New Teacher Series: Writing Essentials

I was thinking about all of the new teachers coming out of university and what a huge job setting up a new classroom is.  It’s been a while since I started teaching but I still remember those days. There were many, many long hours.

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 to confidently handle the enormous amounts of curriculum you are required to teach? That is a great 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.  What do you need to set up and run a successful writing program in your primary classroom? What are the bare essentials to be ready to go?  After you have the essentials, you can add your pizazz in the form of special units, 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 setup, supplies and lessons to get you going.  It doesn’t need to be fancy but once you have the setup 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 a fun and effective way to teach writing. Students understand 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 with the CCSS, BC curriculum and many others.

Using Writer’s Notebooks is a great way for students to practice the Write Traits or other writing-based skills.  These are not spelling language or grammar books – they are Writer’s Notebooks to practice the craft of writing. They are so easy to use and kids love them.  In my NTSK set, there is a whole set of printables with mini-writing lessons that you can use now! They are also CCSS and Write Trait Friendly.  This is an example of a lesson on boring things that can later be used to create writing ideas.  Many great ideas were born out of boring things!

Once students begin 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 literacy assessment 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 a complete set to help new teachers or teachers new to teaching writing get started and teach writing in their primary classroom.