It is impossible, and unnecessary, to reproduce all of the forms of literacies practices that occur in my classroom everyday. The easiest literacy practice for me to capture and share is writing. In one day there is an extraordinary amount of writing accomplished, and it is only one of the literacies in action.

As an example of the quality and quantity of writing that transpires in my class I chose a day, gathered several student's work for that day and compiled it into individual galleries, (one gallery per student writing for the day in question).

The day was April 13, 2007. The timetable for the day: PE, Current Events, recess, Social Studies, Science, lunch, Math, performance (the students went to the gymnasium and watched a play with the rest of the school). There was no written output for PE. Current Events was a series of worksheets that come prepared each month with up to date news stories and different activities, today's activity was mainly comprehension, getting to know the background and the stories. Social Studies was to share and hand in a final draft of a project on Indigenous Peoples, most of this writing was done previous to today's lesson. Science was the discussion and completion of the life cycle comparison of a salmon, a Stellar Jay and a frog and the continuation with further related questions. Math was a test. And finally, there was no written output for the performance. The day ran from 8:40 until 2:30 with twenty minutes for recess and forty-five minutes for lunch.

Jason's Writing for April 13, 2007

Julia's Writing for April 13, 2007

Often times when I expound upon the exciting work the students in my class create and co-create I fail to mention how their reading and writing are improving each and every day through the variety of means of access and representation they are afforded. The multiple ways in to and out of knowledge building heighten their desire to be understood; needing to be understood is a catalyst for improved reading and writing, as well as many other valuable skills and dispositions.

Writing as a form of literacy is not forgotten in my pedagogy it is part of the 'bedrock'. It is something we are always happy to have beneath us as we continue to build our knowledge and understanding.