As a kindergarten teacher, I take great pride in my student’s creative writing pieces. Here is a collection of my kindergartner’s writing samples documented while I was able to teach Writer’s Workshop at Plano ISD in Texas from 2008 to 2011.  I taught at a very diverse upper-middle class community where a quality education is very important to the parents. I had lots of parent support, plenty of resources provided, blessed with one of the best collaborating team, an awesome supporting principal, and had no behavioral issues with students.

This documentary post contains collected writing samples from a few selected students from the beginning, middle, and end of year writing pieces that shows emergent writing stage to a paragraph and story telling stage, writing samples of my “simple-sentence” writers who met the requirement of writing a simple sentence benchmark at the end of Kindergarten, and a compilation of my favorite students’ creative writing pieces. All writings are my students’ original created work. My students’ illustrations are detailed because “there is no such thing as stick people in Ms. Lam’s class”. Creative writing in kindergarten is never about spelling every word correctly, but it’s about building and gaining the confidence in my students’ that once that pencil is in their hand, they are in full control. Creative writing in kindergarten is about my students being able to express their complete ideas, thoughts, and feelings on paper without the fear of thinking every words must be spelled correctly. Believe it or not, but I NEVER correct my student’s spelling nor do I spell out any words for them. Having a classroom enriched with texts and books is very important. My students utilize the word wall, labels, charts, posters, books in the classroom as their aide to remind them how to spell sight words. They use the sounding out strategy to decode and spell challenging big words. I guide and modeled and teach my students to answer questions and speak in complete sentences. When a child can think in complete thoughts, speak in complete sentences, then writing in complete sentences will be easy.

 Ms. Lam’s Kindergarten Authors Hall of Fame

John’s writing samples from beginning and end of year. John went to a private Christian school after a year in public school. His parents wanted him to experience his kindergarten year in a public school setting before sending him to private school for grades 1-12. I am honored and blessed to have John in my kindergarten class.

Serena’s writing samples from beginning, middle, and end of year. Serena is bilingual in Chinese-English.

Ms. Lam’s Simple Sentence Writers

Ms. Lam’s Favorite Students’ Creative Writing Pieces

Just to think I am the first teacher in my students’ life to help guide and teach them to become wonderful creative writers and authors makes me content.