Without daily writing prompts many students this age will write about the same topic every single day. One year, I had a student who would write about the Red Power Ranger every single chance he got. Last year, I had a student who would write about her puppy no matter how much I encouraged her to branch out. This is why writing prompts are so important. I typically give my class a "free-write" day once every two weeks. Otherwise, there is always, always, always a writing prompt for the day! This helps to establish that writing is just like talking. The prompt (or question of the day) helps kids to feel like they're having a conversation instead of doing a chore. Here are some easy prompts to establish the concept of Opinion Writing Easy – Introducing the Concept Describe the best snack. Describe the best toy. Describe the best dessert. Describe the best dinner/lunch/breakfast. Describe the best movie. Describe the best show on TV. Describe the best game to play in a pool. Describe the best sport to play/watch. Describe the best game to play at home. Describe the best game to play at recess. Writing Possible sentence frames to help EL students: " The best snack is _______. I like it because it is ________." " I think _______ is the best because it is ________. " Medium – Developing the Concept 1. Do you prefer fruits or vegetables? Why? 2. Do you prefer cookies or crackers? Why? 3. Do you prefer pancakes or waffles? Why? 4. Do you prefer Legos or blocks? Why? 5. Do you prefer cupcakes or brownies? 6. Do you prefer chicken nuggets or fish sticks? 7. Do you prefer hot dogs or sandwiches? 8. Do you prefer baseball or football? 9. Do you prefer hopscotch or tag? 10. Do you prefer painting or play dough? Writing Possible sentence frames to help EL students: " I prefer _____ because ______." " I prefer _____ over ______ because ______." Hard – Practicing Negation and Mindful Reasons 1. Is it safe to visit a zoo? 2. Is it safe to cross the street without an adult? 3. Is it safe to go to bed without brushing your teeth? 4. Is gummy bears and chocolate a healthy snack? 5. Should children be allowed to walk to school by themselves? 6. Should children have chores/jobs at home? 7. Should girls and boys be allowed to use the same bathrooms? 8. Do we need police officers in our community or can we solve our own problems? 9. Do we need fire fighters in our community or can we take care of our own homes or buildings on fire? 10. Put yourself in the perspective of a turkey on Thanksgiving. What other meats would the turkey say you should eat instead of him? Writing Possible sentence frames to help EL students: " I believe ______. My first reason is ______. Another reason is ________. My last reason is _______." To download a pdf file of these prompts click here.
105 creative writing exercises to get you writing again. Try these short, 10-minute creative writing exercises to beat writer's block.
When teaching narrative writing in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade, there are so many writing skills to cover. They range from creating a sequence of events (beginning, middle, and end) to more difficult
Explore the captivating world of fantasy book reviews, writing tips, and Bookstagram advice on our blog. Join L.T. Ellis on a journey through enchanted realms, where imagination knows no bounds. Discover hidden gems, sharpen your writing skills, and create stunning bookish content with L.T. Ellis Blog Posts.
Find out what triggers panic attacks, what they feel like, and the after math of them in this how to guide for writing panic attacks.
Want your students to ace the new STAAR extended constructed response (ECR) portion? Here are four tips from Custom Classroom by Angela that will help them do just that!
Do you love writing dark and edgy stories? Are you looking for something to get you started? Then look no further! In this blog post, we will provide 45
For this Monday, Rachel of R's Loft and I decided to exchange blog posts! Fun, right? I've never had a guest post on this blog b...
A blog for first grade and primary teachers with teaching tips for emergent readers including phonics, reading comprehension, and writing.
Generalizations Anchor Chart! After using the anchor chart to teach students about generalizations (and warning them of faulty generalizations), students complete the FREE generalizations worksheet!
victoriarene: REBLOGGING THIS BECAUSE I GET THIS WRONG EVERY TIME
Show Don't Tell Anchor Chart! This blog post contains a complete writing lesson and the printables you'll need to create the anchor chart and replicate the activities!
Explore the captivating world of fantasy book reviews, writing tips, and Bookstagram advice on our blog. Join L.T. Ellis on a journey through enchanted realms, where imagination knows no bounds. Discover hidden gems, sharpen your writing skills, and create stunning bookish content with L.T. Ellis Blog Posts.
Dystopian literature is a staple in most ELA classrooms. Here are some ideas for teaching it and making it more relevant: Watch National Geographic's documentary about North Korea on YouTube and ask students to find
Teaching students to write dialogue can be tricky. Use this quotation marks anchor chart and worksheet freebie to introduce the concept to your students!
Last week Gabrielle shared reflections on what learning Mandarin Chinese has taught her about language—and by extension, inventing a new language. She continues the mini-series today.
In my opinion, Obsidian is one of the best writing tools out there. It doesn't matter if you want to use it for planning your story, writing down your characters' relationships, use it for world-building, or write the whole story! You can easily do all of these steps in Obsidian. This blog post show
Proofreading is one of the last phases of the writing process where you carefully seek out and correct grammatical and typographical errors in your final draft before presenting your work to an aud…
Photo by Антон Воробьев on Unsplash Look look! Another series! It'll probably be pretty short since I can only think of fantasy,...
RAFT writing is a strategy for analyzing a writing prompt. This blog post introduces RAFT writing and includes ideas and free resources for implementation.
Who will survive, and what will be left of them? We’ve got an easy way to figure it out
How to write a blog post that will go viral. What it takes to write a great blog post. Steps you can follow to create great blog posts. Viral blog posts..
[Full disclosure: I took this title from Steven Poole’s blog post of 2007; in 2009 Nick Balaz used the same title.] These are my notes for a talk in the Faculty of Arts Research Seminar (FARS…
Since I started this blog, I've been trying to figure out something that I could do that hasn't been done a thousand times before. All the...
Have you ever had the vibes of your story figured out but no plot? This post gives you an easy process to find out what actually happens in yor novel
From my previous posts outlining the major beats of classic design (aka: arch plot, the universal story, mythic structure, the hero’s journey, etc.) you’ve seen that this design is ver…
Teaching plot elements to upper elementary students? Use a picture book to engage your students! Read it aloud, and then create a plot diagram!
Living out of alignment with your core values is can cause pain and suffering. Core values blog post shares how to complete a values-based assessment.
