Think journal writing is a waste of time?  Not seeing the results you’d like?  You’re not alone. 

Despite the fact that Daily Journal Writing is one of the most powerful activities you can utilize in your classroom to get your kids writing fluently and conventionally, many teachers fail to see the value in dedicating a consistent portion of their day to journal writing due to lack of actual results.

Following are the top 10 reasons why journal writing often fails to get the results teachers are desiring.

 
#1:  Students don’t know how to sound out words and represent those sounds with the proper letters.  If students don’t understand how to sound out words and represent them with the proper letters, they are not going to be able to write anything more than whatever words they have managed to memorize.  You MUST teach your kids how to segment words and represent the sounds heard with the appropriate letters if you want your kids to feel free to write ANYTHING, not just a few simple sentences they have memorized and/or a variety of words they can copy off of a nearby wall.  This entails making sure they know letters, sounds, blending/segmenting techniques, “tricks” (letters and/or letter combinations that create new sounds when they appear together or in certain positions in words, such as sh, th, ch, er, oo, ou, etc.), and some “outlaw” words.


 #2:  Students aren’t given enough time to write.  Students need time to get into the writing process.  If they are only given 10 to 15 minutes to write, they often only get a chance to “warm up.”  To really get into the writing process, your students need at least 30 minutes of solid writing time.  40-60 minutes is preferred.  And they need this time DAILY, not weekly or monthly.


 #3:  The teacher is not utilizing journal writing time to help students move forward from wherever they are in the writing process.  Journal writing time is not code for “time to relax and get a few things done while the kids are busy.”  Rather, it is a time for the teacher to be circling around the room, helping students as needed.  This is an ideal time for the teacher to be moving kids forward from wherever they are, whether they are just learning to sound out words, are ready to write their first sentences, or are in need of more advanced advice.  For best results, the teacher should move from student to student, giving whatever mini lessons are needed to help propel each student forward from wherever he or she happens to be.


 #4:  The teacher has low expectations and/or announces a minimum number of sentences required.   Low expectations can kill your results.  You need to believe in ALL of your kids, not just the ones you know will succeed.  You also need to insist upon good, careful, thoughtful work.  And you need to encourage your kids (ALL of your kids) to fill up the page…and continue on to the next.  Announcing that your kids “must at least write 3-5 sentences” will likely limit your results significantly.  After all, as soon as most kids hear the “minimum required,” they are likely to give you just that.  Instead, get your kids excited about writing.  Tell them you can’t wait to read their stories!  Tell them how much you love LONG stories with big, juicy words!  Get them pumped up and make a really big deal out of those who use their time wisely and produce long, interesting stories.


 #5:  Kids are goofing off instead of writing.  It’s hard for even the most dedicated students to “get in the zone” when there is a lot of chatter and/or goofing off going on around them.  Make sure you have control of your classroom.  Let your students know that you expect them to be writing during journal time, not talking, playing, or goofing off.  Follow through with your discipline management system as needed to keep your kids busy and on task.  The only sounds you should hear during this time are kids sounding out words – unless you are quietly talking with them yourself.  


 #6:  Journal time is tossed aside to make time for other activities.  To get good at something, you need to practice it…frequently and consistently.  The more you practice, the better you should get, given you have the tools and knowledge you need to do so effectively.  Likewise, the less you practice, the less progress you should expect.  Thus, if you choose to neglect journal writing time in lieu of other activities, expect lesser results.  Increases in skill come with increases in proper practice.  If you only make time for your kids to write in their journals once a week or so, expect “once a week” results.  If you only allow them to practice writing in their journals once a month, expect “once a month” results.     For optimal “daily results,” have your kids practice writing DAILY!


 #7:  The teacher is not encouraging his or her kids.  A little encouragement can go a long way!  By telling your kids how much you love to see their writing and read their clever stories, you will be inspiring them to write more and more.  Forget to do this, and few kids will see the value of what they are being asked to do.  Oftentimes, kids who are not praised and/or encouraged will begin writing less and less, sloppier and sloppier.  To keep your kids motivated and excited, remember to praise them for their efforts and rave about their accomplishments.  Don’t take any of your kids for granted – encourage the slowest to the highest student, inspiring all of them to do their very best work.  Praise sincere effort and visible improvement as often as possible.   


 #8:  Students are given the wrong kind of paper to write on.  If you give your kids blank sheets of paper to write on, your kids are likely to write extra-large letters and fill up the page with a single word or sentence.  If you give your kids lined handwriting paper, your kids will probably have to write so large to “touch each line” that they won’t have room to write more than a sentence or two before they have “filled the page.”  Special “story paper” with the blank space at the top for the picture and special handwriting lines at the bottom may look cute, but it is no better.  There simply aren’t enough lines for a good story to be written.  Again, your kids will be lucky to write 2 or 3 sentences.  For best results, whether working with kindergartners or more advanced students, use a regular spiral notebook full of college ruled or wide ruled paper.  Your kids can ignore the lines in the beginning when they are just learning to label their pictures, and can begin to use the lines when they are ready to begin writing actual sentences.  Plus, the spiral bound notebook will keep each student’s journal entries together and in order so you can easily witness his or her progress throughout the year.  Furthermore, the abundance of lines will enable your kids to write really long stories! 


 #9:  The teacher assigns a topic that is uninspiring, restricted, or foreign.  If students don’t want to write about a certain topic for whatever reason (they don’t feel like it, the topic is limited in scope, they simply don’t know much about it, etc.), their writing is bound to suffer.  Instead of making your kids write about something specific that they may or may not have anything to say about, try letting them choose their own topics each day.  This will allow them to write about whatever they know about and/or are inspired to detail.  Of course, you can certainly supply some “emergency ideas” for those who have trouble coming up with something on their own.  Just remember – the idea behind Daily Journal Writing is to get your kids writing.  This enables you to see where they are in the writing process so you can help them move forward from wherever this may be.   Your goal is to help them learn how to express their ideas in complete sentences using proper (or at least close to proper) spelling, capitalization, punctuation, and spacing.  You can worry more about what your kids are writing about after you get them writing conventionally.


 #10:  The teacher asks students to simply copy words and/or sentences posted on a wall or written on the board.  Having students copy prewritten sentences is not the same as having them write sentences on their own.  Having them fill in a couple of predictable blanks to finish a sentence isn’t either.  If you are calling such activities “journal writing time,” you are not even scratching the surface of the true meaning of it.  The goal of journal writing time is to get your kids truly writing sentences and stories on their own, not copying them.  Teach your kids what they really need to know to read and/or write anything, and set them free to do so. This is what will enable them to get the practice and knowledge they need to be successful writers.  Once they get the idea of how to write what they want to say on their own using phonetic and/or inventive spelling, you can help them learn to spell more conventionally.


If you are one of the many teachers who has tried journals in the past but who has quickly given them up due to lack of visible progress, I urge you to give them another try, keeping the above list of items in mind.  After all, everything you need to teach your kids about writing can be done through effective journal writing time.  You simply need to lay the groundwork, supply the time, provide the necessary materials, encourage your kids on a daily basis, and help move them forward as necessary.  If you do all of this and avoid the common pitfalls, you should see your kids begin to soar.

All the best and much success,

Katy Huller

Author of Kinders Can! READ and WRITE!, Alphabasics, and Tricks Practice Cards (Set 1 and Set 2).  All available at www.KindersCanReadandWrite.com!

Ready or not, Halloween is coming!  My daughter has already picked out her costume.  She wants to be Yoda from Star Wars.  This suits her.  She’s tiny in stature but mighty in spirit.  Still, when she goes trick-or-treating this year, she is hoping to be greeted with TREATS, not TRICKS.  This makes sense -- how many kids that you know of would look forward to hiking through hilly neighborhoods on Halloween if they thought they were going to get a bunch of nasty tricks rather than treats? 

The same is true of reading.  If your kids discover they are going to get "tricked" rather than "treated" each time they try to make their way through written text, most will quickly lose interest, and many will stop wanting to read altogether.  After all, it won't be fun.  It won't even make sense. 

It will be confusing.  And frustrating.  And they won't want to do it.

Can you blame them?  Who among us looks forward to doing things that are hard for us...that don't make sense...that confuse us...that make us feel stupid...that scare us...that make the people we love most seem angry and frustrated around us?

Not many, that's for sure.

If you want to make reading more of a "treat" than a "trauma" for your kids, you must prepare them for the words they will encounter on their journeys before you send them out to discover the world of reading on their own. In other words, you must turn the "tricks" they are sure to come across into treats!

To make reading more of a "treat" for your kids, you must teach them more than letters, sounds, and "sight words."  You must teach them to blend sounds together, starting on the left and moving to the right.  And, equally as important but often overlooked or introduced way too late, you must make sure your kids are equipped to deal with the many "tricks" they are sure to meet along the way -- letters and/or letter combinations that create new sounds when they appear together or in a certain position in words than they normally make when alone. Combinations like sh, ch, th, er, or, ou, tion, oo, aw, ay, etc.  And don’t forget “sleepy e,” “2 vowels,” and “le endings.”  Y at the end of a short or long word is another doozie you need to remember to teach them.  There are many others as well.  I’ve counted up to 37 so far, but I’m sure there are more.   

One or more of these "tricks" are hiding in almost every word!  If you skip this part of their training and rely on teaching "sight words" instead, your kids (especially those with less than stellar visual memories) may just turn to the “dark side” and begin guessing their way through unfamiliar text, saying such things as “why” for very, “tell” for tall, “deserved” for discovered, and/or “admit” for amount. You might even hear them confuse the word I with A!  "Had" might become did.  "Take" might become like. Such scandalous switches are common among those who have been sent to battle words before they have been adequately trained to even spar with them.  They simply don't have the tools or training they need to deal with such skilled adversaries. Before long, one previously "known" word starts looking like the next, and these untrained "readers" either give up or resort to spitting out words from their mental Roladexes each time they see a word with a somewhat familiar letter, shape, or size.

Don't let this happen to your young Jedi.  Teach your kids what they really need to know to read the words they will soon encounter -- letters, sounds, “tricks,” a good blending/segmenting technique, and a few common “outlaw words” (words that can’t be sounded out even if you know the “tricks”).  If you teach them these skills and give them lots of guided practice using them, you should see your kids' reading habits skyrocket.  You should see them turn into excellent readers who get "treated" as they read rather than "tricked."   And, as reading the text before them becomes easier and easier, you should see your kids learn to love interacting with books and literature, rather than racing off to avoid them.  Or crying.  Or complaining.  Or throwing a king-sized fit.

Of course, you'll also have to make sure your kids have a good vocabulary, adequate background knowledge, and a few other key reading ingredients.  After all, being able to decode words effectively is only the first step.  To be real readers, your kids must also be able to understand them! 

Regardless of where your kids are today, start giving them the skills they need to move forward.  They are counting on you.  Don't end their training early and neglect to teach them what they really need to know to read the words around them.  Don't send them out to battle a book only halfway prepared.

As my daughter loves to quote from Yoda, "Try not.  Do.  Or do not.  There is no try.” 

Train your kids.  Teach them what they need to know to be successful readers and writers.  Send them out this Halloween and every day thereafter equipped to turn any "trick" into a treat.  You won't be sorry. 


All the best and much success…and may the Force be with you!

Katy Huller

Author of Kinders Can! READ and WRITE! and Tricks Practice Cards (Set 1 and Set 2).  All available at www.KindersCanReadandWrite.com!)

Good teachers teach.  They go over the curriculum and cover the skills that their kids need to learn in a logical, consistent, and friendly manner.  At the end of the year, most of their students move forward knowing enough of what they need to know to be successful in the next grade.

GREAT teachers do all of this as well.  But they also do more.  Instead of just teaching their kids what they need to know to move on to the next grade, GREAT teachers manage to motivate their students to want to learn even more.    They seem to have a special enthusiasm for learning and teaching that spreads to all those who enter their classroom doors.  And they tend to know their subject matter so well that they can break it down and make it easy for others to learn and remember.  What’s more, year after year, they somehow manage to reach ALL of their kids, not just the most eager and/or best prepared ones.

Wondering if you are a good teacher or a GREAT one?  Below are ten questions to ask yourself to see where you stand.  The more “yeses” you get, the more likely you are to be a GREAT teacher!

      
        1.      Do you have an enthusiasm for teaching and learning that you project to your students on a daily                         basis?

        2.      Do you inspire your kids do more and learn more throughout the day?

        3.      Do you actively praise your kids’ progress, helping them to see their gains on a daily basis, feel better                     about themselves, and look forward to learning even more?

        4.      Do you know the material you are teaching, and are you able to break it down and teach it in such a                     way that even your lowest kids can understand it and remember it?

        5.      Do you motivate your kids to continue learning outside of your classroom?

        6.      Do your kids go home talking about what they learned from you?  Do they apply it to their lives?

        7.      Do you reach ALL of your students, not just the ones who are eager to learn and/or easy to teach?

        8.      Do you follow up with your students, tracking their progress and reteaching/reviewing as necessary?

        9.      Do you LOVE what you do and find your students love learning from you?

        10.   Do your students remember you after the year is over?  Do you remember them?

The world needs more GREAT teachers.  If you aren't a great teacher yet, keep working on becoming one.  Great teachers change the world for the better, creating hope and possibility for all those lucky enough to cross their paths.

All the best and much success,
Katy Huller

Author of Kinders Can! READ and WRITE!   (New, updated 2013 edition now available at www.KindersCanReadandWrite.com!)

You may have a class full of advanced kindergartners.  Or you may have a class full of struggling ones.  More than likely, however, your class is full of all sorts of kids at all sorts of levels -- some who have known letters and sounds for years and others who are just beginning to make sense of them.  Not a problem.  If you focus on what’s important and teach your kindergartners what they really need to know to write well, you can amaze all the people following their progress this year, especially their parents and your principal!


Tip 1:  Help your kids learn to break up words and write the sounds they hear in the order they hear them.

Learning to hear a word and segment it into parts is crucial to becoming a writer.  For your kids to begin writing their thoughts down on paper, they must first understand how to hear a word, break it into its individual sound parts, and represent each sound heard with the appropriate letters.  For instance, when they hear the word "cat," they need to be able to immediately break it into /c/ /a/ /t/, hearing each sound that makes up the word.  Naturally, they'll need to know the letters that represent each sound as well...and be able to write them properly as well.

But my kids don’t even know letters and sounds yet!  When should I get them segmenting...and how?
If you want your kids to become great writers by the end of the school year, you should definitely start working on segmenting with your kids as soon as possible, preferably by the third full week of school -- even if you have kids who come in with very little letter/sound knowledge.  If you are following the Kinders Can! READ and WRITE! letter order, this is easy to do.  You will start blending and segmenting words that use the letters you have reviewed and/or focused on so far (t, o, and p).  That means that even the kids who only know the letters you have officially gone over will be able to start blending and segmenting right away, reading and writing the words top, pot, tot, and pop!  This will help them begin to understand how letters and sounds work together to make words.  Each week will further this understanding as you continue to blend and segment new words utilizing all of the letters and sounds you have officially covered.  As more and more letters/sounds have been covered, even your least exposed kids should be able to read more and more words with ease.  If you also include a daily alphabet review and a number of other activities that go over important letter/sound information throughout the day (read Kinders Can! READ and WRITE! for more information on how to do this), you should really see your kids take off!

Regardless of the program and/or letter order you are using, make sure you get your kids blending and segmenting with whatever letters and sounds they have learned, and do your best to cover all of the letters and sounds as quickly as possible so that a lack of letter/sound knowledge doesn't hold them back.

All of my kids already know letters and sounds.  What should I do?
If your kids come to you already knowing letters and sounds, you can bypass going over letters and sounds each week, and jump right into teaching your students how to put their letter/sound knowledge to use!  Right away, you’ll want to introduce them to blending and segmenting all sorts of consonant-vowel-consonant words.  Ideally, you’ll want to choose words that utilize all of the letters of the alphabet.  This will help your kids get a good review of letters and sounds as they learn to blend and segment them. (For free word cards, go to www.KidsCanReadandWrite.com!)

What if my kids are having trouble blending and/or segmenting?
As you go over how to put sounds together and break them apart, make sure you help your kids gain a good blending/segmenting technique.  This is key to the reading/writing process.  Your goal should be to help your kids actually hear what they are saying as they blend sounds together.  I like to have my kids "punch" the first sound (say it loudly and clearly by itself), drag out the middle sound (say it for longer), and quickly but a little more quietly add on the ending.  In other words, if my kids were reading the word hop, they would say, "/h/ /oooo/p/, hop!"  When first teaching them how to sound out words, I would help them sound out the word three times as a group before putting it together.  This helps everyone learn to blend more effectively, and gives your confused kids more time to understand what everyone is doing to get the correct word.  As your kids get the hang of how to sound out words quickly and efficiently, however, take your voice out completely and begin to have them sound out each word only once. 

Typically, after your kids can blend sounds together easily, they will also be able to do the reverse and break them apart.  If not, keep practicing until they can!  Call out words and have them sound them out and write them.  If they are having trouble, sound out the word with them, helping them to hear the first sound, middle sound, and ending sound as you go through the word.  You might say something like, “Spell the word cat, /c/ /aaa/t/, cat.”  If they have no idea what to write or begin with the wrong letter, sound the word out again, this time emphasizing the beginning sound as you do so -- /c/ /aaa/t/.  After they understand what you want them to do and write down the proper beginning sound, begin sounding out the word from the beginning again, this time emphasizing the next sound they need to write when you get to it -- /c/ /aaa/t/.  Make sure you point to what they have already written as you sound out the word again so they can see what is missing/what they need to write next.  Continue in this manner until you get to the last sound.  Then have your kids sound out what they have written on their papers to confirm that they got all of the letters needed.  Try to get them doing all of this on their own as soon as you can. 

As soon as your kids become experts at blending and segmenting cvc words, move them into blending and segmenting words with beginning and ending blends!    This shouldn’t take more than a few weeks.  Whatever you do, don’t keep them on cvc words for long!  That is just the first step and shouldn't be your main focus throughout the year! 


Tip 2:  Teach your kids the "tricks."
If your kids only know letters and their usual sounds, they’ll never be able to write very much – at least not accurately.  Writing cvc words and blends is a first step, but, if you really want to get your kids writing this year, you’ll need to teach them much more than that!  To really open up the world of writing to them, you’ll need to teach them the “tricks” as well.  "Tricks" are what I call the letters and/or letter combinations that create new sounds when they appear together or in certain positions in words.  (Think diphthongs and digraphs!)  Regardless of what you want to call them, your kids need to know them.  And they need to know them as soon as possible if you want to get them writing well before the school year ends!  Holding back knowledge of these important letter combinations and spelling patterns (sh, ch, th, er, ou, or, oo, ing, le endings, 2 vowel combinations, silent e, ed endings, etc.) will make reading and writing anything they haven't memorized nearly impossible for your kids.  So bring the "tricks" out early and continue reinforcing them throughout the year.  You won’t be sorry! 

How can I teach my kids the "tricks?"  I'm not sure I even know them!
Don't worry!  You and your kids can learn the "tricks" together!  You can do a "daily trick review" where you quickly go over all of the most common tricks (just like you would the alphabet), stating the letters in each "trick," the sound they make when together, and a keyword that represents the use of each trick.  A great time to do this is before starting your reading/writing lesson for the day.  This can help you both learn them!  You can also focus on a new "trick" each week, teaching the "trick" and having your kids learn to read and write all sorts of new words with the "trick."  If you are using the Kinders Can!  READ and WRITE! program to teach your kids to read and write, our special letter order will help you introduce the "tricks" as well -- as you teach your kids letters and sounds!  If you go to www.KindersCanReadandWrite.com, you can also get our special Tricks Practice Cards to help you lead a daily review.  Make sure you also post a copy of each "trick" up on your wall to help your kids remember them.  After all, they are every bit as important as the regular 26 letters and sounds of the alphabet.  Almost every word your kids will want to read and/or write will contain one or more “tricks!”



Tip 3:  Read and write REAL TEXT with your kids as often as possible, breaking words up and putting them back together as you go – and making your kids do most of the work!
For your kids to become great writers, they need to have a LOT of experiences with reading and writing real text -- both under your watchful eye and alone.  One of the greatest ways to give them this experience is to read and write Interactive Literacy Charts with them on a daily basis.  Basically, Interactive Literacy Charts are any charts you have your kids actively help you read and/or write! 

For reading, you can use charts already up in your room, such as calendar displays, lunch choices, Student of the Week charts, etc.  For best results, you will also need to craft charts that go along with what you want to teach your kids.  These charts might include word problem charts, correction charts, or comprehension charts.  They could also contain recipes, daily news, or science experiments!  Basically, any chart full of real, unpredictable text you can read with your kids can count.  The important thing is that you vary them and get your kids reading as many charts as possible throughout the day.  It's also crucial that you get your kids doing as much of the reading work as possible! 

To read an interactive literacy chart with your kids, tell your kids that you will point to the letters in the order they need to be sounded out, but that they will be the ones in charge of making the actual sounds those letters represent!  Then, starting at the very beginning, point to the letters and wait for YOUR KIDS to actually sound them out and blend them back together, moving your pointer forward as they do so.  Obviously, you will need to help your kids sound out words in the beginning.  Once they get the hang of what to do, however, take your voice out as soon and as often as possible!  Your goal is to get your kids reading the charts on their own as soon as you can. 

When reading charts with your kids, you will need to point out and teach any unknown "tricks" and "rule breakers" (words that can't be sounded out even if you know the "tricks") as you run across them.  Simply stop when you run across one and say something like, “Does anyone know what the s and h say when they’re together?...They say, ‘/Shhhhh/!'...  What do they say?”  (Wait for your kids to say, “Shhhhh!”)  Ask this same question 3 or 4 times in a row until all of your kids are shouting back the correct answer.  Then, continue sounding out the word.  When you come across a word that can’t be sounded out, regardless of "trick" knowledge, simply sound it out the best you can and adjust it into what it really says, making a joke about what a funny word it is and how its an “outlaw word” – one that doesn’t follow the rules!   Keep doing this every time you come across a “trick” or “outlaw word” until your kids can sound out the “tricks” and/or adjust the “outlaw words” without assistance.  Make sure ALL of your kids are participating and learning as you go through the charts.  Be enthusiastic and make reading the charts fun! 

For writing, you can create any type of chart that suits your needs.  You can brainstorm beginning sound words, a new theme, or what they want to learn about.  You can record your students' thoughts, feelings, and/or fun adventures.  You can even write fun stories together or recap lessons taught.  Anything you'd like to write with your class will do!  Just make sure you break up each word that needs to be written into its individual sound parts, and have YOUR KIDS tell you what letters to write to represent the sounds you are making as you segment the words and make each sound!  In other words, after deciding on a word or sentence to write, sound out it out for your kids, but have THEM tell you the letters to actually write down.  When writing a sentence, make sure your kids tell you when to put capitals, periods, etc. as well!  Like before, stop to teach these concepts as they come up, as well as any unknown "tricks" and/or "outlaw words" that surface.  As with reading charts interactively, your goal should be to get your kids quickly telling you all of the answers as soon as possible!  The more charts you write together in this way, the sooner they should be able to do this.



Tip 4:  Make daily journal writing time a PRIORITY!!!
Of course, if you want your kids to become great writers, you need to give them lots of time to actually experiment with all they are learning on their own.  An easy way to do this is to make daily journal writing time a priority.  After all, all the knowledge in the world doesn't mean much unless you can actually put it to use. 

If possible, start your day out with journal writing and let your kids draw/write about whatever they wish in their very own spiral notebooks.  Give them plenty of time to do so.  As they practice sounding out words and/or writing sentences to go with their drawings, circle around the room and help as needed.  Give little mini-lessons to your kids in order to move each student forward from wherever he or she happens to be.  Some may need help sounding out words to simply label their drawings, while others may need help learning how to write sentences with proper capitalization, spacing, punctuation, etc.  Give each child the help he or she needs.  Move from child to child, getting to as many as possible each day.  This is when everything you've been working on throughout the rest of your day should come together.  This is when real writers are made.

I've tried journal writing before, but all my kids do is SCRIBBLE!
Even if your kids' beginning journal entries are less than impressive in the beginning of the year (as they are sure to be), keep journal writing a DAILY practice.  Oooh and aaaah over neat work, holding it up for all of your kids to see.  Encourage everyone to write more and more on a daily basis.  Rave about any progress you see, no matter how slight.  And, most important of all, keep your students moving forward from wherever they are!  In other words, once your kids get the hang of labeling their drawings, move them into writing sentences, showing them how to start with a capital, space between words, and add the correct punctuation at the end.  Once your kids understand how to write one sentence, move them into writing more sentences.  Keep moving them forward on a daily basis, urging them to write as much as they can before time is called (NOT simply 3-5 sentences!)  If you are doing all you need to be doing, the quality of their work should improve GREATLY (albeit gradually) over the year!  By the end of the year, it should be an amazing record of their progress.  

How long should I give my kids to write in their journals?
Make sure to give your kids more and more time to write in their journals as their skills develop throughout the year.  20 minutes is fine in the beginning of the year when they are just learning to label their drawings, but 30 or 40 minutes (or more) is important as their skills grow.  They need time to really get their thoughts rolling, and there really is no better way to practice writing than to write!  If you want your kids to be advanced writers, give them the time they need to write whole paragraphs and/or pages...and praise them as they do so!  If you teach your kids what they need to know and encourage them to write more and more each day, giving them the time they need to do so, before you know it, they'll be writing long stories full of words and sentences you can actually read! 



Tip 5:  Display your students' work!
Most students (as well as their parents and principals) enjoy seeing samples of their work on the wall. You can plop their journal entries on a colorful background and hang them in the hall for everyone to see.  You can also post some of the charts you have read and/or written together, surrounding them with a collection of free response writing pages that goes along with the chart/theme at hand.  This will help your kids' parents and your principal see the progress your kids are making, and they are sure to take notice when they see that your kindergartners are writing sentences full of words many first, second, and third graders can't even write!



Remember, your kids are counting on YOU to teach them what they need to know to become great readers and writers.  Focus your time and attention on teaching them what really matters – letters, sounds, blending/segmenting techniques, “tricks,” and some “outlaw words.”  Then give them lots of practice using this knowledge to actually read and write words.  By the end of the year, your kids should not just be impressing their parents and your principal, but THEMSELVES as well.

All the best and much success,
Katy Huller

Author of Kinders Can! READ and WRITE!   (New, updated 2013 edition now available at www.KindersCanReadandWrite.com!)

*For help teaching the "tricks," go to www.KindersCanReadandWrite.com and download
your set of Tricks Practice Cards.  You can also go to www.Amazon.com to get the Kindle version.

Posting your rules is important.  So is keeping them clear, specific, and positive.  But remember...posting rules your kids can't even read yet is just the beginning.  Enforcing them swiftly, justly, consistently, and lovingly is another thing altogether.

1.  Know how you want your kids to behave in your classroom and train them to behave that way from Day 1 on.  Model, model, model what you expect.  And don't forget to PRAISE the behaviors that you like and quickly SQUELCH those you don't.  Letting small misbehaviors slide will only make them multiply.

2. Be consistent.  Enforce your rules.  Every day.  If the rule is to "raise your hand," make sure students raise their hands.  If the rule is to "come in quietly," make sure your students come in quietly.  Don't say those are rules but then allow kids to do the opposite.  Kids are very perceptive.  They will quickly figure out which ones you are "serious" about and which ones you aren't.  Be prepared for them to break the ones you don't follow through on!

3.  Be fair!  Don't punish one kid for talking in the hall but not another.  Don't come down harder on one kid for breaking a rule than another.  Treat all of your kids the same.  Kids respect fairness. 

4.  Don't hold a grudge!  Start each new day as if it were the first.  Let bygones be bygones, no matter how irritating the behavior of one of your students might be.  You will both feel better by wiping the slate clean!

5.  Be a good role model!  Your kids will be watching everything you do!  They'll be listening, too!  Inspire them with your words and actions.  Make them want to do better through your praise and enthusiasm.  Model calmness, forgiveness, love, and strength.  Be an adult they can look up to in all ways.

Remember, posting rules is important, but enforcing them is crucial.  Take the time to train your kids to behave the way you want them to behave by being clear, swift, just, consistent, and loving.  Your year is bound to be much more pleasant if you do so!

All the best and much success,
Katy Huller

For more tips on how to make this a great year, read Kinders Can! READ and WRITE! by Katy Huller. Available at www.KindersCanReadandWrite.com.

On my first day teaching in my very own kindergarten classroom (almost 20 years ago), I smiled at the 24 five-year-old faces looking up at me with eager, hopeful eyes.  I couldn't wait to get the year started.  It was just as I'd imagined it.  They were so cute...and sweet...and well-behaved.  Everything was going according to my plans.  Then, a late arrival came. 

Just after being dropped off in my care, the "late arrival" stood up, walked toward the bathroom, and began pulling down one carefully hung center sign after another, ripping them at will.  As we all stared in horror, she then began to take her shoes off and scream out, "My feet STINK!"  Before I could fully wrap my head around what was happening in my "perfect" classroom, she bolted for the door and began running down the hallway.

None of my teachers, friends, textbooks, or new colleagues had prepared me for this.  And there was no one around to help.  No aide.  No administrator.  NO ONE.

Unsure of whether to run after her or stay with the kids looking as upset and baffled as I was, I was forced to make a rash decision.  I hadn't planned for this little contingency.  And everyone knew it.  And because I hadn't, I pretty much lost control of my class on that very first day.  And I certainly questioned whether or not to come back for my second.

Thankfully, not every new teacher gets a kid who is brash enough to come in late, rip down signs, take her shoes off, scream strange personal statements, and make a beeline for the classroom door...all in a matter of minutes. 

But it helps to be ready for such a student.  After all, you really only get one chance to start the year out right.  Blow it, and you'll have to work extra hard to gain back the respect of your kids and return the classroom to a place of learning and order.  Trust me, I know.

While I would have preferred an easier welcome to the teaching profession, my crazy first day taught me an invaluable lesson I have NEVER forgotten -- Be PREPARED...for ANYTHING!!!!!

So here's my "first day" advice for you:

1.  Seat your kids AWAY from the door and make sure you can head off any "runners" before they can get too far.  If possible, CLOSE YOUR DOOR after your students arrive!

2.  Hang any cute signs high enough that they will be out of reach from any kids with "sticky fingers."

3.  Never begin your day by seating your kids on the floor around you.  They will have NOTHING to do if you have to get up to deal with another parent, student, etc.  Rather, always start your kindergartners out with some sort of seat work they can do on their own.  A nice coloring sheet is my favorite choice.  After all, almost anyone can pick up a crayon and color.  Plus, it's soothing for anyone who has had a rushed morning or is feeling extra nervous.  Even if your kids don't have "mad coloring skills," they can usually pick up a crayon and mark on the sheet.  Plus, as they color, you can get an instant idea of various students' fine motor control.  You will also be free to personally welcome any late arrivals.  And if you have to suddenly CHASE any kids looking to "leave a little early," your kids will have something quiet and orderly to do while you are gone!  Having a quiet activity your kids can do on their own will also free you up to deal with parents, take the lunch count, figure out afternoon transportation, etc.

4.  As your kids are completing their first coloring sheet, walk around, marveling at their work.  Brag about the students who are doing a fabulous job coloring and/or working quietly.  You want them to be on your "team" immediately.  You want others to strive to perform like them as well.  Make a BIG deal out of them!  Offer stickers or stamps, if necessary!

5.  If anyone says they are "finished" when they are clearly not, ask them to add more details.  Tell them how much you LOVE really awesome work.  Tell them you can't wait to see their finished products.  Set the bar HIGH and do so QUICKLY.  For those who truly ARE finished, praise their work and allow them to write a story, draw a picture, or read a book.  NEVER make finished students just sit there or put their heads down.

6.  If anyone raises his or her hand to ask you a question while coloring, go WILD with praise!  Tell him or her (loudly enough for the whole class to hear) how smart he or she is to know how to ask a question in class!  Say things like, "Oh, my goodness!  I can't BELIEVE you already know to RAISE YOUR HAND when you want something! You guys are SO SMART!!!  I bet you all know not to get up out of your chairs without permission as well!  WOW!"  Without boring them, you will be teaching your kids what you expect.  And you'll be setting a positive, supportive, nurturing climate.  Work in other rules as they come up as well!

7.  Don't "ignore" questionable behavior, even if it's only the first activity of the very first day.  You usually only get one day to make an impression and set the mood.  Do it while your kids are still anxious and nervous.  It may be the only chance you get -- especially with regard to the kids already testing your limits.  Know what you want your classroom to be like from moment one, and mold your kids accordingly.  Put a calm, gentle hand on the back of any antsy kids or "talkers," whispering in their ears to remind them to sit still, work quietly, etc. as you do so. A calm, gentle hand and private whisper can work wonders for your already on-edge kids.  Let them know who's boss, but do it lovingly and consistently.  While it may take a lot of effort to train your kids in the beginning of the year, later in the year, you should reap your reward!  Ignore questionable behavior, and your class is likely to be out of control by mid-year, causing you to work much harder (and possibly lose your love for teaching...as well as your sanity) as you count down the days to summer vacation.

8.  Be over-prepared.  Make sure you have MORE THAN ENOUGH to do with your kids throughout the day.  Idle hands are NOT good!  Keep your kids busy, happy, and learning.

9.  Make sure your classroom is set up so that you can see everyone at ALL times...and that nothing can fall over or hurt kids if bumped into accidentally.  Safety first.  You MUST be able to see what is going on in your classroom from wherever you are...ALL the time.  Cute centers, corners, and reading areas are fine...just make sure you have full vision of who is there and what they are doing from wherever you might possibly be. 

10.  Have fun!  I've heard some teachers say that they don't smile until the third month of school in order to get control of their classrooms.  This is totally unnecessary!  You can smile.  You can be nice.  You can even have FUN with your kids on a DAILY basis.  You just can't let any misbehaviors slide.  Small misbehaviors early in the year turn into LARGE misbehaviors later in the year.  So be silly...creative...fun loving..., but take the time to squelch any wrongdoings as they occur.  Smile every day and have FUN teaching your kids what they need to know to leave your classroom on, or, preferably, ABOVE grade level.  This is your life...your career...make it FUN and REWARDING for both you and your students!

Wishing you all the best and much success...and hoping you have a FABULOUS first day,
Katy Huller

Author of Kinders Can! READ and WRITE!
Go to www.KindersCanReadandWrite.com to read a free sample!

Getting kindergartners reading and writing by the end of the school year is really a very simple task -- if you teach them in a way they can easily understand and follow.  Of course, those with significant learning disabilities are bound to struggle and may take a bit longer.  But your average kids, and even your below average kids, should be able to learn to read and write in kindergarten with relative ease.  And your above average and highly gifted kids should catch on in a snap!

When I say your kids should be able to read and write by the end of kindergarten, I mean that they should be able to pick up any little trade book they want to read and begin figuring out what it says.  Think:  The Little Engine That Could, Are You My Mother, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, Curious George, etc.  And they should be able to write whatever comes to mind so that others can read it.

Yes, some of your kids are bound to be more fluent when reading whatever trade book they pick up than others, but ALL of your kids (except for those with significant learning issues) should be able to figure out the words on the page and understand the message behind them.  And, yes, some of your kids will have better spelling, spacing, and punctuation habits than others, but ALL of them (except for those with significant learning issues) should be able to express themselves through words and sentences -- without having to copy words off of a word wall or ask for help to write what they want to say.  In fact, most of my kindergarten students wrote full-page stories each day for the last few months of school.  And they did so ALL BY THEMSELVES!  You can get your kids to do this on their own as well!

The key is to use your time wisely and to teach everyone what they need to know to read and write new and/or unfamiliar words.  Making them learn lists of "sight words" won't do it.  Either will having them copy sentences off the board or word wall.  Busywork won't either.  Nor will coloring sheets. Or cute t.v. programs.

Instead, you'll have to use your precious time to teach them what they really need to know -- letters, sounds, blending and segmenting techniques, phonetic "tricks," and some of the most common "outlaw" words.  And you'll need to show them how to use all this knowledge to read and write real text.  While doing so, you'll need to work on improving their background knowledge and vocabulary.  And, no doubt, you'll have to work on their comprehension skills as well.  But when done in a systematic, methodical way, you can do all this AND have fun with your kids at the same time.

You can talk with them.  Read to them.  Teach new songs and cheers to them. 

You can get them writing fun stories, and can enjoy listening to them read them aloud to you afterward.

You can create with them, make food with them, solve problems with them.

You can do science experiments and discover all sorts of new facts about the world we live in with them.

And, if you've really used your time wisely, you can send them on to their first grade teachers fully capable of reading and writing just about anything they can get their hands on or think up!  What's more, you can send them on with lots of real world knowledge and problem solving skills as well.

Interested?  Read the new, fully updated edition of Kinders Can!  READ and WRITE!   It will walk you through exactly what you need to do to get your kindergarten students reading and writing this year.  Go to www.KindersCanReadandWrite.com to get your digital copy TODAY!

Wishing you all the best and much success,
Katy Huller

www.KindersCanReadandWrite.com

If you are a parent or teacher of a beginning reader, you've probably been urged to teach your beginning reader "sight words" at one time or another.  My advice to you?  Don't. 

As a former teacher and current literacy tutor, I have seen too many kids suffer needlessly from what I call "Sight Word Syndrome." And it's not a pretty sight.

What is "Sight Word Syndrome?"  Sight Word Syndrome is a condition characterized by the inability to sound out new or unfamiliar words, often accompanied by the frequent miscalling of seemingly "known" words.  Most kids afflicted with Sight Word Syndrome (SWS) appear to be readers as long as the text they are asked to read is kept within their "sight word vocabulary" and/or is either memorized or extremely predictable in nature.  Once text becomes more difficult, however, more and more words are miscalled, mumbled over, or skipped altogether.  This can make it extremely difficult for the person afflicted with SWS to accurately comprehend what is being "read," and often leads to increased frustration, tantrums, and tears.  Generally, this condition does not go away on its own.  If not treated effectively, it can become a lifelong ailment.

Unfortunately, more and more parents and teachers are relying on having their kids learn lists of "sight words" to get them reading.  The result?  Far too many kids who glance at words to read them, rather than through them, from left to right. This causes similar looking words to look the same to those with SWS.  As a result, you might hear them call out "in" instead of on, "what" instead of want, or "very" instead of every.  The word "that" might become with, "where" might become here, and "tell" might become tall.  Even a word as simple as "I" might be confused with the word A. 

And it doesn't stop there.  As these "sight word readers" progress, they often make more costly switches, turning words like "deserved" into discovered, "stretched" into screeched, and "scene" into since.  When this happens, comprehending the text supposedly "read" becomes more and more difficult.  Even the smartest kids with the best vocabulary can begin to struggle and fail.  In many cases, kids who used to love books often begin to hate them, creating another problem altogether.

So what should you do?  Teach your beginning readers how letters work together to make words.  Start by showing them how to sound out 2 and 3 letter words like is, in, on, him, his, hat, big, can, fit, bug, red, etc.  Once they are comfortable doing this, show them how to sound out words with beginning and ending blends such as and, flag, just, sled, sent, grab, hand, fast, long, etc.  Then teach them the "tricks" (letters and/or letter combinations that create new sounds when they appear together or in a certain position in words, such as sh, ch, th, er, ou, oo, etc.), and show them how to read (and write) words that contain these.  This is when the world of reading REALLY opens up to them.  Words like out, she, gave, like, take, want, them, these, never, were, are, tall, weird, different, chilly, deserved, discovered, etc. are all easily decodable once you know the "tricks!"  After your kids have a decent base, get your kids reading Dr. Seuss books, and help them sound out and adjust any weird words that don't follow the "tricks."  Then move them into whatever trade books interest them.  Finally, introduce them to beginning chapter books.  This process not only teaches them the "sight words," but how to read just about any other word they come across as well.  This is what real reading is about.  Being able to read.  Anything.  Not just memorized or predictable text.

Don't delay!  Throw away the confusing "sight word lists," and teach your kids how to really read instead.  They are counting on you.

All the best and much success,
Katy Huller

Author of Kinders Can! READ and WRITE!   (New, updated 2013 edition now available at www.KindersCanReadandWrite.com!)

*For help teaching the "tricks," go to www.KindersCanReadandWrite.com to order
your set of Tricks Practice Cards.  You can also go to www.Amazon.com to order the Kindle version.

*For free word cards that will help teach your child to read one "trick" at
a time, go to www.KidsCanReadandWrite.com.

To help your kids tell the difference between a "b" and a "d," tell them that the "b" has the /b/ /b/ bat first, while the "d" has the /d/ /d/ daddy's face (or /d/ /d/ donut) first.  Make sure you are also training your kids to look from the left to the right when reading, NOT just at the word as a whole.  Happy Reading! :)

Ever looked back at an old picture of you or one of your kids and been amazed at the changes that have taken place since it was taken?  Kids grow and change right before our eyes, but we often find it hard to notice these subtle changes without some sort of evidence.  Years later, however, when a photograph or video emerges, the changes become obvious.

So it goes with our kids' school skills and mental abilities.  If all goes well, our kids' brains should be constantly evolving, growing, and making new connections.  If they aren't, we must notice and correct whatever is going wrong as soon as possible.  Unlike not noticing your child's physical development, letting precious time slip by without noticing and/or acting on a lack of brain development can cause real harm.  After all, the further a child falls behind, the harder it is to catch him or her back up.

To keep track of what your kids know and/or don't know, you need to constantly test them.  Sometimes, this can be done informally by simply calling on your kids to answer a variety of relevant and telling questions while making a mental note of who knows what.  Having your students complete written assignments on their own can also help give you a quick, informal peek at how they are progressing.  Other times, however, you will need to test your kids more formally, calling them up one-on-one to answer a specific set of questions geared to expose any hidden weaknesses and/or problems that might exist. 

The Kinders Can!  READ and WRITE! program recommends that you formally test your kids every 6-9 weeks.  It encourages more frequent testing for any students struggling to learn letters, sounds, or basic  blending/segmenting techniques.  This is to help you stay on top of what your kids know and/or don't know so that you can adjust your teaching accordingly.  Whatever you do, don't just test your kids and file the tests away.  Rather, use the test results to help you get to know your kids and better meet their needs.  Work to fill in any gaps you uncover.  Get in touch with your kids' parents so they can help as well.

Testing your kids is not just about finding out who is succeeding and who is failing; it's about uncovering any gaps or potential weaknesses and filling them in before they have a chance to cause a major problem. 

Stay on top of your kids' mental progress.  Take "photos" throughout the year by formally testing your kids every 6-9 weeks.  This will give you a wonderful record of their growth that otherwise might go largely undetected.  Pull these records out at each Parent/Teacher Conference, and marvel at the growth that has taken place.  Use them to point out what you want to see fill in next as well.  This will help everyone get a good peek at whatever growth has (or hasn't) taken place, just like an old picture one stumbles across from time to time!

All the best,
Katy Huller