be used in the future. She offers them examples of her own small moments, like watching her cat jump to the top of the drapes.

Usually they write about happy moments, but not always, Newton said. She’s read small moments thathave made her cry, but that’s all right. It gives the students a chance to let their emotions out.

At each level, students are encouraged to talk about their writing. They’re taught to coach each other and meet with writing partners.

“You hear these little itty bitty second graders discuss ‘staying on topic’,” Pierce reported. “They can analyze and discuss writing.

It’s amazing.”

“We’re empowering them,” Davis added.

Time to reflect and time to discuss are both key to the writing workshop program.

Each class “publishes” their work at regular intervals. Newton is planning a publishing party for her fifth graders. Each one will print one of their small moments, read it to the class and then hang it on the bulletin board in the hall way.

There will be snacks and drinks in the classroom.

“When they see themselves as authors, they take pride in their work, Pierce said. “They bring it in and show it to other teachers.

They love to write and you have to make them stop.

That’s an incredible feeling.”

Scholars, Pages 7 on 10/28/2009

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