Hey friends! Well I have to say that writing the past couple weeks was so wonderful! I will be completely honest and say that some weeks our writing time is good and some weeks it’s GREAT! The past couple of weeks the kids were “on” and really had a passion for what they were writing about. When they leave the carpet with a “plan” for their writings you know it’s going to be a great writing day!
First up is opinion writing! I also love our big opinion writing talk! I mean we have wrote our opinions before, but when it really clicks is when you know they got it! I love introducing the kiddos to the big word for our opinion writing, because! I always give a big hoopla over making sure we pronounce it correctly! This might not be an issue in other parts of the country, but here in Missouri it’s usually pronounced as “becuz!” So, after this talk they are correcting me the rest of the year if my pronunciation isn’t spot on! We start with some simple opinion writings! We also talked a lot about what an opinion is and how it’s okay to have a different opinion then our friends!
First up is opinion writing! I also love our big opinion writing talk! I mean we have wrote our opinions before, but when it really clicks is when you know they got it! I love introducing the kiddos to the big word for our opinion writing, because! I always give a big hoopla over making sure we pronounce it correctly! This might not be an issue in other parts of the country, but here in Missouri it’s usually pronounced as “becuz!” So, after this talk they are correcting me the rest of the year if my pronunciation isn’t spot on! We start with some simple opinion writings! We also talked a lot about what an opinion is and how it’s okay to have a different opinion then our friends!
Download the freebie opinion writing starters below! I equipped the kiddos with the word because to ensure they were backing up their opinions!
We also used several of the writing templates in this freebie packet from Ashlyn Ellsworth! She also has an opinion sort that we did at the carpet! It was great for our “what’s an opinion talk?”
We also wrote opinions on if we liked the tooth fairy best or Santa Claus! Below students wrote their thoughts in the opinion graphic organizer! {Download the freebie below}
Another fun favorite is our book of opinions! This is also a freebie you can download below!
Another great activity for opinion writing goes along with the book The Best Part of Me! Students listened to the kiddos in the book tell what they like best about their body and why. Our kiddos then chose their favorite and wrote about it!
Just this past week we started to take a new look at narrative writing! With our narrative writings we focused first on the idea of having an opening sentence, supporting details, and a closing sentence! I explained to the kiddos their opening sentence is like a cover of a book…it makes the reader interested, the supporting details were the inside pages of the book, and the closing sentence was them “closing their book.” So, as I circulated the room I would say something like, “were you able to close your book?” I got a lot of “wow, this teacher has a lost her mind because this is a piece of paper…NOT a book!”
I’ve mentioned it before, but my sister teaches next door to me! So, after school I went into her room and saw she had a poster like the one below! After making this poster the whole….opening, supporting details, and closing had an AH HA!
After a couple of days with simple narrative writing stories in our journals we went on to these “A Day in the Life of..” story booklets! The kids really LOVED this writing activity and I would suggest to anyone …give it a try! 🙂 I’ve included the template as a freebie down below! For this activity we also worked on the importance of transitional words! I went ahead and labeled each page with their transitional word for ease of writing!
And additional personal narrative story booklets! This booklet & graphic organizer is a freebie listed below! 🙂
What’s up next for us? Well *weather pending* we will be tackling narrative story booklets with how we’ve grown and changed! Our close read for this upcoming week is for the book below, A Tiger Grows Up! This is nonfiction text that shows how a tiger cub grows and changes! So, we will be comparing how we’ve grown and changed to that of the tiger cub. We will then be writing our grown and changed story booklets! I will post pictures of those once they are completed! However, I’ve added the freebie below 🙂
Now for a few extras on our classroom writing! This is our spelling board/digraph poster board! The kiddos reference this area when needed!
Our sight word reference wall
Something else I started recently {why not at the beginning of the year???} is this fantastic 4 star writing rubric! This rubric comes from Samantha Francis! She offers it as a freebie and you can click below to grab it from her TpT site! I have made this transparent for all of our writing…Daily 5, reading groups, Road to Reading, etc….any time we are writing/coloring we are discussing if it’s a 4 star paper!
I also made these writer’s checklists for my kiddos! I laminated them and they have them in their writing folders. They have helped a lot. When I am conferencing during writing we are referencing these checklists and the kiddos are self-checking! This is also a freebie! Click the image to download!
Well I hope you enjoyed these freebies! Leave me some love if you were able to use any of these and feel free to pass them along! 🙂 Have a great ending to the weekend!
What a jam-packed, fab post! THANKS for all the great ideas and resources! Boy, do I wish I taught first grade in your building…your K-kiddos are going to be soooo ready to meet those demanding first grade writing standards! Way to go!
SynonymRolls&AntonymMoments
Can't wait to usw these with my struggling first grade writers! Thanks
I really just love all of your stuff! Thank you for these wonderful freebies. I cannot wait to try them with my class!
Thank you Tara! Our district is using the Lucy Calkins writing program. It is now CCSS aligned. I am not thrilled with her Opinion writing section. It's too "political" in my opinion! Your ideas are much more age appropriate. Ill try to combine the 2. Thank you for this great post!
Thank you for these wonderful freebies! We're working on finishing up narratives and these resources will be a big help.
This was an amazing blog post! Thanks so much for all the details and the freebies. So helpful!
WOW – that is about all I can say. Thank you so much. What great resources!
Thank you for sharing the wonderful freebies! I love your products! Your students do an amazing job with writing. I'm the kindergarten Title I teacher in our district, and I work with those kiddos who would not be able to handle this. They struggle to write words (and their name) and still don't know what sentences are. Some can't put a complete thought together. How do you help your strugglers with their writing? Also, I would love to see your daily schedule; you cover so much! How do you get it all done?
Hi there! I don't really have any super-amazing tips that I use for my struggling writers. It is really a guided writing. I help them find the words they are needing on the sight word wall and help them to stretch out the sounds. If they are unable to stretch the words themselves.
What a great post! Thanks for all of the resources!
This is AMAZING stuff. Thank you for all The freebies!
These freebies are AMAZING! Thank you so much for sharing!
Thanks so much for these freebies. We've been struggling in writing lately…this will give us the push we need!
Thank you for sharing! Fantastic post, great ideas, and so many awesome freebies!
Thank you so much for sharing all your wonderful resources. I can't wait to use them!
Thank you! So many great items
THank you Tara! I needed that How I've Grown. We are doing that same book in Journeys! Thanks!!!
Sarah
Kindergarten Korner
Oh my gosh! Thank you for all of these FABULOUS resources! Nothing better than a whole bunch of fundamentally useful freebies!! My school system asks us to include a narrative, opinion, and expository writing sample in kids' portfolios, so this is REALLY helpful! Thanks so much!
Oh My! I love your resources and can not thank you enough for all these freebies! This is wonderful!
I am in love with these resources! They are amazing! Thank you for being so generous and making them as freebies for us! I love the digraph posters, are they available as a template?
I would so love the digraph posters. I now want to replace my Saxon Phonics posters with a spelling reference wall like hers.
I would so love the digraph posters. I now want to replace my Saxon Phonics posters with a spelling reference wall like hers.
Thank you! These are great resources!
Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous!
Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous!
Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous!
Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous!
Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous!
Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous!
Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous!
Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous!
Fabulous! Absolutely fabulous!
Thanks so much for sharing.
What a fabulous post! Thank you so much for sharing your hard work. We are getting ready to begin opinion writing, so those pages will be helpful. I love how you broke down a space for each reason to support their opinion. Awesome job!
I love your posts and products. I am wondering about your scope and sequence for writing for the year. Do you have a copy you could email? I would love to know how and when you are introducing these writing foundational skills. Thanks much!!
Thank you! These freebies are wonderful! Just what I needed for my classroom!!
Thank you for all the Freebies. The booklets are great. I can't wait to use the rubric and the checklist. I think it will help my daughter's writing out a lot.
I love this. Thank you for all of your great ideas. I have purchased many of your products and they have really helped me this year.
Girl, this was amazing! Now I have writing plans for like the next three weeks after spring break! I'm not sure there's even ONE thing in this post that I don't want to copy like NOW! Thanks for sharing! I am really excited to go back and really "dig in" with my Writers' Workshop!!!!
Amazing ideas and freebies! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!
Thank you for all of the freebies! Such a great post! I'm sharing it on Pinterest!
These are amazing resources. Thank you so much for sharing them!
Having grown up in Denver and now teaching in KCMO, I have to ask….how do you teach your kids to pronounce "because?" Do you emphasize the "cause" like "coz?" I grew up saying "becuz" and hear that all the time, so I'm curious. 🙂 The only thing that drives me crazy with my kinders is the way they say "crayon" as "crown," but so many adults here do that too so I've nearly given up on "fixing" it! 🙂
Anna- Such a good question! We have BIG discussion on not saying bcuz…we say it "proper" as I tell them 😉 We pronounce it bec/o/z! They will even correct me if my Missouri slang slips! 🙂
Tara
thanks so much for all the ideas and freebies! Much appreciated! 🙂
These are soooooooooo awesome thank you! =)
Thank you. This is what we have been looking for for a few years now. Greatly appreciated!
Thank you.
Wow…how did I miss this post earlier this year? AWESOME! I would like to ask one question. The word and picture cards that you use on your resource wall…are they located in a pack for sale anywhere? (Please say yes…please say yes!!!!)
Deldreqka Scott
de*************@gm***.com
Hey there! Was it this? http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teacher-Teacher-How-do-I-spell-289328
Tara
Thank you for sharing, love the templates and the writer's checklist!
My school has just purchased Lucy Calkins so I'm trying to get a handle on it. Thank you for your great blog and products!
Thank you for the “Check Your Work” rubric. It is absolutely briliant!
Hello!
I am not able to get a copy of the ” A Day in the Life Of” writing page. I would love to use it with my kindergarten friends. Can I please have the link to that freebie?
Here you go! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M3L8KLfIC6GJpQNgGWVWQ22XqCMdzy8i/view?usp=sharing
These resources are amazing! When I click on the link to the How I’ve Grown it redirects somewhere else. Can you please send? THANK YOU!
Here you go! https://drive.google.com/file/d/1V48h_B41Jthh-J1F3paqKI4Ib6FFwt_D/view?usp=sharing
Thank you!!
I am working on opinion writing with my Kindergarteners and I really like the planning papers you have on this post. I clicked the link for the freebie and it took me to the Tara West TPT store but not those pages. Is there still someplace they can be downloaded?
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