A new year means new students, a new environment, and most of all, new challenges. As first grade teachers, our students often come in at different levels, especially with their writing. Sometimes we have students that are strong writers and then we are questioning if some went to kindergarten.
Regardless of their varying levels, starting the year off expressing the importance and value of writing is something I find extremely valuable. And, one way to get your students writing at the beginning of the year is to ensure there is time for writing every day. Your students need to know and be continuously reminded that you value writing. I want to share some of my favorite ways on how I get my students writing.
You must develop strong and consistent routines for writing at the beginning of the year. Writer’s workshop is a huge part of my daily routine, but it takes time, effort, and a ton of modeling to get it kicked off. In the first couple of months of school, I really make sure to drill and focus on the procedures and routines of writer’s workshop. You can check out this post related to starting writer’s workshop in your classroom.
At the beginning of the year, we truly focus on getting in a routine and building stamina. When it comes to writing, it is imperative to be aware of how your students are doing, and when I see students struggling or losing focus, it is time for a break where we gather on the carpet to review or discuss what they might be having trouble with. To get students writing, we must review the expectations, model, model, and model some more.
One of my favorite ways to incorporate writing in my classroom is through writing journals. It is a way to get students excited and interested in writing with their own journal. If we want our students to continually grow to be strong writers, we have to provide them with multiple writing opportunities. Journals allow your students to do free-choice writing or write about a topic you offered, and I also let them do some drawings. Introduce this at the beginning of the year, and it’s a great concrete example of how their writing progresses!
Do you have kiddos that come into your classroom and insist they hate writing when you are literally two days into school? Phew, glad I’m not the only one. We can change this mindset by providing them with engaging activities that are typically opportunities for drawing or include a craft. When writing is disguised as something else, it’s an effortless way to get your first-graders writing and enjoying it.
In my classroom, I begin writers workshop with all abouts or informative writing. After all, it is a great way to get your students to open up with their writing because it’s easy for them to write about themselves, their family, pets, or things they love. We spiral into writing, and I take note of their interests which helps me plan for other writing units. Providing high-interest topics definitely makes a world of difference when you’re getting your students to enjoy writing, especially at the start of a new school year.
Start with picture descriptions and sentence completion activities as writing warm-ups as simple as this may seem. I know you might be thinking it sounds a little too young for first graders, but the beginning of the year is a warm-up for writing. It’s not as simple as giving our students a topic to watch them run off and love the assignment. That is too good to be true, but if we start with something like “apples are…” it gives them a starting point, and when they get a spot to draw, it’s even better.
I am sure you know that I am constantly working on building my classroom community through games, team-builders, and partner work. Allowing my students to work with partners is also an excellent tool for increasing their writing abilities. We can’t expect our students to write what they can’t say, and working with a partner allows them to talk it out before writing. Having a child talk about their writing sparks ideas and gives them an extra push to get excited about their writing piece. You can have partners sit together at desks or on the rug for a chat before their writing lessons.
Talk about writing! It may sound simple, but the more you talk about writing and let your students share their writing, the more they value their own. We want our students to take pride in their work, and one way to do that is by letting them share it. If I have learned anything through my years as a teacher, first-graders love to talk about themselves. You can easily have them share their writing by sharing during partner work, gallery walk, hang their writing in the classroom, or share during a class discussion. Sometimes something as simple as chair share is a motivator. In my class it’s reading our writing into a microphone. Whatever works!
There are so many great ways to get your students invested in their writing, and these are just a few of my favorite ideas. I know that getting students to write is a challenge. Trust me, I know! But, when we start with simple and more engaging activities to get their feet wet, I promise you will watch them explode throughout the year. Then, we can move on to teaching the nuts and bolts of our writing curriculum. I love teaching writing, I learn so much about my students through their writing pieces, but it truly does take a ton of time, effort, and modeling on our end to help them succeed. Do you have a favorite way to get students to write at the beginning of the year? Let me know in the comments!
