Writer’s Workshop Going Digital: The Role of Technology in Primary Grades Writing Instruction

Abstract: In my action research I examined the effects of the combined use of a word processor and writing process instruction on the composition skills of first-grade students. I also examined students ’ attitudes toward writing with a word processor and teacher experiences as a word processor is incorporated into Writer’s workshop. The participants were 14 students in my first-grade classroom. Overall, students showed an increase in both the quality of writing and the number of words and sentences produced. Student and teacher attitudes were favorable regarding the use of a computer for composition. In the twelve years since I began teaching kindergarten, a great deal of the academic curriculum has moved down into the lower grades. Kindergarteners and first- graders are expected to “begin to write text that develops a central idea or tells a story…show consideration for audience and purpose…reflect the conventions of written English. ” (Georgia Department of Education, 2004). I noticed many of my kindergarten students struggled with the actual mechanics of printing as they wrote during writer’s workshop. I wondered if the physical act of forming the letters could be holding some students back as they attempted to get their thoughts down on paper. In recent years I have encountered a number of students who were not developmentally ready to print letters accurately. I began to wonder if the use of