I’ve found kids write better stories when they think about the parts of a story, plan them one at a time, and then put it together. This is exactly when my St Patrick’s Day story starters intended to go. I made two for my students to choose from. They use the picture as a spring board and then plan/write from there.
Click here for the free printable PDFs:
St Patrick’s Day Story Starter 1
St Patrick’s Day Story Starter 2
Want more story starters? Click here!
This idea was suggested to me by a 2nd grade teacher. She has her students glue handouts like into their literacy journals. This is my handout (2 per page, so cut in half before passing them out) for personal narratives. It will help your students get started and know some basic elements to include.
Click here for the free printable handout: Personal Narrative Notes for Literacy Journal
I’m one of those people who sees an idea, or a printable or a worksheet, and says “Shoot! I don’t have a dollar for that! I should just make one myself!” I know some of you may think I’m crazy for thinking this, but what can I say. I have a non-existent budget and a lot to get done. Today’s post comes from this kind of situation. I saw this idea and made my own version of it. And now you can enjoy it too… for free!
Anyway, since President’s Day is coming up, teachers have an opportunity to discuss the significance of it. (Click here to see my free “What You Need to Know About President’s Day” comprehension worksheet.) For younger kids, you can’t get into as much detail, but you can talk about the president and the importance of the office a little bit. Here’s a fun writing activity that asks students to finish the sentence “if I were President…” This is especially fun for teachers to read. Sometimes kids’ perceptions about what the President can and can’t do is pretty funny!
This page also goes really well with a social studies unit about American government.
So here you have it (two versions), the free printable PDFs:
If I Were President – lower grades (pictured above)
If I Were President – upper grades
It’s always good practice to let your students know what they’re being graded on. So here’s a generic writing rubric you can use to grade any elementary school writing project. There are 4 on a page, so it won’t waste paper. I always put a stack of these next to the turn-in tray and have students attach the rubric (along with their outlines, rough drafts, etc.) before turning it on. It saves me SO much time having them do it rather than me doing it. If I am having the whole class turn it in at the same time, I pass out the rubrics and send a few staplers around so everyone gets it staples in before they’re passed to me.
Click here for the PDF of the printable rubric: Writing Rubric – 4 per page
Another break away from school means kids have a lot to tell you and their friends! Help them share their fun news with this free Winter Break report printable. It’s a quick, easy way to capture memories of their holidays while doing some writing! Win-win!
Click here for the free PDF: Winter Break Write Up
Author/illustrator, Chris Gall, is my neighbor’s brother. Since I first met him and learned about his books, I’ve been impressed.
My favorite book, Dinotrux, has been a huge hit with our second graders. Dinotrux is a 32-page book that takes place in a fictional prehistoric age, when the world was ruled by Dinotrux, creatures that were part trucks, part dinosaurs (with species like the Craneosauraus, Garbageadon and Tyrannosaurus Trux) plowing and bulldozing their way across the terrain. I recently learned that it’s going to be made into a DreamWorks CG movie (potentially as early as 2018)!!
So if you haven’t had a chance to read it to your class, snag it from the library! You can use it to teach the value of writing, i.e. movies, TV shows, songs, and most ideas start out as writing!
I absolutely love reading letters kids write to Santa. So Why not turn this fun idea into an opportunity to practice persuasive writing! Here’s a FREE printable you can give your kids during the holiday season that you’re SURE to enjoy grading! You can use this page as a rough draft or a final copy page. Click here for the PDF: Schmoozing Santa- persuasive
I love hearing my parents talk about their Christmas memories. What I love even more is reading about them in their journals from when they were kids. This is why I decided to make a “holiday memories page” to use as a fun holiday writing project for kids. There are two versions of this page- one with space to draw a picture, and one without. Here are the free printable PDFs: Holiday Memories – draw own picture and Holiday Memories – with picture. Merry Christmas!
Squarehead Teachers 