Inquiry Focus

"Even the most accomplished writers do not admit to having mastered the sentence, for example, for no one ever expects to be able to write the very best sentence possible, one after another. Everyone continues to experiment and learn so they can write as many of the best sentences possible. Young writers should experiment and learn every day throughout their formal school experience" (Fearn & Farnan, p.79)

Writing is hard. Teaching writing is challenging. Learning to write is a lifelong process. Three short statements that ring true to my ear. Students begin to develop their language from birth, they learn to write somewhere in their early years and continue to develop it for many years to come. So, where does that leave the instruction of writing in elementary schools. Why do we focus on sentence instruction and quickly move towards paragraphs? Am I too quick to jump to paragraphs rather than spending more time developing students' abilities in the sentence fluency aspect? I hear it from many teachers...why can't Johny write a sentence? Does he even know what a sentence is? As a grade two teacher for the last six years, I found myself teaching the sentence craft year after year. But I also find that just because I spent a great deal of the first term on sentence instruction does not mean that students can write in sentences. I don't think sentence instruction can be limited to one grade, but needs to be taught again and again.

"I think sentence fluency is the most difficult trait to teach. This trait seems to require more inherent talent than the others "(Olness, p.140).

I think I found the area within writing that I hope to focus my inquiry on. It is becoming more clearer the more I dig in the pile of readings on my dinning table. But I am also overwhelmed as I realized that this is perhaps one of those challenging areas that I may not "arrive" at the end of my inquiry. In many ways I find that this journey will simply make me more aware of the many different ways of approaching this particular area in writing. I also know that just because one learned to drive, it does not make one a good driver. However, the fact remains that teaching and learning writing is foundational and that I need to continue to find ways to further develop my students as writers. Sentence fluency is a start.

"It is absolutely necessary for students to be able to craft well a sentence in order to write well; however it is not sufficient in itself. Students must learn to use the tools to construct a sentence" (Fearn & Farnan p.78).