Once a day our PYP students participate in handwriting lessons. This is a very special time in our day. It is a quiet transition from resting to learning. It is a time when the students come back to the classroom and prepare to start their afternoon studies. The handwriting time is the same time every day from 2:00 pm-2:15 pm. Monday is English handwriting and Tuesday to Thursday is Chinese Penmanship time. This is a regular routine in our day and the kids really know and appreciate their routines. It is a time when the classroom becomes very calm and quiet. It is a time when our students focus and get into a state of flow.
Handwriting time is also an important skill building lesson. Handwriting skills are very important as there are many times during the day where students need to write something down. These skills will also be helpful life skills for our students.
This week our school created an opportunity for the students to really improve their handwriting by adding a little sense of competition. Even the students that consistently try their personal best with their handwriting really stepped up their performance by being extremely intentional about perfect punctuation and grammar. A rubric for the competition was created by our handwriting team to encourage neat and proper letter writing as well as attention to writing details such as punctuation, grammar. The students really excelled.
The grades one and two students were required to copy the sentence “My name is ____ and I am in grade __” onto the lined paper.
Grade 3 students were challenged by having to copy their current Central Idea neatly on the lined paper.
And our most experienced writers, our grade fours, were challenged by having to write about their own personality and the Learner Profile attribute that they felt they exemplified most.
Students were able to gain a deeper appreciation of handwriting time and work to improve their writing skills.
The week culminated in the winners of the competition being rewarded.
The top five best samples from each class were chosen and displayed in our school library. The winners of the competition each received a prize packet including a pencil, eraser, notebook and sticker all in a handy zip up bag. Hopefully these students will feel inspired to use these supplies with pride to practice their writing skills and continually improve.
Each student that participated was given a brand spank’n new pencil as a symbol of appreciation for their efforts and participation. We hope the students enjoyed the theme of the week and continue to enjoy developing their writing skills.
在小学部，孩子们每天都有一节硬笔书法课。书法课是孩子们结束午休回到教室，为下午上课做准备的一个过渡，意义非凡。
书法课安排在每天的14:00-14:15。其中，周一是英文，周二至周四是中文汉字。书法课是孩子们所有课程的一部分，也是他们日常生活的一部分，孩子们都能够珍视并且充分利用这段时间。书法课的安静和有序，为孩子们迅速进入学习状态做足了铺垫。
同时，书法课是培养孩子们书写技能的重要课程。书写技能之所以重要，不仅因为在学习中需要大量书写，同时也对孩子们的日常生活大有裨益。
本周，我们为孩子提供了一个展现书写水平的平台——书法周活动。书法周以竞争意识为驱动，让孩子们完善标点的标注和语法的表达。很多孩子在书写上已经做得非常认真细致了。
老师们组成书法评审团队，为这次比赛设置了评估维度：字母的准确度、书写、工整度、标点符号的准确度、语法的准确度。书写内容大致如下：
一、二年级： 抄写“我的名字是________，我在________年级”。
三年级：抄写本次探究课的中心思想。
四年级：描述并写出自己的人格特点，以及最能体现自己的“学习者目标”。
在书法周活动的倡导下，孩子们能够更深入地体会书写的意义，并努力提高书写技巧。
书法周奖励具体如下：每班前5名的优秀作品将于图书馆展出，获胜者将得到一个奖品包（内含铅笔、橡皮擦、笔记本和贴纸），希望得到奖励的孩子能够再接再厉。此外，每个参与本次书法周活动的孩子都会获得一只spank’n铅笔，以资鼓励。
我们衷心地希望，PYP的孩子们能够享受书法周，享受书法的乐趣。
译/谢晶晶
