Back to School Writing Center for Kindergarten and 1st grade AUGUST & SEPTEMBER

Back to school writing center for kindergarten and first grade! What if having engaging writing center activities for kindergarten was easy? This set of writing center activities has been planned for you and is a great way to set up your sustainable kindergarten writing center!  

Here are the themes that are included in this back to school writing center activities set:

• School Supplies Writing Center
• Around School Writing Center
• School Activities Writing Center
• Recess Writing Center
• Transportation Writing Center

Labeling a picture, writing sentences, card making, letter writing, sequencing a story, themed word cards, portable word wall, writing center posters and more!

Everything is here to make your back to school writing station successful in your own classroom. Center time is about to have a favorite activity... the classroom writing center.

The skills included in each monthly set remain consistent with lots of differentiation options. You may decide at the beginning of the year to have your kindergarten students work on labeling the picture during their literacy center time. Then as the school year progresses, you will introduce the different ways your young writers will work.

These activities were designed for students to complete independently. I created this writing center back in 2011. Over the years, I have updated and expanded this set of writing activities to include first grade and second grade writing tasks that hook even reluctant writers. These revisions have been a big hit in early childhood classrooms everywhere.

Here’s a look at some of the different back to school writing activities included for you each month:

• Classroom anchor charts for each type of writing. These provide a visual reminder of how to do each fun activity.
• An editable sight word list
• A list of color words
• A list of family words.
• A full page and half page version of picture cards and vocabulary page (in color or black and white) . I liked to add them to add them to a binder ring and leave them in the writing area.
• 60 Vocabulary word cards each month
• 5 different themes each month
• Tons of no-prep writing page and response pages to pick from
• Make a List: Each month students have 5 different list making opportunities. They will use supportive vocabulary cards.
• Label the picture: Students will label a picture using a word bank. There is a label page for each theme, so 5 different labeling tasks each month.
• Write a Story: Students can draw or write a story. The vocabulary cards will provide fun ideas to spark their love of writing.
• Sequencing: Students will sequence events using the word lists to help them in the writing process. The vocabulary words provide endless writing prompt ideas
• Write a Card: Students will have so much fun writing cards to their friends, classmates, and family. Towards the end of the year, you can add the letter writing template to the inside of the card.
• Write a Book: Students can practice booking making at the writing center too!

Your young writers will need a variety of different writing tools. Make it simple but fun:

• pencils
• crayons
• colored pencils (I like the erasable kind)
• markers (optional)

Classroom set up:

• Place this back to school writing center activity cards on a bulletin board or tri-fold board (if you need it to be portable). Other teachers place the vocabulary cards in a pocket chart.
• Baskets or bins to place the different writing options in.
• You may wish to add your own sentence frame or sentence stems to the writing literacy centers work area at the beginning of the year. A simple sentence can be really supportive in a kindergarten classroom.

How to differentiate the writing center:

Remember the purpose of a writing center, is to hook your students. Staring at a blank paper can intimidate your new young or lowest writers. The writing paper templates that I have included are highly engaging so students can participate at this center at their own level.

How to keep students engaged at the writing center for the whole year:

We know that writing skills take time to develop. Some kindergarten writers can write a complete sentence while others are still are writing random letters. Each month there is a new theme that students will be excited about. The writing center will be BRAND NEW! PSST... busy teachers don't have much time to re-teach the writing center... now you don't have to!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Q: I had your older writing center set, how do I get a copy of that file.

A: You will find the writing center file from 2016 in this zipped folder.

Q: How do you set up this writing center?

A: Each month, I rotate the new writing center materials and activities into the writing center. You can see more about how I manage this writing center by clicking:

• Writing Center for Kindergarten

Q: Will this writing center work in my 2nd grade classroom?

A: I have had many 2nd grade teachers tell me that their class uses (and loves) my writing center activities. Since writing is automatically differentiated, this will work well in many different grade levels. I have included numerous paper options, so it will challenge most students not only in kindergarten and 1st grade, but also in 2nd grade.

Enjoy,

Deedee Wills