Holiday things

This is an old post that I just realized never got posted.  Sorry for the delay!

This week we added something new to our Work on Writing center.  

HOLIDAY CARDS!

And they are LOVING it.  Not only do they get to color, they can write a card to whomever they want.  I made multiple copies of each design so they could do many cards.  This has definitely been a hit ;-)

Click on the link to get your FREE copies!

Spring Writing!

We have been doing a lot of non-fiction writing lately and needed to change it up a little.  Here is Wisconsin it's definitely still 'Spring'.  Sunny and 75 one day and winter coats the next :-)
To get in the spirit of spring we did some 5 senses writing.

 I love the things they think about.  Their little brains are so much more creative than mine!

This was a pretty simple little activity but it gave us a chance to focus on using complete sentences, neat handwriting and proper mechanics.

Nothing says "Spring" like the taste of fresh air and fresh apricots.

Click here to get a FREE copy of this flip book.

Writing About FALL

The weather did feel like fall but currently we are experiencing warmer than average temps here in Wisconsin.  I am LOVING the high 60's/low 70's weather!!
Nevertheless, it is the beginning of November so we have been doing a lot of fall writing.
  

The first was this adorable acorn writing activity from Wild About Firsties.  

It was a quick activity that let us practice simple sentences and mechanics.  They thought it was so cute.  I love when they add their own little touches to make the acorns come to life.

Next we read the book The Falling Leaves.  This story has a really great message about treating others nicely so we discuss that before I show them the activity.

They take a cut out of a leaf and have to turn it into something totally different.  I am always completely amazed by their ideas!

I found this idea from Yearn to Learn.  I changed up the sheet a little to give us more room to work.

 

Click here to get a FREE copy of the sheet.

Finally, we used all five senses to describe fall.  We brainstormed a list of fall things for each of the five senses as a group.  Then I had them pick their favorites from each category to do a first draft copy.  The first draft gives them practice putting their idea into a complete sentence.

After they wrote their sentence down I had them copy their sentences onto a final sheet (on cuter paper) which we then turn into a class book.

Scarecrow sheet courtesy of Fun-in-First.  

And, just for good measure I thought I'd throw in a picture of my little guy in his first Halloween costume.  Enjoy!

Weekend News!

One of the ways I like to get my students writing is to have them write about something they have done.  My favorite way to do that is Weekend News.  Every week on Monday we spend time writing about what we did over the weekend.  It can be anything that they did - played with a friend, visited Grandma and Grandpa, ordered pizza for dinner - it doesn't have to be super exciting, they just have to tell me what happened.

During the first few weeks of school I let them write pretty freely-not focusing on mechanics or length.  In about the middle of October though, we start using some sentences starters to set up our writing for the day.  They don't have to use the ones we come up with, but they do need to start their writing with something similar.  At this point in the year they are also some mechanics and should be writing at least three full sentences.

This writing from the same student.  You can see the growth they have had in just a few weeks!

Sometimes they really get going on the writing and don't get time to work on their-which is totally fine.  It's writing time, isn't it!

This is a great way to see their writing grow and change throughout the year.  It's fun to pull these out at conferences and look at the growth they have made.  By the end of the year they are often writing more than one page and their sentences have gotten much more interesting and complex.  

(Can you tell these two hung out over the weekend :-) )

Another part of this is the sharing part.  They absolutely LOVE this part.  We sit in a circle and each person gets to read their Weekend News.  I give them the option to pass, but it rarely happens.

Click here to get a copy of our Weekend News!
The pictures show my old copies, but since I have no idea where I got that newspaper graphic I decided to make a new cover :-)