Episcopal Knightly News

  EPISCOPAL
  • Home
  • Blog and news
  • About us
    • Who We Are
    • Episcopal Identity
    • Leadership and Governance
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Our Program
    • Academics
    • Athletics
    • Arts
    • Spirituality
    • College Counseling
    • Student Support Services
  • Admission
    • Welcome to Admission
    • Affording Episcopal
    • Dates & Deadlines
    • Visit Episcopal
  • Reopening Plans
  • Giving
    • Spirit Mind Body Campaign
    • Quest Center
    • The eFund >
      • 2019-20 Donor List
    • Tributes and Memorials
    • Give Online
    • Development Team
  • e-Resources
    • Student Resources
    • Parent Resources
    • Teacher Resources
    • Library Resources
  • School Store
  • Alumni
  • Parents' Guild
  • Squires
  • Lunch Menu
  • Contact

Growing Great Writers

4/19/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture

While driving down a busy Baton Rouge street, one tends to have a lot of time to think and reflect on things in life. One particular day, my thoughts wandered back to my days in school, especially elementary, middle, and high school, specifically on my education as a writer.  In elementary, I hardly recall any composition that was uniquely my own except for a little bit of poetry as well as some fact–finding writing for social studies project reports.  In middle school I had two great English teachers who required us to think creatively and effectively communicate our ideas in a way that I was not familiar. I remember writing lots of formulaic papers for literature classes in high school.  However, it wasn’t until college that I was given instruction that helped me begin to better develop as a writer. Looking back, it seems as though my own writing education was overlooked. Fear not! Young writers are blossoming right here at Episcopal!

About fourteen and a half years ago, I began my career teaching little ones.  Since day one, I was expected to teach writing in a workshop format that allowed students to choose their writing subject and thus increase their interest and motivation.  Since then, not a year has gone by that I haven’t aimed to teach students to grow their writing skills, improving their skills as effective written communicators.

I watch my students daily and see how they enjoy making cards, notes, and signs for anyone that will take them. Children are naturally drawn to writing. They see the joy it brings to themselves as well as others. They quickly learn that they have choice in what they write and this becomes self-motivating.
Picture
Picture
Writing serves an important purpose in our lives:  communication. We communicate through texting and emails on a daily basis to family, friends, coworkers, and more.  We jot little reminders for ourselves so we won’t forget special tasks (you should see the sticky notes on my desk!).  We make lists for shopping and cards for loved ones. For some, writing is more than simply a task…it’s pure enjoyment.

In the Episcopal Lower School, we teach students how to write for a variety of purposes:  to recount, to entertain, to inform, and to persuade. Our ultimate goal is to create confident, independent writers.  To reach this goal, we utilize a variety of teaching approaches grounded in national norms and expectations appropriate for each grade level. We teach writing through the prism of these three purposes so that students can grasp the components which make each unique and effective. To aid students in learning to love writing, students are able to choose their topic of writing.  For example, in the expository writing unit, students might be asked to write a “teaching book”. Students are able to pick whatever they want to write about as long as they are teaching someone else in a factual way within the parameters of expository writing.  The topic option allows the students to write about something that truly interests them, thus motivating them to want to write and do their best. They begin to see that writing can be fun! Their personality begins to present itself through their style, and their voice is projected in their writing.
Picture
When looking deeper at their writing, we can see what specific lessons each child needs to help them grow as writers.  We can tailor instruction to small group and individual needs to ensure that our instruction makes the most impact.

From a learning standpoint, we can see how students evolve as spellers, users of grammar, mechanics, and complexity of structure.  Analyzing students’ writing from the beginning to the end of the year is always satisfying. You really see how much students have grown in all areas of writing.

At home, I envision children having endless supplies of paper, markers, pencils, erasers, and more to allow them to express their 
written ideas in risk-taking fashion.  Much like with science and math, it’s very helpful for students to have the freedom to practice writing, making mistakes along the way, and yet learning from those mistakes over time.  Keep in mind that having conversations with your children on a daily basis makes a huge impact on the quality of their writing. More sophisticated minds help to create more sophisticated compositions.

In this day and age, children have more access than ever before to electronic communication.  It’s our job as teachers to prepare students to learn who they are as writers and utilize those strengths so that students can be successful presently and in the future.  Know that your children are being encouraged, challenged, and celebrated in their writing growth and will continue to do so for many years to come! We are proud of all of our little writers and look forward to seeing how much they truly grow!

Picture

Cory Lemoine

Cory Lemoine is a first grade teacher with 14 years of experience in the classroom.  As a graduate of Louisiana State University with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, Cory taught second and third grades for ten years in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System.  His journey continued to the Zachary Community School System for three years in first grade before joining the faculty at Episcopal. He is a dedicated member of the Capital Area Reading Council and Louisiana Reading Association.  In his free time, he likes to travel, garden, read, craft, and enjoy time with family and friends.

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.


    Follow @EpiscopalBR

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Admission
    Athletics
    College Bound 2017
    College Bound 2018
    College Bound 2019
    College Bound 2020
    Counselors Corner
    Diversity
    Episcopal Alumni
    From The Library
    Giving
    Head Of School Messages
    Lower School
    Middle School
    Project Based Education
    Science
    Spirituality And Service
    Sports
    Student Work
    Technology
    The Teachers' Lounge
    Upper School
    Visual And Performing Art

    Tour our Campus

    Subscribe to our mailing list

    * indicates required
    Email Format

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015

About Episcopal

Head of School Corner
Who We Are
​
Episcopal Identity

Our Program

Academics
Lower School
​
Middle School
​
Upper School
​
College Counseling 
Athletics
Visual & Performing Arts

Admission

Admission Team
​Dates and Deadlines
​Affording Episcopal
​
Visit Episcopal
​Online Payment Portal

Resources
Employment Opportunities
​​
Employee Portal 

Giving Opportunities 

Giving
The Capital Campaign
The e Fund
Legacy Giving
Tributes and Memorials
Give Online 
Development Team

Explore
Blogs and News
Alumni Affairs
Parents Guild

Contact

Episcopal School of Baton Rouge
3200 Woodland Ridge Blvd., Baton Rouge, LA 70816
Phone: 225.753.3180
​
communications@ehsbr.org

Subscribe to our mailing list

* indicates required
Email Format
Photos used under Creative Commons from Ben Taylor55, EpicTop10.com, EpicTop10.com
  • Home
  • Blog and news
  • About us
    • Who We Are
    • Episcopal Identity
    • Leadership and Governance
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Our Program
    • Academics
    • Athletics
    • Arts
    • Spirituality
    • College Counseling
    • Student Support Services
  • Admission
    • Welcome to Admission
    • Affording Episcopal
    • Dates & Deadlines
    • Visit Episcopal
  • Reopening Plans
  • Giving
    • Spirit Mind Body Campaign
    • Quest Center
    • The eFund >
      • 2019-20 Donor List
    • Tributes and Memorials
    • Give Online
    • Development Team
  • e-Resources
    • Student Resources
    • Parent Resources
    • Teacher Resources
    • Library Resources
  • School Store
  • Alumni
  • Parents' Guild
  • Squires
  • Lunch Menu
  • Contact