My students are doing the classroom Slice of Life Challenge. They are impressing me with their commitment to writing every day. This school year I have required three blog posts a week, so they are used to a rigorous posting schedule. The other day I mentioned how many words a first grader had written (178!), and they set off on a self-made word count competition. But it is not the word count or their writing commitment that is impressing me. It is the voice.
Voice is a very difficult concept to teach. Here is a post-it from Writing Fix, a great resource for teaching writing. As one of the six traits of writing, voice should be taught.
I have come to believe that voice is something to be discovered rather than taught. All children come with a voice. Enter any school cafeteria and you can hear them roar. Through blogging every day, my students have become more comfortable expressing themselves, and their voices are coming through each piece of writing. Here are some samples of strong voice:
My mom has one of those smart car things or whatever.The kind where you hit a button and use it like siri. Well in my moms phone my dad is labeled as B T.in case you were wondering it means Boo Thing.So nevertheless when she says call b t it says calling Mrs.Simon mobile.So ya Mrs.Simon if you have any missed calls from her that’s why. Reed
So, today I went to the book fair. I got a calculator,pencils,2 books and a pencil sharpener.
I can’t wait to read my books tonight, and I will get a sticker for our chart for reading books.
But, I know what you are thinking ” wow those sound really boring!” They are actually not boring.The calculator is a chocolate scented calculator. The pencils were drumstick pencils. And, the pencil sharpener is …wait for it…wait for it…A MUSHROOM, and the top is an eraser {TALK ABOUT 2in1.} EmilyAfter, we walked on Bourbon Street. It was so crazy!!! There was this little boy dancing like Michael Jackson, and he was so good. I gave him $5, because that is all I had on me. After, Bourbon we went back to the hotel. My friend and I were doing flips on the bed. It was extra fun, but I almost broke my ne… nevermind that!! In the morning, we went down stairs to eat breakfast. It was free!! Kielan
Read more student posts here.
Now I need to do a lesson on how so is a conjunction. I never realized how many of my students start their sentences with so. I have time for that because obviously, I do not have to teach voice.
My voice is competing today in Round One of March Madness Poetry at Think Kid Think. Please stop by and read some great poems and vote!
I’m enjoying my students’ voices, too! Slices of Life are such a perfect vehicle for developing a voice. I agree with you that it’s something discovered and not necessarily taught. I think kids just need to be encouraged to use their authentic voice, and then we need to celebrate it, which you so obviously do. I like to begin my sentences with “so” too. Ha!
We are working on adding voice to writing in third grade and I notice it coming through more often in my students who are blogging more as well. We are having fun experimenting with different voices. I loved the way you included student samples.
My students are working on heroic monologues inspired by Beowulf right now, and I just sent them that image to help them think about voice in your work, so thanks for that! Your students clearly feel comfortable writing in their authentic voices, which is also a credit to you, I think–they know they will be heard and valued in your space.
I love this post! The tips on voice are perfect, thank you. And, I agree with you, voice is something we discover. You offer such a wonderful environment for your kiddos to develop/discover theirs. I’ve done LOTS of conferences on “so.” I feel that’s when writers have to understand how to edit their “speaking voice” to fit their “writing voice.”
Thanks for giving me the words to say. Writing voice!
Love your students’ writing, and that your giving them the opportunity to discover their voices. I often find myself deleting the “So” at the start of my sentences!
Talk about writing with a strong sense of voice! Wonderful slices, Margaret.
Voice is so important in our writing and in our students’ writing, Margaret. Your students’ voices were heard loud and clear. Reed’s writing is precious and humorous to an adult.
Love reading your students’ slices. Mine are having such a great time writing, trying new things, writing poems, too. Some are moving over to read some of the adult slices and talking about them. What a wonderful experience. Glad you shared Margaret. BTW-I voted!
Thanks Linda. My students cannot access your blogs at school so we are not able to read them. The only sites approved are kidblog and edublog.
I’ve gotten many resources from Writing Fix, but I haven’t seen this one. I can’t wait to share it with my colleagues. I know they’ll find it really helpful. Your student’s writing is indeed full of voice. Love the image of those boys doing flips on the bed!