My Writing Center
One of the elements of my writing center will be a poster with the six traits of writing. This poster will be on the wall above the center to remind the students of the elements they need to include in their writing. Each trait will have tips and reminders about how to effectively incorporate that trait into their writing. Before putting the posters up, I will teach each trait individually, practice the trait as a class and independently, adding it to the wall after the first lesson so my students can have a reference point while working on the specific trait. The posters will be written in student friendly language to allow my students to comprehend the tips.
Another element of my writing center will be examples of the types of writing that my students can engage in such as a story, recipe, poem, letter, and card. Before creating the poster, I will teach my students about the different types of writing, having them engage in each type as I teach it, then displaying the type on the poster.This poster will feature examples of my students writing for each type, showcasing student work, making them feel proud of their accomplishments. I will have this in their writing center as a springboard for ideas, giving them examples of the different types of writing they can create.This also provides them with a visual, reminding them of the characteristics of the different types of writing.
Each of my students will have writing goals, housed in their writing journals, which will be used while they are engaged in the writing center. Each student will have their own writing goals to work on. They will be given goals when I have writing conferences with them. During these conferences, we will discuss their writing, what areas they are performing well in and making progress in and what areas of their writing need improvement. Their goals will be based off these conferences, along with the content we are learning in writing. Since the goals are going to be in their writing journals, the students will have a reminder about what skills they are supposed to be working on. This will give my students a purpose for writing,working on actively improving their writing skills each day. When the student has met all of their goals, they will receive a new set of goals to work on.
I plan on having an abundance of supplies so my student can create amazing pieces of work, ready to display in the classroom, present to parents, and to hang out in the hallways. I want my writing center to be filled with all types of paper, including lined paper, cards, printer paper, envelopes, and construction paper of all colors. I would like to have a variety of writing materials including: pens of multiple colors, pencils, colored pencils, markers, crayons, and highlighters. I also believe that my students will need to have access to staplers, glue, paper clips, highlighting tape, scissors, tape, and stickers to put the final touches on their writing. I believe that giving my students access to these types of materials will give motivate them to produce their best writing, making it presentable and done to the best of their abilities. Providing these materials can also make writing fun, allowing students to enjoy writing.
When my students finish their first draft of a writing assignment, they will be given a rubric to grade their papers. The rubric will consist of the six traits of writing and any other concepts we are working on in class, like onomatopoeia, main idea, or dialogue. They will go through the rubric, checking to make sure that their paper meets the requirements. After they have graded their paper, they will have a chance to fix any errors in their paper. After this, I will grade it with them in an individual conference, pointing out spots where they excel and spots that need improvement, then giving them a chance to edit their paper before finally turning it in. Having my students complete a rubric before they hand their paper to me allows my students to have a sense of ownership with their writing. They are responsible for checking to make sure their paper meets the requirements and giving them a chance to fix their work before turning it in.
Dictionaries are going to be another element of my writing center. I plan on having an English dictionary and any other dictionary that would meet the needs of my students, such as a Spanish to English dictionary. Having a dictionary in my writing center will allow my students to look up words they are having trouble spelling or words they do not know the meaning of. This will also allow them to be more independent problem solvers, looking up words themselves instead of asking the teacher for help.
In my writing center, I would include a poster that displays the different editing symbols. My students will be engaged in editing their papers as a part of the writing process, so I would like them to become familiar with the different editing symbols that are used. I will also be editing their papers using these marks, so I want them to know what the marks on their papers mean.