Writing about Interviewed Child

Teacher Models Writing
The teacher models how to write using a web about the interviewed child. The teacher looks at the web. Oh KaiJah’s favorite color is green. I heard that in the interview. The teacher touches the word green as she touches green. The teacher touches the word color as she says color. How will write about color and green? Teacher says, “I will write, Kai Jah likes green.”

Students Write Interviews
All students write their own stories about the interviewed child using the web, not the modeled writing. The purpose of showing the students how to write using only the web, is to encourage students to construct meaning without copying complete sentences. A child thinks about the interview. The child thinks, “She hangs out with her friends.” The word, she, was on Gabby’s interview two days ago. The student will write down the letters for the sounds she hears for the word hangs. The student will write down the letters for the sounds she hears for the word out. The student will write down the letters for the sounds she hears for the word with (eventually the student will have with in her high-frequency spelling word bank.) The word her was on Gabby’s interview two days ago so student copies her. The word friends is on the map so the student copies friends from the map. The student continues writing until the teacher says it is time to be done writing.

Interviews in First Grade (Second Grade Too)

There are a few procedures that help interviews go smoothly. The teacher has every child write their own name on an index card. This teacher had each boy write on a blue index card. Each girl wrote her name on a pink index card. The interview markers are kept in a special interview container (pictured next to the blue and pink index card container). The teacher has removed the yellow marker since the children would not be able to read a chart made from the yellow written chart.

The teacher pulls the card, then the child chooses a marker color. The picture that is not shown is the actual interview. This needs to be a chat, or a discussion between the child and the class. The teacher is NOT writing (yet). The teacher asks, “What do you want to know about your friend?” The child being interviewed needs to call on people in the class. She needs to use her peer’s name. If she does not know the name, she needs to say, “What is your name?” Then the child asks the question. It is important that the children are not only asking the same four questions since it will get boring for everyone, not just the teacher! The conversations and interview might seem a little stilted in the beginning, but with patience and modeling, it will improve. The children will learn to talk to each other and learn each others names.

After the conversation wanes, the teacher will record four sentences based on what 4 peers say about the interviewed child. The interviewed child calls on a child, the child says something he learned about the child in the interview. The teacher records the sentence on the chart. Repeat child 2. Repeat child 3. Repeat 4.

Interviewed child points to the words and all students read the chart together chorally.

Read other charts on other days chorally.

Interviews in First and Second Grade

Getting Ready for Interviews

My turn yet?
To reassure the students that all students are included and will have a turn, I give all the kids an index card (3×5). I had each student write their own name on the card. Each student placed the card in a box. This way all the kids KNOW their name is in the box so they don’t drive me crazy, “IS MY NAME IN THERE???”

Markers – I labeled a marker box “Interview Markers.” I took out the yellow marker out of the box because the kids could not see the yellow on the chart paper and I don’t want the kids to choose this one. I write their chart with the marker color they pick.

Chart Paper – I post a piece of chart paper and have a box of markers by the chart paper.

Where to sit? How to sit?
I had all the kids sit on the floor in front of the teachers share on the sharing rug (called the living room or the sharing place or the community area… where ever your kids can sit and gather and learn without spending lots of time finding a place to sit together… Anyway, they come and join me on the rug. I have them sit so their knees and nose face me. Then I draw a card out and say that name. The child chooses a marker color from the box and hands me the marker. The child then sits in my teacher chair.

The Interview – the discussion
The kids on the floor raise their hands. The child who is being interviewed chooses kids to ask questions. The kids sitting on the floor ask whatever they want to. I prefer not to use contrived questions. I prefer to have my students actually have a discussion. The child answers the questions as in depth as they like. Some kids are chatty so the interview lasts 8-10 minutes. Some aren’t so the interview lasts 3-5 minutes. I try to stay out of the way of the discussion and let the kids interact without the teacher interfering.

Problems that sometimes occur
I provide guidance whenever necessary though. Kids get stuck on specific questions. Maybe they work, maybe they worked on the first eight interviews and now you are sick of the question! “What is your favorite ice-cream?” or “How many grandparents do you have?”, I lead the children to think about what else can we ask. You are the teacher! Repeat after me, “I am the teacher.” Remember the purpose of this activity is building sight words. If they ALWAYS ask the same questions, they will only have a very limited amount of words. If before interview 17, you are sick of “Do you like pizza?” Tell the kids we are NOT asking this question anymore. Then if the kids ask the question, the teacher reminds the kids that this question is off limits. It is not about this child, it is about building more opportunities for reading more words during interviews.

Say Something for the Modeling of the Writing for the Interview
After the lull of conversation, I then tell the interviewed child to choose four people to SAY SOMETHING about the child. I have the boy-girl-boy-girl or girl-boy-girl-boy rule so that all the boys pay attention when the girls are interviewed and vice versa. If a boy is interviewed, then the first person who “Says Something” is a girl. The next person who says something is a boy. The next person who says something is a boy. The next person who says something is a girl. The teacher needs to say to the interviewed child, “Is this true about you?” I added this because sometimes you are writing the third or fourth sentence and have to start over because the kid who said something just MADE it up!!! If yes, “This is true about me”, then the teacher writes the sentence on the chart paper modeling how to write the words. The teacher uses interactive writing techniques as the opportunities arise. If we have had that word before, the teacher encourages the kids to tell me…

Then we continue until there are FOUR sentences written on the chart paper. You can have as many sentences as you want, just remember that you will do these interviews with EVERY child and MUST be FAIR so only do 120 sentences if you are truly insane!!!!!! ha-ha-ha!!!!!!! I found that 4 sentences fit on ONE sheet of chart paper easily so that is why I choose 4. I wanted to write large enough that the kids can easily see it BUT also so that it fits on one piece of paper.

So now the interview is written. There are four sentences (or however many you want) written.

Hand the interviewed child the marker and have him/her track the print as the class reads the sentences.

I usually have the students read the chart twice.

Then we re-read the other charts with ME tracking the print until we have 5 charts up.

Then I change this procedure and have the kids read the charts in the room for about 5-8 minutes.

I keep all the charts up all over the room until the last interview. If you don’t have room for all the interview charts, leave five charts up at a time. If I was looking at the wall on day five, I would see chart one, chart two, chart three, chart four, chart five. On day six, send home chart one, and replace with chart 6. If I was looking at the wall on day six, I would see chart 6, chart 2, chart 3, chart 4, chart 5. On day seven, send home chart two, and replace with chart 7. On day I would see chart 6, chart 7, chart 3, chart 4, chart 5. On day eight, send home chart three, and replace with chart 8. On day eight I would see chart 6, chart 7, chart 8, chart 4, chart 5.

After the class activity:
-Type up the interviews and send home nightly as homework. Parents and kids alike will love this!
-Make interviews into book so the kids could read all the charts. If you type them on half sheets of paper, and run for all your students eventually all your students become fluent readers of your interviews.