New Teacher Series: Writing Essentials

I got to thinking a couple of weeks ago about all of the new teachers coming out of university and what a huge job setting up a new classroom is.  It’s been 24 years since I started teaching and yet I still remember those days. There were many, many long hours. Back in those days, we often had to make our own worksheets – I mean with a pen and paper – because some of the curriculum texts just didn’t have what we were looking for.  (Yes, I am definitely dating myself!) Thankfully, there are so many other options and books out these days!


Unfortunately, BECAUSE there are so many things out there, how does a new teacher know just what they need to set up their classroom? You can have the “prettiest” classroom in town and it won’t help you to teach the curriculum you need to cover.  So how do you know what you need to know in order to be able to confidently handle the enormous amounts of curriculum that we are all required to teach? That is a really good question!   So with this question in mind, I put together a set of curriculum that is designed specifically for new teachers to answer that question.

My first set is on Writing.  Just what do you need in order to set up and run a successful writing program in your primary classroom? What are the bare essentials that you will need so that you are ready to go?  After you have the essentials, you can add your own pizazz in the form of special units or themes or curricular areas that are specific to where you teach.

In my New Teacher’s Survival Kit:  Writing set, I have included a resource to help you set up your Writer’s Workshop.  It is full of ideas about set up, supplies and lessons to get you going.  It doesn’t need to be fancy but once you have the set up knowledge you can decorate in any way you want. This is a picture of my Safari themed writing center.

Teaching using the Write Traits is such a fun and effective way to teach writing. Students really get the idea of what a writer does to create a great piece of writing. There is a poster set inside of the Writer’s Workshop set that shows students what the traits are in kid friendly language.  There is also a second poster set that can be used as a book for students or on the wall.  The beauty of the Write Traits is that it easily aligns to the CCSS, BC curriculum and many others.

Once students get going with their writing, they will need to learn how to edit so I have included an editing set too!

Of course the important thing all teachers need to do is assess the learning of the students they teach.  I have included a huge set of printables that will help you observe, keep checklists of skills, and build criteria with students to help them self assess.   There are ideas for student led conferences too!

Well, there you have it!  It is truly a complete set to help new teachers or teachers new to teaching writing get started and teach writing in their primary classroom.

Reading and writing assessment templates to help you assess on the go so you will be able to adjust your lessons based on new learning.  These also serve as evidence of learning to help you write report cards.

Editing information and forms to help your students self assess their writing and make improvements based on suggestions.

This extensive poetry set gives you poems and lessons for the whole year!  Teaching poetry is a great way to help students learn to read and writer better.

Also included is a 6 traits of Writing poster set.

This is a great way to get started teaching writing in your primary classroom. If you have any questions, please contact me and I’d be happy to help.