Wednesday, July 29, 2015

"Rock your Writing Center" Giveaway

 Hello! This is Megan Mitchell from First Grade Roars.  Today I'm going to share with you how I have set up my writing center using this resource.  It is filled with goodies to make writing so much fun for your students.  
Before I begin I want you to know that I use this during my rotation time.  I still do whole group writing workshop.  This is what my students use when making a choice during their writing time during Daily 5.
Let's begin with a picture of my writing center area!
There are 12 choices my students can choose from when the entire center is up and running.  We do mini lessons on each style of writing along with a lot of practice in writer's workshop.  Once I feel the students are ready to work on a new style of writing independently, I open that number in my writing center.  Below is a zoomed in picture of "Label a Picture".  This is the first thing we learn how to do in 1st grade.  You will see on the green clip a smiley face.  If it has a smiley face, it is open.  (I got these cute little chalkboard clips in the party section at Hobby Lobby, in case you were interested.)
There is also a number 1 on this chalkboard.  I have a matching number 1 on a tub below containing the paper they would use for this activity.  Here is an example of what the tubs look like up close.
 Inside each tub the children will find everything they need to complete the activities.  Here is a sneak peek into a few more tubs.
Each day many students visit this writing area.  There is a separate table where they do their writing.  
At the table there are crayons, spacers, pencils, HUGE erasers, clip boards, dictionaries and a thesaurus.  Each child has their own file folder where they keep their writing if they don't have time to finish.  Inside their file folder is also an amazing resource from Natalie's Nook!
Link to Natalie's Nook Personal Dictionary
Also I might add that on the first day of school I let the children color their file folders!  It is an easy activity that they can all do as morning work and it takes some time while I teach the children 1 table at a time how to unpack their book bags.
Also included in this writing packet is a sight word dictionary.  I have 5 of these on the table for the students to use.  
When they finish their writing they use the Editing Checklist and turn it into the Published Work Basket.  Before we begin our Daily 5 the next day we share some of our work with the class.  They love to read and share their writing.

I used this writing center last year and my first grader's loved writing.  It offered them choice and they were able to use what they learned in whole group and transfer it over to their independent work!
I would love to share 2 of these packets with some lucky winners.
https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Rock-Your-Writing-Center-1358547


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Thanks for checking use out at iTeach First! You can also visit me over at First Grade Roars


21 comments:

  1. Love the smiley faces to show which centers are "open"!

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  2. I love to write on white boards for first draft because it make it easy to fix mistakes. Then write it on paper.

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  3. Adorable! I would love to try and adapt this to kindergarten

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  4. I think allowing the kiddos choice is KEY! I'd love to win this for my first-graders! :)

    ~Wendy

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  5. What a great of organizing! Thank you!

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  6. Wow, this looks awesome! My writing center was very small last year and I see lots of great ideas here to expand! I know my firsties would love it!

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  7. Writing Tip: Once a week we will have what I call "Free Writes". This is a time in writing where my firsties can write about anything they want. They get so excited! They love their free write time. It's a nice break and gives them more freedom. My boys love to write about Sonic and Power Rangers and my girls love to write about friends, flowers, and family. Too cute!

    Joyfully,
    Sam Rigby

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  8. I have found soft classical music, low lights and a scent of vanilla, apple, etc....calms my students down to begin writing. Later, when they are at the stage of editing or final draft, I can up the tempo to jazz or even Disney!

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  9. I love the ideas in your packet! I hadn't thought of some of those before! I will definitely be trying them out! THANKS!!

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  10. I love your writing center!!! We have several word lists and different writing papers available to the students at all times. They love using gel pens and Scentos markers with their writing. Sharing their writing is also a favorite activity.

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  11. I need an update to my writing center. I encourage phonetic spelling in writing. When asked how to spell a word, I ask the student how to spell it. :)

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  12. I love all the ideas shared here. One of my favorite resources and tools to help the kids with their writing is word walls. They love to find the picture then see they can spell the word without any help. :)

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  13. I like to have lots of different types of paper available for my students to use - lined paper, paper with spaces for pictures, booklets, postcards, etc.

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  14. This looks amazing! I love how you number the bins to match the cards on the board.

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  15. This is awesome! My kids would love this!

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  16. Awesome ideas. With enough space, this is great for all content centers!

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  17. With enough space, I would try this idea with all my major content centers! Awesome!

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  18. This looks like a lot of fun!

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  19. Love your writing set-up! It is so user friendly for first graders and the organization of all materials will help Daily 5 Work on Writing run smoothly with more productivity.

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