writing center

One of the ideas I've been excited to try with this class is a writing center. We eased in to this during this week by having writing materials out for students as a free choice option. A variety of materials including paper, scissors, glue, markers, crayons, pencils, and alphabet stickers was made available to the students with no prompting or expectations. It was wonderful to see how natural conversations developed about writing as they worked. Students were spelling one another's names, finding letters for each other, and talking about letters- "Hey! I have an 'A' in my name too!"  I especially enjoyed when the kids made cards for one another, often "hiding" the card in the person's mailbox with a little help from a teacher.

When we return to our regular classroom next week, students will be introduced to our new Writing Center. This center will always be an option for the students during choice and table time- much as our library has always been an option. I hope to see the students continuing to enjoy writing.