Success only flourishes in perseverance -- ceaseless, restless perseverance.
--Baron Manfred Von Richtofen

Friday, November 6, 2009

6th Grade Writing Time

Today I had a blast volunteering in my 11 year old's sixth grade class during their literacy and writing time. I helped them with the final proofread and edit of their Halloween stories. Oh, my. It was so much fun! The stories were so cute, funny, scary, creative, imaginative... They must have had a great time writing them. I certainly enjoyed reading them and marveling at their unfettered creativity. I wish I could just let my imagination go like that. I am getting better at it, actually. I was impressed with the kids' vivid descriptions and clever dialogue.

Those who were ready came back to the table where I was sitting and I read their stories aloud with them, circling any errors and making sure they understood what was wrong. Most of the problems I saw had to do with proper punctuation in dialogue. There sure is a lot to remember when punctuating dialogue. New paragraph for new speaker, punctuation inside the quotation marks, how to properly handle dialogue tags. No wonder they have a hard time with it. Overall, though, I thought they had done a great job. I can't wait to go back next time. I go the first Friday of every month. I almost hate to admit it, but this is so much more fun than reviewing alphabet sounds with the kindergartners. Not that I don't love teaching kids to read, too. Seeing them blossom into little writers is just so cool! One girl who wasn't quite finished bemoaned the fact that she didn't know where to go with the story. Oh, I hear you on that one! I won't say whose story was the best, but let's just say that I may have been more partial to one of them over the others. You'll never guess whose.


12 comments:

ali cross said...

What do you mean? I have no idea whose story you might be talking about ;)

How cool you got to do that Angie.

tiffany said...

sounds like fun & i bet his is the best look who is mother is

Linz said...

=D That sounds like a lot of fun! I love kids imaginations!!

Aubrie said...

Wow, they are lucky to have such a talented writer come and help out! I wish a professional writer had come to my class to help me with my story when I was growing up.

The little boy is so cute! Is that your son in the picture?

Angie said...

Yep. That's son #3.

Diana Paz said...

Hi Angie, thanks for the kind comment. Your son is adorable :) :)

Carolyn V. said...

That is so neat that you do that! I bet the kids love it. =)

Larry and Cindy said...

Angie you are amazing!!! I think that is great for your children to have such a talented Mom!!! I know I am so proud to have such a talented daughter!!! You make me smile just thinking of you!!! Dad and I are doing our best to be there from Grandparents Day for Finlay!!! Love Ya tons, MOM

Heather Hansbrow said...

How FUN!

Anonymous said...

That's wonderful that you volunteer for that. Supporting young readers is an excellent endeavor and I applaud you for it.

Rosslyn Elliott said...

That does sound like fun! I'm glad you did it!

T. M. Hunter said...

Definitely sounds like a fun time!