Writing Workshop is one of my favorite times in our first grade classroom! It always amazes me to see the students blossom and grow as writers during this time. I love the structure of a writing workshop model. There are usually 3 components to this time. The first is the mini-lesson, where students come to the carpet and I teach a skill we will focus on in our writing that day. The second component is practice and application, when students immediately apply the skill we learned during the mini-lesson to their writing. The last component of Writing Workshop is sharing, where students share their writing with others to get feedback. Time is precious during Writing Workshop and I'm always on the lookout for effective resources that will help our time run smoother. Here are 5 must-have resources that will help you manage your Writing Workshop block!
Having the right materials to run writing workshop is a must! Students need to be able to stay organized otherwise time will be spent searching for materials day. I love to have my students organize their writing materials using Writing Process Pocket Folders. These folders have a pocket for each phase of writing. Also, they hold up extremely well. Add a number to the front and reuse year after year. Grab a set of your favorite Composition Book Journals and Rainbow Writer's Pencils for editing and you are set!
Idea by: Alisha Peare of The Bubbly Blonde Teacher
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One of the biggest challenges of writer's workshop is getting students to work independently. To help set up my students for success, I hang Level 1 and Level 2 Sight Word Cards around the classroom. This provides students easy access whenever needed. The cards are printed on durable card stock and are laminated. Students also grab a card to practice writing during Reader's Workshop using a Mini Magnetic White Board and Expo Marker.
Idea by: Alisha Peare of The Bubbly Blonde Teacher
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Another great writing support is the How To Sequencing Set. This can be pulled out for a center or students can grab and use when they are having a hard time coming up with a writing idea. The pictures provide students with great visuals to help spark imagination. I love how easy it is to store in a reusable bag.
Idea by: Alisha Peare of The Bubbly Blonde Teacher
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Adding punctuation to writing seems to always be a challenge for my students. They know what it is and why we should use it, but I am constantly given a page of great writing without one punctuation mark. To make adding punctuation more exciting and to help it stand out, I like to provide my students with Punctuation Mini Stickers. As students are writing, I can quickly scan the room to see who is adding punctuation during independent writing time.
Idea by: Alisha Peare of The Bubbly Blonde Teacher
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Allowing students time to share their writing with their class is very important. Once students are ready to share, they grab their Pencil Flip Name Stick and add to the name container. When it is sharing time, I quickly grab out a pencil and that writer goes. This also me to keep track of who is ready and I can also pull another writer later in the day if we have extra time.
Writer's head to our special chair that is covered with an Author's Canvas Chair Cover. This cover can easily be added over any chair and removed when it isn't sharing time. Students know how special it is to sit in this chair and take it very seriously.
Idea by: Alisha Peare of The Bubbly Blonde Teacher
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My first must-have resource for Writing Workshop is a sturdy folder. Writing is an inspiring time and these beautiful Crayola® Creative Process Pocket Folders are the perfect way for students to organize and store all of their writing papers. When we are working on a writing piece like personal narratives, the four pockets in the folder are great for students to put their planning sheets, first drafts, edits, and even the final published piece. I also love the fun Crayola® colors of this folder as well as the fact that the front says "Creative Ideas Folder" because that's exactly what writing is all about!
Idea by Becca Foxwell of Foxwell Forest
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We do a lot of partner work in first grade, but during Writing Workshop time you can often find us in partner groups both during our mini lesson time when we are sharing what ideas we are going to write about and also during the sharing component at the end. These Buddy Lanyards are a creative and efficient way to pick partners. My kids love using them and it's so fun to find your match! Who wouldn't want to find milk for the cookies, peanut butter for jelly, or a burger for the fries?
Idea by Becca Foxwell of Foxwell Forest
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A set of clipboards is a must-have for any classroom! While we use them at other times too, they are perfect for Writing Workshop time. Aside from the cheery, bright colors, I really like that these Rainbow Clipboards allow us to do writing in lots of different places! We can use them to do our writing on the carpet or anywhere around the room. They can also be used to take our writing outside.
Idea by Becca Foxwell of Foxwell Forest
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I can't speak enough about this Jumbo Time Timer! It's one of my most-used classroom resources. We use it throughout the day in our classroom, but it also works well to set it during our practice and application time. What I love about it is that by using it daily, students get into the routine of knowing that they need to be independently working and writing the whole time the timer is on. They can see how much time is left by how much red there is. Then when the timer goes off, it beeps 4 times, and students know to get ready for share time. I don't know what I did before I got my timer – it's definitely a must have!
Idea by Becca Foxwell of Foxwell Forest
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Classroom environment is so important! One of the ways I create a safe learning environment is by using Classroom Cheers. The student who has the "Teacher's Assistant" job picks out one of the 24 cheers to use for the day. Then we use that cheer whenever we want to encourage and celebrate each other's work. Each cheer has the saying and motions on the back of it. For example, for the Dino Stomp cheer students stand up and stomp their feet like a big T-Rex while saying "Grrreat Job!" By using these cheers every day and modeling how to cheer others on, my students begin to encourage and cheer one another one without prompting! It also encourages students to share during writing time.
Idea by Becca Foxwell of Foxwell Forest
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