Writing Reports in Kindergarten

In Kindergarten children begin to write reports by writing about themselves.  After all, what subject do they know more about than themselves?!  This unit comes during our annual Pow Wow celebration so it is natural that many of our kinder classes choose the tribe that they are studying to write their next report.  Thus was the case in Debbie Harbour and Tenean Wright's kindergarten class.  Their bulletin board this month reflects the reports that some of the children wrote about the Nez Perce tribe.

The bulletin board includes the reports of four of the children with the teacher's commentary and many pictures from the Pow Wow event.  Below is one student's report and the teacher's commentary.

 They use buffalo skin.  Their teepees face east.  They eat fish.  Indian kids play with dogs and in the winter they stay in longhouses.  Nez Perce can shoot 10 arrows in the air before the first ones fall down.

They ride Appaloosas.  They sleep in tepees.  Indians have stew to heat up the fish.

Commentary:  Patrick wrote easily about the Nez Perce tribe we have been studying in class.  He recalled eight different facts and used pictures to help support his text.  It is obvious that Patrick has made the letter sound connection and can sound out many of the words that he does not know how to spell.  He also has mastered the spelling and use of many sight words (they, in, up, the...)