Writing Center Writing Helpers | Printable Classroom Resource | Miss DeCarbo
I created this year-long bundle of 48 writing helpers in order to ease the stress teachers feel as they prepare writing centers for the classroom. Often, students have a difficult time getting started on their own when they are at the writing center or writing independently.
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These No Prep Writing Helpers provide students with themed word banks, sentence starters, and interactive writing checklists. The writing helpers are printer-friendly and slide into sheet protectors for instant, interactive writing tools!
Each month contains four writing helpers that focus around various topics. Each month contains a mix of seasonal and nonseasonal topics. Please understand that these nonseasonal writing helpers can be used at ANY time of the year. For example, in October, you may decide to pull out March’s writing helper on community workers if that is what you are currently or have previously studied with your class. To make it easy for you, I've created a clickable table of contents page so that you can quickly access the writing helper you want to use! Hooray!
Each of the 48 writing helpers includes:
- a student-friendly picture word bank filled with fifteen words in alphabetical order
- five sentence starts to choose from (a mix of informational, opinion, and narrative prompts are included each month)
- an interactive writing checklist- students will add smiley faces as they self-check the various elements in their writing pieces
The best part? Writing Helpers are reusable! Students choose a sentence starter, write about it, check their writing with the checklist, and then wipe clean to begin with a new prompt!
When and how can I use this resource?
This is a year-long resource and can be used any time you want a no-prep writing center or independent writing tool for your students! You can place a new writing helper into your writing center each week, or, you can set out all four writing helpers for the month and give students lots of writing choice and inspiration! (You can place just two writing helpers out for the month, too! The choice is yours and this resource is SO flexible!)
These writing helpers are a great way to INTEGRATE writing into your social studies and science content! The picture word banks help to boost vocabulary skills and the writing prompts help students to self-start. You can use them month-by-month, or mix-and-match according to your curriculum map and units of study.
What grade level(s) is this resource best suited for?
I created this resource for first grade and second grade. Third graders who need assistance during independent writing time, need additional writing reinforcement or practice, or need help self-starting, will benefit from this resource, too. Kindergarten teachers- you may find this to be a great resource for yourselves! Your students can use the word banks and the checklists, and you can highlight or mark the sentence starter you want students to work on with a sticky tab or a star.
What do I need to use this resource?
I recommend printing the word helpers on card stock for durability, but this is entirely up to you. If you want the writing checklists to be interactive and write on/wipe off, you'll want to place the helpers in sheet protectors and provide dry erase markers.
What topics and themes are included each month?
August- Back to School, Rules and Behavior, Our Classroom, Recess Fun
September- All About Me, Apples, Autumn, Pets
October- Pumpkins, Fire Safety, Nocturnal Animals, Fall Festival Fun
November- Thanksgiving Dinner, Wants and Needs, Space, Long Ago and Today
December- Holidays Around the World, Christmas, Fairy Tale Fun, Science
January- Happy New Year, Arctic Animals, Winter Sports, Snow Day Fun
February- Groundhog Day, American Symbols, Valentine's Day, Dental Health
March- We Love Reading, St. Patrick's Day, Landforms, Community Workers
April- Spring, Weather, The Earth, Easter
May- Plants, Technology, Bugs, Emotions
June- Summer, Camping, Beach, Under the Sea
July- 4th of July, Fun at the Zoo, Music, Transportation
I hope you love this huge writing resource and find it to be helpful, fun, and inspiring for your writers! Please do not hesitate to contact me if you should have any questions prior to purchasing. Please understand this resource is NOT editable.
Christina DeCarbo
Miss DeCarbo, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Copyright 2019
