Hi Friends.. I hope this post finds you all well. I am sure that many of you are already back to school. But I have 2 1/2 weeks left of bliss :) I know...hate me now....but in June you are going to be in a much better place than me...LOL....I digress :)
Anywhooooo.... This will be my third year implementing Daily 5 in my classroom and let me tell you.. I LOVE it more and more every year! My goodness...my little ones have done so well with this structure during our literacy block and I have been able to accomplish SO MUCH with my guided reading groups during our rotations.
Every year I always like to re-evaluate how my classroom runs and how well the students work in my Daily 5 Stations. As I said, they LOVE Daily 5, but I noticed that last year, many of my students became bored with the activities that I had in my Work on Writing Station. So I promised myself that I would work on this area over the summer. I always have a NEVER-ENDING list of things that I would like to tackle over the summer and my Work on Writing Station was top on my list.
Here is how I organize my Work on Writing Station.
I really wanted their writing to address the CCSS and be FUN as well. So I thought...and thought..yep...and thought some more and then it hit me! My students LOVED my Math Tab-Its that we used in class during our Guided Math instruction....so I figured...let me integrate this concept into my Work on Writing Station for our Daily 5 rotations.... AND.....
This was born....
My Writing Tab-Its for my Work on Writing Station!
Seriously.. I am in LOVE...and I know fo' sure that my students are going to love them as well!
As you know, Daily 5 is about "CHOICE" and while I believe that is extremely important to allow my students the opportunity to "choose" their writing activity, I felt that many of my students would choose the same writing activity over and over and over and over again! So I have decided that every other week I am going to give my students a "Have To" writing activity at my Work on Writing Station. They will have two weeks to complete one of the Writing Tab-Its that I have added to the station in addition to the other writing choices that they make.
My plan is to add a basket of books that are geared toward a specific topic like Birds or Reptiles...or a different theme that correlates to the science, social studies, or literature unit we are studying at that time. They will have the opportunity to not only write at the Work on Writing Station, but they will also read different non-fiction books and magazines on the specific topic and conduct their research on the "Have To" writing activity.
Here is a little "sneak peek" at the All About Birds Tab-It Booklet that my students will work on when we are learning about Owls.
This resource incorporates a variety of writing topics that all align to the Common Core State Writing Standards. It includes Procedural Writing Tab-Its, Opinion Writing Tab-Its, Non-Fiction Animal Tab-Its, Expository Writing Tab-Its, and Story Summary Tab-Its.
So... this is how I plan on revving up the FUN in my Work on Writing Center and I CAN'T WAIT to get my kiddos into it! I am actually excited to start school to get this going...well..I can wait a few more weeks ;) LOL.
So...Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you check out my Writing Tab-Its to get your kiddos EXCITED about writing during your Daily 5 Station Rotations!
Click the image to check it out in my TPT Shop!
Hugs,
