I picked today…October 20ish…to celebrate the National Day on Writing (NDOW) with my students. And since we are also into #writeout, we combined the two.

We are lucky to have a school garden and while it is not exactly exploding with plant life (yet), it does have some plants growing, some rustic seating, shade (essential on a sunny fall day like today), and hosts bugs and worms and dirt and all the other things kids love.

So, after recess today when I walked my students back to the classroom, I read them the book Outside In by Deborah Underwood. This gorgeous book talks about the wonders of the natural world–and the ways we often do not pay attention to those wonders. It also includes all five senses in wonderfully descriptive and somewhat subtle ways.

I recently had the opportunity to interview author Kate Messner, who is serving as an author ambassador for the National Writing Project’s #writeout, as part of their Write Time series. In response to one of my questions, she talked about the power of the senses to help students (and writers) extend their writing. So before we headed out with our sketchpads to write, I asked my students to pay attention to not only to what they saw, but to all five senses. As we walked we noticed…and once we arrived at the garden, we began to write.

Students listened and sniffed. They rubbed leaves, touched pumpkins, and imagined the taste of fruits and vegetables. And they noticed bugs and birds and spider webs. When they needed inspiration, they moved around the garden and wrote some more.

I love watching my students develop stamina and confidence as writers. There is something freeing and motivating about writing outdoors, writing in a sketchbook, sitting on a stump, and even writing standing up. Writing still takes effort when you are six or seven. Putting all that wonderful thinking onto the page is an opportunity to put phonics into action, exercise those developing fine motor skills, and focus attention for a sustained period of time.

When we returned to the classroom, I asked student to pick their favorite sensory description to read in a classroom whip around. Student were all willing to pick and read their descriptions, creating a symphony of voices celebrating our garden and our community of writers.

Here is the collaborative poem that includes a line from each student in our first grade class.

Senses in the Garden

A National Day on Writing Celebration

I hear a car.  It sounds like a dinosaur roaring.  Rooaarr!

I see the leaves swirling in the wind going to land on the ground.

I smell the sea by the beach.  The waves are blowing in the wind.

Taste is like tasting popcorn.

I hear a june bug buzzing in the sky.

I hear the tip tap of my shoes. I see the reflection of my sparkle skirt.

I hear the birds chirping in the sky.

I see the spiky squash on a stem.

I can hear a hummingbird humming.  It was sucking pollen.

I see a passion fruit on the table.

I touched a pumpkin.  It was soft and it had a hole in it.

I hear waves crashing on the shore that the surfers ride on.

I can smell oak sap flowing down the bark of the tree.

I can taste blackberries getting eaten by me.

I smell a passion fruit.

I spy with my little eye someone walking by.  A game!

I feel a pencil in my hand.

I see a moth fly like a jet.

I hear birds chirping and flying.

I smell the acorns.  They are like the seed and the trees.

I see a big pile of dirt.

I hear leaves getting smashed.

I see and feel and hear the garden.

By Room 3 First Graders

10/18/24

How will you and/or your students celebrate the National Day on Writing (and #writeout) on or around October 20th? My students and I would love to see what you do!