work+on+writing

What tips do you have for work on writing? Click on this link for an example of a poster I saw hanging in a primary classroom in Gahanna. I think the teacher said she added to it as she introduced the different forms to her kids. work on writing poster To help avoid interruptions of strategy groups or individual conferences during Daily 5, encourage young writers at the beginning of the year to just put a beginning sound down (if they think they know it) and then draw an underline to save the place for the rest of the word if they need to look it up or ask you for a occasional spelling. Teacher modeling really helps with this, of course.

This is definitely a matter of **personal preference**, but after several years of doing Daily 5 with first graders, I now only allow them to write in their //journals// during Daily 5 for the "Work on Writing" choice. I found that with beginning writers, if I let them work with total independence on their writer's workshop pieces/folders/projects during Daily 5, I couldn't keep up with checking on them the way I feel I need to. I have always maintained a separate writer's workshop time outside my Daily 5 block, and that's when we use our writing folders. You have to find what works for you and your students.