When children made New Year's cards in January, we asked them to write down what happened last year. We told them to write in detail so that the reader can understand the situation (such as when, where, with whom, what they did and what they thought about it...), but in reality there wasn't that much text overall. The available space was the size of a postcard anyway.
However, considering that the children who understood the program purpose well wrote so much that there was no space to draw a picture, many of the children who had a small amount of writing did not recognize what "details" were, I thought. It may be that children have few opportunities to explain or talk in a conversation as sentences with modifiers in addition to subjects and predicates. Those children may have different ideas about how much should be explained to be as "detailed explanation." So, even if one wrote, "I had a great time getting together with everyone from school and the teachers in November," as following our direction, the child may not think to explain what the gathering was for.
Therefore, during the next regular visit in April, we decided to ask children to practice explaining their last year memories in a little more detail. For that, we made question sheets about their memories in advance. By answering to the questions, they can see what other information can be added to their original texts.
In the example above,
・Why was the gathering held?
・Did you meet in class or all the students in the school?
・What did you do at the gathering?
・What was the most enjoyable thing you did at the gathering?
Like that.
By responding to those, sentences like the following can be made: "On November 23rd, after the end-of-year exams, the whole sixth-grade class got together to celebrate a successful semester. We danced together, which was the most fun."
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