Writing

Procedural Writing for Kids with a writing Graphic Organizer!

Procedural Writing for Kids: Mini-Lesson with a Cool Writing Graphic Organizer

Procedural Writing or How-To Writing is always a favorite writing type. Students love to feel like experts and procedural writing gives them the chance to show off their expertise! In this blog post, we’ll explore the benefits of using writing graphic organizers in the classroom and show you how to leverage them to improve your students’ how-to writing abilities. This post does contain Amazon Affiliate links. If you purchase anything through these links I will receive a small commission at no cost to you! Why Use Graphic Organizers to Teach Writing? Prewriting is an important part of the writing process!

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November Writing Center Refresh: 3 Simple and Creative Ways to Makeover Your Student Writing Center!

3 Creative and Simple Ways to Makeover Your Student Writing Center for November

Hey there! Let’s look at some creative and simple ways to makeover your student writing center this November! This post does contain Amazon Affiliate links. If you purchase anything through these links I will receive a small commission at no cost to you! Thanks! November Student Writing Center Refresh Add Paper: Social Media Writing Templates Adding a fun new paper choice is always a great way to get your students excited about your student writing center again! This month you could try adding some fun “Social Media” writing templates. This writing paper template set includes templates for “Instantgram”, “Farcebook”, and “Pinteresting”

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Image of teacher. Text: Fun and easy substitute teacher lessons plans for writing

Fun and Easy Substitute Teacher Lesson Plans for Writing

Hey there! Looking for some Substitute Teacher Lesson Plans for Writing? I have some fun ideas that will keep your students writing even when you have a Substitute Teacher. This post does contain an Amazon Affiliate link. If you purchase anything through this link I will receive a small commission at no cost to you! Thank you! Substitute Teacher Lesson Plans for Writing: Pick a Prompt Leaving lesson plans for a substitute teacher is always a challenge. So, I started leaving these fun Picture Writing Prompts with Choices for my substitute teachers, and my students always looked forward to writing

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Image of sticker stories. Text: Fun and easy way to improve creative writing skills: Sticker Stories!

The Fun and Easy Way to Improve Creative Writing Skills: Sticker Stories!

Creative writing skills are powerful tools that allow students to explore their imagination, improve their communication skills, and develop a love for storytelling. Read on to discover ways that using Sticker Stories in your classroom can help your student to improve their creative writing skills! This post does contain Amazon Affiliate links to some super fun stickers you could use in your classroom. If you purchase anything through these links, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you! Many students struggle to find inspiration or structure their ideas effectively. “Sticker Stories” are a fun and engaging way

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Blog Post Cover: Shows children dressed up for halloween. Text: Writing Center Refresh October!

Inspire Creativity: Refresh Your Classroom Writing Centers This October

Keeping your classroom writing centers fresh is a great way to keep your students engaged in writing! This post has some great writing centers for October! This post does contain Amazon Affiliate links. If you purchase anything through these links I will receive a small commission at no cost to you! Thanks! You can find my September Writing Centers Refresh Post HERE! Writing Center or Writing Centers Whether you have a permanent classroom writing center, or you switch out your writing centers periodically the ideas in this post can keep your writing center(s) refreshed, up-to-date, and creative! I loved having a

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Image of a teacher and student being silly. Text: Writing Center Refresh: Silly September!

Easy Classroom Writing Center Refresh for a Silly September!

A million years ago when I was a brand new baby larva teacher, I wanted to do all the things! I set up a writing center in my classroom. Then, the students used the heck out of it for 2 weeks, then never looked at it again. I had put everything that I had for writing in that center, and my students lost interest. Wah, wah! I learned that refreshing my writing center every so often piqued my students’ interest again! So, I started doing a monthly writing center refresh! In this first post of my new blog series, I

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Image of boy writing with narrative writing graphic organizers in the background. Text: How to Teach Narrative Writing with Fun Writing Graphic Organizers.

How to Teach Narrative Writing with 3 Fun Writing Graphic Organizers

Narrative writing was always my favorite type of writing to teach. The stories that my students came up with were AMAZING! The problem was, they always lacked organization, they would leave important parts out! They would have a great lead, but there was no problem in the story. Or, they had a problem, but no solution. Fortunately, I created something that helped us tremendously! Graphic Organizers! In this blog post, we’ll explore the benefits of using graphic organizers in the classroom and show you how to leverage them to improve your students’ narrative writing abilities. From types of organizers to

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Cover Image of hands folding a piece of paper into a mini-book. Text: How to Make Fun and Easy Mini-books for Your Classroom Writing Center.

How to Make Mini-Books for Your Classroom Writing Center! Fun and Easy!

How to make mini-books is a question I get quite often! What is it about a mini-book that makes it so appealing? Students see one and want to fill it with pictures and writing! So a win-win situation: You get your students to write more, and your students get a mini-book! So, read on to find some fun ways to make mini-books with or without a mini-book template! How to Fold One-Page Mini-Books There are several different ways you can fold 1 piece of paper into a mini-book that doesn’t require any staples! You can use blank copier paper or

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Image of a copy box with a sign saying "Writing Center" taped to the side. Text: How to Set Up and Awesome Classroom Writing Center!

How to Set up an Awesome Classroom Writing Center. Simple and Fun!

When I was a little one, I loved anything to do with paper. Cutting, gluing, folding. My poor mom always had tons of paper creations. Somehow they always magically disappeared, unless they could be hung on the refrigerator, then they generally became part of the fridge museum. There are probably a few still there now! That being said, my favorite (and the students’ favorite) part of my classroom was always the classroom writing center! It doesn’t have to be anything big or elaborate! Here are some simple classroom writing center setups that are simple and effective, and will be a

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Image of Water Slides with title: Tips for Preventing "Summer Slide". Preventing summer learning loss.

How to Prevent Summer Learning Loss: 5+ Tips for Beating Summer Slide

Summer is the best. Except for the dreaded “Summer Slide” or Summer Learning Loss. Read on for some tips to prevent summer learning loss! (This post does contain Amazon Affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you! Thanks so much!) Rather watch this post? Check out the YouTube Video: Prevent Summer Learning Loss Tip 1: Read! Encourage your child (or students) to read over the summer! Many libraries host summer reading programs, and children can earn prizes for their efforts. Our local library also has an amazing app that lets

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Image of students writing. Text: Why teach Prewriting to Elementary Students? 5 Prewriting Strategies to Improve Student Writing.

Why Teach Prewriting to Elementary Students? 5 Prewriting Strategies to Improve Student Writing

I love teaching writing! One thing that I don’t love about teaching writing is when my students would say “But, I don’t know what to write about!” and then they would spend their independent writing time…. well… not writing. One thing that I have taught my students that really helped with eliminating the dreaded phrase was Pre-Writing! Prewriting is an essential part of the writing process, and teaching it to elementary students can have a significant impact on their writing skills. I would like to share with you 5 prewriting strategies to improve student writing. Prewriting Strategies #1: Talk About

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Text: Mini-Books in your classroom writing center. Image of cute little girl looking surprised at her own writing.

Kids LOVE Making Mini-Books! Why You Should Add Them to Your Classroom Writing Center

Do you have a classroom writing center? It was the only “permanent” center that I had in my classroom. It really was the most popular spot in my classroom! I spent time each month finding new and interesting ways to keep it fresh. My students LOVED writing and they LOVED the writing center. By providing fun writing materials my students could let their creativity run wild! Mini-Books are the perfect addition to your classroom writing center! Mini-Books are Fun! Blank Mini books are a great way to engage students in creative writing and storytelling. When you have a mini-book you

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