Above all else, writing is communication.  If we think of what constitutes 
good writing, we think of a writer who has reached us with an idea or 
feeling, clearly, uniquely, expressively.  The chief goal of the writing 
program at NCCL is to nurture a child's ability to communicate and develop 
his ideas in this way.

Many of us remember writing experiences in school where we handed in a piece 
of writing that the teacher saw for the first time, graded, made a few 
comments on, and handed back.  What did we learn about writing?  Probably, 
that writing is only an assignment and that the audience is often just the 
teacher.

At NCCL, we spend hours each week working with children throughout the 
crafting process.  We listen, consult, ask questions, and praise children on 
their writing in one-on-one conferences.  Kids share their writing with each 
other.  We want children to become intimate with the process of writing as 
well as being proud of a finished product that will be shared with and read 
by a community.

We start by looking at writers who've reached us.  What do we like about 
this passage or poem?  How did the writer get her idea or feeling across so 
well?  We point children's attention to subjects, words, styles, techniques, 
and elements that inspire us as writers across genres.

We give children the opportunity to write in many genres at NCCL.  This 
allows children to experiment and find strengths as well as appreciate the 
breadth of writing.  Projects include: poetry, journal writing, stories, 
letters, reports, family history, ABC books, personal narrative, newspaper 
writing, essays, historical fiction, and vignettes.  Since the beginning of 
the school, we've found it essential to give children the freedom of choice 
within these genres.  What they write needs to be important and meaningful 
to them.  How can you learn to invest yourself in and cultivate a piece of 
writing when you're not even interested in the subject you're writing about?

Writing for an audience adds to this sense of purpose.  We begin with each 
other.  Group 1 students share their writing with classmates in a special 
authors chair and as the kids get older, they gradually learn how to 
support each other as a community of writers by offering constructive 
feedback and praise.  The idea is that were all part of this together and 
that we can learn from each other.

Ultimately, our audience is larger than the classroom.  Sometimes our 
writing appears on the walls and hallways of our school.  Often we go 
further, submitting work for publication or producing our own newspaper that 
we deliver to area businesses such as local barber shops and take-out food 
restaurants.  Unlike many other subject areas, writing offers this big 
payoff and we relish it.  More than any other part of the process, 
publishing allows kids to see themselves as writers and feel a sense of 
accomplishment.

There are times of course when we need to bring children's attention to the 
nuts and bolts of writing.  When not done well, functions of writing like 
spelling, capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, and organization 
can interfere with communication.  We approach each of these functions at a 
developmentally appropriate level.  In Group 1, kids are often using 
invented spelling and learning to put spaces between words.  They're just 
getting comfortable with these basic elements.  In Group 2, kids are 
learning to become more regular with spelling, capitalization and 
punctuation and are learning beginning paragraphing.  They continue to 
smooth out these areas in Group 3 and begin to tackle organization, learning 
to see the whole rather than just the parts of their writing.  All of these 
elements continue as the children move into Group 4.  They also learn more 
nuanced functions like the use of semi-colons.

By the time a child reaches Group 4, we want him to see himself as a writer 
with the habits of mind of a writer.  We know if we encourage his strengths 
and support his struggles, hell improve while he's with us.  In the end 
though, we want him to become patient, flexible, thoughtful, and to 
challenge himself because these habits are what will allow him to grow in 
his writing abilities beyond NCCL.  We encourage these habits of mind to 
help children develop into good writers, but of course, we nurture children 
in this way across all of our studies at NCCL.

Sean Kerrane,
Group 3 Teacher