Who Says You Can't Teach an Old Dog New Tricks?

Interactive Writing...yeah, well...I wasn't a believer. I will admit this openly, I have kind of fought against it and did not see it working in my classroom. Until today. Isn't the reprogramming of ourselves amazing? I can't believe how open I am now that I have untied myself from the reigns of conformity.
Now, the interactive writing thing, that was something I gave up on even before the last whirl-wind of teaching writing I was swept into. I thought it was inappropriate and not engaging enough. Too long of a process and just plain not a good means of modeling writing for students. I was wrong.
I realized this as I read a different spin, or rather a simple twist on the idea in the book, Talking Drawing, and Writing by Giacobbe and Horn. Yes, the book I have been keeping at my bedside, hip side, and desk side at all times lately, yep that one! Since it is a good idea to have kids label pictures in their drawings as a means of beginning to show print carries a message, one of their suggestions was to use interactive writing to label your classroom, write rules, or other information for the classroom. I loved the label the classroom idea and tried it today with the word "cabinet." What a perfect word, one of my students picked it, and it could not have gone better. We are going to label one item in the room each day while I demonstrate how this reinforces our understanding of labeling our pictures in our drawing and writing notebook! Yahoo, the plan continues to fall into place, not sure where I will be next, but I am liking the journey. Here are photos of the latest work from their notebooks. So fun!

 

J. is working on a drawing of himself. He drew his legs to show movement. In his picture he is walking.

 Can you see the swing set?

 D. drew himself and his dad on their dirt bikes. I love the wheels! A week ago he would have said, "I don't know how to draw a dirt bike." But he doesn't say that now!