Writing with my students is always a highlight. Well, maybe not always. Early in the school year first graders have doubts about their ability to write and they want to ask an adult to spell every word they write. And then once you spell it, they struggle to read it back since so many of the words they want to write are not easily decoded by emerging readers.

Over the last couple of weeks (which happens to correspond with Write Out), I’ve noticed a significant jump in both confidence and independence of the first grade writers in my room. They are trusting their phonics abilities and using their knowledge of sounds and words to write–and they are also beginning to use more details and extend their thoughts beyond simple sentences. And…because they are putting their growing phonics skills to use, they are able to easily read their writing back (and I can read it too!).

Today we were writing about the paintings of seashells we did earlier in the week inspired by artist Georgia O’Keeffe. They had picked a shell out of my collection, studied it carefully, sketched it and then drew it again making it large and detailed, finally painting it using watercolor. As they wrote today, I encouraged them to use movement, to add detail, to “paint” their seashell using words instead of paint. And paint they did!

G wrote (about the shell above):

My shell is so spiky and pretty much like an oval that it almost looks like a spiky tornado. And when you stick it up it looks like a flower sticking up with the middle sticking up. And if you look inside it looks like a spirally tunnel. And if you feel inside it feels very thick.

“I” wrote (about this shell):

My shell looks like a narwhal horn. If you turn it sideways it looks like a snake. The curves on my shell look like movement. The inside of my shell looks like a home for a crab. The shell looks like a fin on a shark. It looks like a thorn on a sea urchin. It feels like the texture on a crab.

K wrote about the colorful shell above:

My shell spirals like a volcano about to explode because of a tiny red dot at the top. My shell’s spiral texture looks like a brown and green pattern with some blue stripes.

There is something profoundly powerful about having an object in their hands as they wrote. There was no “writer’s block,” no hesitation to put words on the page. When they needed another detail, they just looked again and then picked up their pencil and wrote.

I’m loving this newfound independence and also watching students revel in experimenting with words. I know the trajectory is never an even curve, that there will still be ups and down as they learn new skills and experiment with different ways of expressing themselves.

As Write Out ends this weekend, I know that I will continue to have students head outdoors to write under the influence of nature…and to bring nature in so students can study and have their writing inspired by the tactile experience of having natural objects in their hands. Write Out is not just for October…there is so much value in writing out all year long.