We want them to start thinking of activities. We want our students’ brains to start thinking of vocabulary. It could serve as a vehicle to get their brain thinking. The book can be a mentor text, pulled to help demonstrate a specific objective like grammar or small moments in narrative writing.īut understand that not every time you use a book before you write, does it have to be a mentor text. Starting a writing project with a book helps to get your students’ minds thinking. And for me, writing always start with a book! Let’s start with day one! I usually like for this to start on Mondays. Take what I am sharing today and “make it work!” for you and your students! Day 1 of Writing Routine: Set the Stage

You are the queen/king of your classroom. Just know that the depth needs to be a little more than what I’m going to go into today. I’ve seen 4th-grade teachers use this and 5th-grade teachers. This routine can also be applied to older grades. I’ve had major success in both my 2nd and 3rd grade classrooms. Yes, you could do it with students that are later in 1st grade. The writing routine I’m sharing today, has been used for over 7 years. Isn’t life easier when things start on Monday and end on Friday?

For me, that means a 5-day writing routine.įor the record: I like things to be in 5 days. But, I love teaching writing and have found over the years, the best way to get my kids to fall in love with writing also is through a consistent writing routine. It is also time consuming to teach AND especially grade. There’s no cut and dry methods that work for ALL students. Why is that? I theorize that it’s because writing is very personal. Whenever I talk to fellow teachers about what they HATE teaching… it always seems to be writing.

Rough draft 5th grade examples