Making Writing
Exciting for Elementary Students
By Karen Stevens MACUL Grant Recipient
Each year, I struggle to get my first and second grade students to become better writers. This past year, I had an especially bright second grade student, Sam, who struggled to get his thoughts down on paper. When I attended the 2009 MACUL Conference I found an assistive technology keyboard called “The Writer Fusion” by The Writer Learning Systems that I thought might help improve my
students’, and especially Sam’s writing skills. My goal was to use “The Writer Fusion” and The 6 Traits for Writing program by Education Northwest to improve the quality and quantity of writing for the first and second graders in my multiage classroom. I used the MACUL grant to purchase three “Writer Fusions” and a laser printer to help me achieve this goal.
During writing, my students were taught the skills that were needed to be a good writer using The 6 Traits of Writing program. Ruth Culham’s book, 6+1 Traits of Writing: The Complete Guide for the Primary Grades was a great resource for teaching the 6 Traits. The students were given a topic to write about and encouraged to use what they learned from the 6 Traits program. Most of the students would use paper and pencil to complete their writing assignments. Sam was always given a “Fusion” to complete his assignments. He fell in love with the “Fusion!” His attitude toward writing improved significantly. He couldn’t wait to get started on his assignments. The length and quality of his work greatly improved. He couldn’t wait to print off his work so he could show others. Sam’s new found enthusiasm for writing was contagious and the other students couldn’t wait to have a turn using the “Fusion.” Those students using the “Fusion” tried to writer longer paragraphs and loved how nice their writing looked when they printed it.
Overall, I think my project was a success. Most of the students that used the keyboards were excited to do their assignments and produced a quality project. The smaller keyboard size made it easier for younger students to use than a traditional computer keyboard.
I think the success of my project would have been better if I had a classroom set of the “Fusions.” It was very difficult to rotate three keyboards in a class of 22 students. The students only used the computers 1-2 times per week. This just wasn’t enough to time for the students to get proficient using the keyboard.
I would definitely recommend the “Fusion” and the 6 Traits of Writing program to other elementary teachers. This keyboard would be a great asset in the special education classroom setting. I can’t wait to use to use the “Fusion” and the 6 Traits of Writing program again this year with my students.
Karen Stevens is a 1st/2nd grade multiage teacher in the Parchment School District. She can be reached at:
kstevens@parchment.k12.mi.us.
26 | Conference 2011 | MACULJOURNAL
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