HUMANI T IES
writing requires children to do many tasks at once, but its value goes beyond the simple compositions they are able to create. “They have to
think about what they want to say, think about the sounds and letter symbols, and then use those symbols,” she said. “When they write down what they are thinking about, it shows that they—and we—value their ideas and thoughts.” The value of ideas will be a constant
throughout the children’s experience at OES. The humanities—literature, history, culture—are the water the students sail upon. At first, their invented spellings may bear as much resemblance to words as the pieces of leaf and bark bear to real boats. But gradually as they read more, they spell better, and by sometime in First Grade they are learning to start sentences with capital letters and end them with punctuation. They learn to create pictures with words by writing simple poems. In Doug Whitmore’s class, students write haiku, such as this poem called Cherry Blossoms by OLIVIA J. ’21:
Cherry Blossoms in bloom. They are so pretty pink. Puffy pink balls with yellow in the middle.
In Second Grade the major opus is
the hero project, and one of the goals is for students to begin to see the points of view of others. In their “I Am…” poems, they use the first person, but they are imagining themselves as someone else, expressing that person’s point of view. RIA D. ’20 chose Rosa Parks as her hero and wrote this poem:
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I am…Rosa Parks. I like respect
I don’t like segregation laws I want to be equal I fear the police
I wish everybody had equal rights
I hope the world changes someday
I dream of changing the law I am me
Second-grade teacher Sue Larson
says that by the time students are in her class, some are writing in complete sentences while others are writing run-on sentences that continue for a page and a half. The outpouring of words ref lects their enthusiasm about the heroes they are writing about and also the excitement of expressing themselves. “They are
developing their own voices,” Sue said. “Part of their personalities and feelings comes through in their choice of words. The goal is for them to write everything down and not worry about editing until afterward. With teacher guidance they go back and fix punctuation and capitals and revise to make sense. By February they are doing research and writing simple paragraphs about what they have found.” In Third Grade, students begin
constructing paragraphs that begin with a topic sentence, carry three supporting statements amidships, and end with a closing statement. They employ
pre-writing exercises, and revision is emphasized. It is the beginning of expository writing, which they will continue in greater length, complexity, and sophistication throughout their academic careers. They also write pioneer diaries, and they develop their sense of rhythm and rhyme through poetry, such as this piece titled “Mother” that ANISHA K. ’19 wrote in Jeannie’s Rawley’s class:
When times are tough When things get rough
She will always be there for me. I can count on her She can count on me
We will always be family.
Fourth-graders in Nick DePreter’s
class participate in writers workshops based on the model of Lucy Calkins of Columbia Teachers College. The students read their works to one another to get a sense of whether their audience understands what they are trying to say. The workshops involve revision and ultimate publication of narratives, such as the children’s myths based on those of the First People who inhabited the Northwest before Europeans arrived. One myth is chosen
SUMMER 2010 OES MAGAZINE 9 9
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