Writing On a Stick

Are you looking for a way to spice up your writing centers while incorporating a fun spring theme?

Check out my writing on a stick sets.

These are quick and easy to put together.  Just print, tape, and go.

I have students grab a prompt and use the accompanying stationary to write various genres during their writing center time or if they finish work early.  I select a few students to read their writing at the end of the day while we wait for the buses.

Check them out here in my Teachers Pay Teachers store.

Assessing Student Writing with a 4-Point Rubric

I have been looking for a quick and easy way to grade student writing this year, given the fact that we no longer have an explicit writing block built into our schedule.  (You can read more about how I am weaving writing into reading centers here.)

I wanted a rubric that would mirror NYS's 4-point expository writing rubric used to score extended responses on the NYS ELA test.

I wanted students to be familiar with this rubric so that they would be well prepared for their state test.

However, I was having a little trouble finding a child friendly version of this rubric.  One that I could use on the fly with multiple genres because lets face it, there just isn't enough time in the beginning of the school year.

So, I came up with this.

I used the same categories, I just simplified them and organized my rubric as a checklist.

In the beginning of the year, I plan on checking off each box for student strengths, leaving them blank if that specific area was a challenge, and then counting the checks to get a quick score out of 4-points.

As we progress through the year, and dig deeper into the greater meaning of each rubric category, I plan on giving students a score of 1-4 for each category.  This will provide me with a total of up to 16 points which I will then divide by 4 to get my usual score out of 4 points.

Throughout the week students have been working on writing during reading centers.  On Friday, I have been providing them with a little time to select their favorite piece, edit & revise it, and submit it for scoring.

To submit their writing, I have them insert their favorite piece into the plastic sleeves I placed in their purple writing folders.

When I score their writing, I just slip the rubric into their writing sleeve with the corresponding piece.  That way they can easily see how they did.  However, I have not written on or marked up their wonderful writing piece.

I left just enough room along the side to jot down a few notes, compliments, or suggestions for students.

I've also placed a large copy of the rubric in the back of each folder for students to refer to when selecting a piece to be assessed.

I hope these writing folders will serve as a wonderful portfolio of their writing in fourth grade.

Snag a free copy of my writing rubric here.

How are you scoring writing this year?

Implementing Writing with NO Writing Block

I posted a few days ago about writing, and my lack of time this school year for it.  Yes, writing is integrated throughout our other subject areas, but this school year we will not have an official time set aside just for writing.

One thing is for sure, I am not going to let time stand in the way of free and fun writing in my classroom.

So, in my desperate attempt to infuse some extra time for students to hone their writing craft and free write about topics of their choice and genres of their choice I found Joey Udovich's amazing Interactive Writing Center.

Upon reading about the center on Joey's blog, and previewing it on TPT I fell in love and purchased it immediately.

I printed and laminated it for free at my local teacher center.  (Check to see if you have one in your county, you might be pleasantly surprised.)  To say this file is H-U-G-E is an understatement.  Joey has literately thought of it all.  It comes with teacher directions, photographs, word wall cards, examples of each writing topic, tips and cheat sheets for students, and printables, just to name a few.

Not wanting to overwhelm my students, I picked my 3 favorite writing genres:  a summary, a story, and a song.  I plan to introduce each writing genre during the first week (3 days) of school.  After the introduction, students will be free to choose which ever of the three writing genres they wish to work on.  I will add additional genres throughout the year.

When do I plan to use this writing center?  Hmmmm, morning work, emergency sub plans, as a finished early activity, or once in a while during AIS.  I also hope to be able to use it as one of our centers during guided reading, but that is still to be determined.

I posted this lovely sign on the center bulletin board in hopes that students will check their writing before deeming it complete.  You can download a FREE copy of this poster here.  Print on 11" x 17" paper for best results.

I purchased quite a few black egg crates from Walmart last year and had an extra one not in use so I threw it over in the writing center to assist with organization.

How will students organize their folders?

So what about student reflection, grading, and data?  I plan on setting aside time each week for students to select their best writing piece of the week.  They will spruce it up a little bit before submitting it. Here is how I plan to organize their writing pieces within their folder:

I plan on grading their chosen writing piece each weekend using a 4-point rubric similar to ones used to score their writing for their NYS ELA test.  I will use my noticings to form writing needs groups to meet with during AIS or when we work on writing about reading.

Will you still have a writing block this year?  If not, how do you plan on squeezing in writing?

Want to win some super sweet back-to-school writing utensils for your classroom?  Enter my BiC Back-to-School Giveaway before it is too late.  Only one day left!

Oh, and last but not least, some of the cute graphics that appear in this post are from the amazing Krista Wallden.  

She is hosting a week full of freebies, dollar deals, discounts, and giveaway!  Be sure to check it out.

Creative Writing for Monday Made It

It's my favorite Monday of the month...Monday Made It that is!  Oh, I just love Tara's crafty linky party!  Her blog, 4th Grade Frolics, is where I found the inspiration for my first project.

I've been looking high and low to find creative and fun ideas to motivate my 4th graders to write this year.  I'm hoping to inspire their creativity and help them to develop their inner author.

In order to motivate students to write at home I decided to make 2 creative writing take home journals.  To kick off these journals I introduced our 2 new class pets!

Aren't they cute?  They are FurReal Friends and move when you push their backs.  Their little tail wiggles and their head pops up and down.  Adorable!

During writing, I have been passing out good behavior tickets to students who have been working hard and putting their best effort into their writing.  Students simply write their name on the ticket and it goes into our weekly drawing.  On Friday, I draw 2 names and these students win the opportunity to bring one of our class pets, and journal, home for the weekend.

Their task is to write about our class pet's Hip Hoppin' Adventures while they are home.

I created a journal cover, direction page, and good behavior tickets that you can snag at my Teachers Pay Teachers store for free.

I've also been busy creating a lot of writing prompts for students to use if they finish their work early throughout the day.  To start out with, I created Gingerbread on a Stick prompts as part of my Gingerbread Writing Centers pack.

They are quick and easy to put together.  Students just grab one during their free time and start writing!

I also created some Christmas Cookie Writing Prompts.  You can download them for free!  I picked up a cheap plate from Dollar Tree and Glued on this sign.

I printed, laminated, and cut out the Christmas Cookie Writing Prompts, and placed them on the plate.  When students finish their work early they can grab a cookie from the plate.

How do you motivate students to write?

For more fun December ideas check out Monday Made it!