Collective sigh of ennui.
So, about a month ago, I embarked on a "make the center better!" kick. First off, I turned it around -- so instead of being cubbied back in a corner and having only a tiny desk space (or a table to be shared with science and math), it faces the big horseshoe tables that dominate the front of the room. Then, I raided the front office and my desk and my house, read through the ECCRs suggestions, and prettied things up. And Voilá!
Now, that's what I call a writing center!***
Key to the center, I believe, are the:
- Readily available utensils (pens in black and blue, pencils)
- Envelopes
- Different sorts of paper (manila, white, lined, unlined, notebook, graph)
- Stapler (let's be honest; the theme of writing center is often 'come for the stapler, stay for the friends.')
The first step I took, however, was to simply show the worth and versatility of the area. My co-teacher Monique had mentioned seeing a praying mantis in her house the previous week, and our fabulous SLP Sylvia had had one in her bag of "insectos" - teaching la "I" - so I got inspired. I grabbed a sheet of paper and a pencil from Escritura, and sat down.
Wooo! Manuscript.
Over the course of free play of a day or two - with frequent interruptions, obviously - I wrote up the manuscript of "La Mantisita." Students would often come by and ask what I was doing. I would explain that I was writing a story, and would then 'think out loud' as I wrote. "¿Hmmm, qué color debe ser? ... ¡Café! Un café profundo y bien bonito." And my pequeñitos, as often as not, would declare that a great idea, grab a utensil or two of their own, and begin to 'write' as well.
If you're not familiar with emergent writing and its (usually pretty clear) stages, check out this link for images, and this one for more information and suggestions. Also, keep reading here! I plan to follow my students' growth on emergent writing pretty closely throughout the year.
After I finished the manuscript, however, I wanted to translate my story to one that my students could access - and also demonstrate, again, the multi-potentiality of the center. So, between Arte y Escritura, I created a little 8 page book (created by folding and stapling 8.5x11 pieces of paper), complete with illustrations.
This process was very exciting for the students. They suggested colors, grabbed paper to do some parallel bookmaking and art, and had a lot of character questions about the little green mantis (especially, of course, "¿¿por qué está llorando??"
I finished on Thursday and read it in circle for a day or two. It was very well-received; students applauded! (This was because of the happy finale, and not any Newberry-quality literature, to be sure.) Here's a scanned version of the book. I could go into the quiet politics of the story, but I think the message of acceptance and ability (and insect Boston marriages) is pretty clear:
En fin, it was a delight! Students began to visit the center as well as generate their own work, and I was able to model penning a story I really enjoyed writing.
How are your writing centers? ¿Cómo son sus áreas de escritura?
What stories do you want to tell? ¿Qué historias quieren contar?
***It should be noted that the fabulous writing on the manila clipboard in the revamped center was the scissor, stapler, four-student collaborative work this past week. This was when I was working on my latest little cuento: Meche y la Araña. (Inspired by a friend's beautiful golden orb weaver and also Nikki Giovanni's "Allowables.")
Next steps:
- Thematic tie-in prompts
- Writing center as providing props to other areas
- Active interest, even without a teacher in the area
¡Me encanta!
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