Creating A Matariki Wish: Some Writing From Ne-Year 1 Students

In September last year, I described and illustrated 3 creative and highly motivating writing lessons that Nicola Blight from Newton Central School had undertaken with her New Entrant and Year 1 students.  I was in Nicola’s class again last term and I saw something else that bowled me over.

Like many teachers across Aotearoa, Nicola was using the occasion of Matariki as a springboard for creativity and cultural studies.   Following lots of oral language and modelling by Nicola around what might be regarded as great wishes for Matariki, her students produced some stunning wishes.

One that particularly appealed to me was Marvin’s, which you can see hanging down as a Matariki star with his wish written on one side (obviously typed up by Nicola) and his photo on the other.  Note that the star is beautifully decorated by both Marvin and Nicola.

But it is not only the quirky and wonderful wish on the star that appealed to me; it is also the fact that Marvin had only been at school for a few days when he wrote this piece.

Being ensconced in a wonderfully creative classroom, Marvin saw himself as a writer right from Day One at school. Already he knows that ‘marks on the paper’ mean something and he has learnt about directionality. 

Furthermore, some of his ‘marks’ are actual letters and he could confidently read his ‘story’ back for Nicola to scribe.  Nicola holds and communicates a belief to her NE students that if they can ‘tell her a story, have a go at writing the story down (as Marvin has done) and read it back to her…. they are authors!!’  Having been at school only a few days, Marvin is already a published author.

But other Matariki wishes in the class delighted me just as much as Marvin’s did.   Here is a selection of them, with the students’ wishes on one side of the star and their photos on the other side.

And here are Lola, Fred and Matan’s draft writing for their wishes.  Just like Marvin, they have worked hard to think up a great wish that is special to them, compose a sentence in their head, hear the sounds in words that are not immediately available to them and record those sounds as best they can.  Not bad for students who have been at school just a matter of weeks.  Note also how Nicola has responded beautifully to each student’s draft writing.

Every time I walk into Nicola’s room, I am enchanted by the colour and creativity that flows through it and also by a group of little people eager to share their writing with me.