Writing Toolkit

Kindergarten

I Can Statements:

I can write uppercase letters and lowercase letters using correct information, while looking at a model of each letter.
I can write a dictated sentence using a capital letter at the beginning.
I can draw and name a picture that is recognizable to my teacher.
I can label a picture with the correct beginning sounds.
I can write simple words phonetically.

What is kindergarten writing?

Kindergartners are often enthusiastic writers and they will weave writing activities into their play. Provide budding writers with experiences that give them something to write about. Invented spelling is normal at this age, as children are translating the sounds of spoken words into writing.

Here's what your kindergartner can learn to do:

Print own first and last name
Draw a picture that tells a story and label or write about the picture
Write upper- and lowercase letters (although they may not be clearly written)

Children at this age can read their own writing and should be encouraged to read aloud!

What Does it Look Like?

YouTube: What does kindergarten writing look like? Milestones from GreatSchools

As a parent you can...

Label it: Young children love to name things! Ask your child to write out labels for the rooms and objects in your house. Don't worry about invented spellings! Help your child safely tape them up for temporary display. See a real-life example in this blog post, Using but confusing, with laundry.

First stories: Ask your child to tell you simple stories as you write them down. Copy the story as your child tells it, without making changes. Ask her to clarify anything you don't understand. Soon, your child will be writing her own stories. Here's a wonderful example of a story by a five year old in the blog post, I like Writer's Workshop.

Author's chair: Identify a special "author's chair" in your home. That's where your child can sit and share out loud something she has written. Be an enthusiastic listener! This shows your child that others want to hear about her thoughts and ideas.

Message board: Hang a family message board in the kitchen and leave notes there for your child. Encourage your child to write a message back and post it to the board.

Get your kindergartner writing!

Youtube: Get Your Kindergartner Writing

This video is from Home Reading Helper, a resource for parents to elevate children’s reading at home provided by Read Charlotte.

Find more video, parent activities, printables, and other resources at Home Reading Helper.

Struggling with handwriting?

Handwriting involves more than just making letters on a page — it requires strong fine motor and visual-motor skills.
Here are six multisensory techniques to try if your child is struggling with writing.
wide-ruled paper with bold lines.pdf

Grades 1

I Can Statements: Grade 1

I can use grade level skills to produce a narrative piece of writing. (1.2.1.1)
I can use grade level skills to produce an informational piece of writing. (1.6.2.2)
I can use grade level skills to produce an option piece of writing (1.6.1.1)
I can write a sentence with correct grammar and sentence parts. (1.10.1.1)
I can write words phonetically. (1.10.2.2)

Writing allows children to express their thoughts, creativity, and uniqueness. It is a fundamental way in which children learn to think critically, organize and communicate ideas, and make thinking visible and permanent. And learning to write well helps children to be better readers!

First graders write many times a day to express their ideas and interests — they are writing with a purpose, through stories, letters, and lists. Children at this age can read their own writing and should be encouraged to read aloud!

Make sure your child sees you writing. She will learn about writing by watching you write. Talk with her about your writing so that she begins to understand why writing is important and the many ways it can be used.

Kids who are worried about spelling every word correctly will often stick to a small group of words they can spell, or may avoid writing altogether.

Struggling with handwriting?

Handwriting involves more than just making letters on a page — it requires strong fine motor and visual-motor skills.
Here are six multisensory techniques to try if your child is struggling with writing.
wide-ruled paper with bold lines.pdf

What Does it Look Like?

YouTube: What does first grade writing look like?

As a parent you can...

Family letters: Help your child write letters to relatives and friends. These may include thank you notes or just a special note to say hello. Be sure to send your child a letter or card once in awhile too so that she is reminded of how special it is to get a letter in the mail. And consider finding a pen pal for your child.

Family stories: Ask your child to draw a picture of a family activity and then write a sentence about it below the picture. Encourage your child to say the sentence and write letters to match the sounds in each word. Then have your child read what she wrote. Display the story on the refrigerator or a bulletin board — and celebrate the work!

Label it: Young children love to name things! Ask your child to write out labels for the rooms and objects in your house. Don't worry about invented spellings! Help your child safely tape them up for temporary display. See a real-life example in this blog post, Using but confusing, with laundry.

Young reporter: Encourage your child to take notes on trips or outings, and to describe what she saw. This could include a description of nature walks, a boat ride, a car trip, or other events that lend themselves to note-taking.

Play a game with pictures: Photos and images are great story sparkers. Do a web search and find a few interesting images. Or cut out pictures from magazines. The pictures can be realistic, such as a photo of students on a playground. Or they can be fantastical images, such as a superhero flying in space. Glue a couple images into a notebook. Then ask your child to write about one of them. You can prompt her, asking her to include what she sees, what the people are thinking, what will happen next—or just let her imagination run free.

Create a family scrapbook: A family scrapbook is a great way to save memories and jump-start your child’s writing. Use an inexpensive photo album to keep souvenirs of things you do together. This can include photos, ticket stubs, and found objects, like pretty leaves. Your child can begin by writing the date and a line about where you were and what you did. Then, you can work together to write a more detailed summary. Don’t forget to include funny or even annoying moments!

What is Phonological Awareness? (1.10.2.2)

Phonological awareness refers to the bigger “chunks” or “parts” of language. When we ask students to rhyme, blend small words to make a compound word, break words apart into syllables or onset-rime, we are working at the phonological awareness level. Phonemic awareness is a part of phonological awareness. Phonemic awareness is the ability to recognize and manipulate each sound in a word. Phonological/phonemic awareness focuses on sounds and does not include written letters or words.

Learn more about phonological awareness.

In 1st grade, readers learn to blend together individual sounds to make words, break apart each individual sound in a word, delete a sound in a word, and change a sound in a word.

What Does it Look Like?

YouTube: Why is phonemic awareness the key to learning to read?

As a parent you can...

Sound "I Spy" with Counting Sounds: Play "I Spy" with sounds by naming the number of sounds as the first clue. Next, give clues about each sound until the spied item is named (e.g., For cloud, the adult would say, "I spy something with 4 sounds. The first phoneme or sound is /c/. The second phoneme or sound is /l/." The child would say, "Cloud!".) Word list organized by phonemes (optional).

Sound Counting Sort: Count the number of sounds in a word and then sort the words based on the number of sounds. Sound Counting Sort

Picture Slide: Practice blending sounds while sliding cards together to make pictures. The child will name the picture, segment the word into sounds, and repeat the word (e.g., “Frog, /f/ /r/ /o/ /g/”. Frog.). Picture Slide

Phoneme Swap: Compare two pictures and decide which phoneme sound has been changed. Phoneme Swap

Word Change: Delete the second sound in a blend to make a new word. Word Change

Online Activities

Use the Letter Tile Free Play Board and the word lists below for the online activities:

Letter Tile Segmenting and Counting: Practice segmenting by using the free online Letter Tile Free Play Board.

Letter Tile Blending Sounds: Practice blending by using the free online Letter Tile Free Play Board.

Letter Tile Deleting Sounds: Practice phoneme manipulations by using the free online Letter Tile Free Play Board.

Letter Tile Substituting Sounds: Practice phoneme manipulations by using the free online Letter Tile Free Play Board.

Grade 2

I Can Statements: Grade 2

I can write an option piece.
I can write an informational piece.
I can write a narrative piece.
I can write using proper capitalization and punctuation.
I can write using learned spelling patterns.

Writing allows children to express their thoughts, creativity, and uniqueness. It is a fundamental way in which children learn to think critically, organize and communicate ideas, and make thinking visible and permanent. And learning to write well helps children to be better readers!

Writing with purpose, style, and structure

Second graders are learning how to write a variety of types of compositions, including stories, reports, and letters. They write about a range of topics with the audience in mind.

Second graders are polishing a wide range of basic writing skills, including writing legibly, using capitalization and punctuation correctly (most of the time!), and moving from invented spelling to more accurate spelling.

For most, handwriting becomes automatic, so they can concentrate more on the content of their writing rather than on the mechanics.

Second graders can organize their writing to include a beginning, middle, and end. They can write a simple essay with a title and introductory sentence, provide examples and details that support their main concept, and write a concluding sentence.

They are learning how to revise own writing and offer meaningful feedback to peers about their writing.

Be a writing role model

Make sure your child sees you writing. She will learn about writing by watching you write. Talk with her about your writing so that she begins to understand why writing is important and the many ways it can be used.

Does spelling count?

With second graders, you’ll see less invented spelling and more correct spelling (especially words from a word wall or vocabulary list). A good teacher will be able to tell the difference between the misspellings that indicate normal literacy development and those that suggest a possible learning disability. If you have questions, talk to your child's teacher or reading specialist.

Struggling with handwriting?

Handwriting involves more than just making letters on a page — it requires strong fine motor and visual-motor skills.
Here are six multisensory techniques to try if your child is struggling with writing.
wide-ruled paper with bold lines.pdf

What does second grade writing look like?

YouTube: What does second grade writing look like? Milestones from GreatSchools

As a parent you can...

3 writing tips for kids who don’t like to write: Watch as an expert shares more tips for encouraging your child’s writing, including using dictation (speech-to-text) technology. (This video was produced by Understood.)

YouTube: Three writing Tips for Kids Who Don't Like to Write

Write for a reason: Help your child see that we write for a specific purpose and audience. Here are some writing prompts to try:

Have your child write instructions for taking care of the family pet. These will be useful as you plan your summer vacations!
Make a shopping list before going to the grocery store.
Write an online review of a book or an item you recently purchased or a recipe you tried.
Talk about the presidential election and write a description of the kind of president you want.
Find a picture in the newspaper and write an article to accompany it.
Have your child start keeping a personal diary, a household guestbook, or a baby book for a younger sibling.

Family letters: Help your child write letters to relatives and friends. These may include thank you notes or just a special note to say hello. Be sure to send your child a letter or card once in awhile too so that she is reminded of how special it is to get a letter in the mail. And consider finding a pen pal for your child.

Family stories: Ask your child to draw a picture of a family activity and then write a sentence about it below the picture. Encourage your child to say the sentence and write letters to match the sounds in each word. Then have your child read what she wrote. Display the story on the refrigerator or a bulletin board — and celebrate the work!

Young reporter: Encourage your child to take notes on trips or outings, and to describe what she saw. This could include a description of nature walks, a boat ride, a car trip, or other events that lend themselves to note-taking.

Grade 3 -Hang Tight

Hang tight while we work hard to build these resources.

Spiderman hanging from a wire next to a laptop screen

I can write an opinion piece on a topic or text supporting a point of view. (3.6.1.1)

I can write an informational piece about a topic with related details. (3.6.2.2)

I can write a narrative piece about something real or imagined. (3.6.3.3)

Grade 4

I can write an opinion piece that supports a point of view with reasons and information. (4.6.1.1)

As a parent you can...

Help your child see the different types of writing you do in your adult life. Talk about the writing you do for work and the more casual writing you do to friends. Then have fun encouraging your child to write their own opinion pieces — ask them to write a review of last night's dinner or the last family movie you watched.

Online Practice:

IXL Writing Strategies: U. Developing & Supporting Arguments: #1–6

I can write an informational text to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. (4.6.2.2)

I can write a narrative text or other creative text to develop real or imagined experiences or events. (4.6.3.3)

As a parent you can...

Parents can help promote their writer in many ways, and here are just a few: find time to share and celebrate the writing that comes home from school, highlight how writing is a part of every day, and take the time to notice and appreciate the beautiful writing found within books.

Online Practice:

IXL Writing Strategies: V. Descriptive Details: #1–3

https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/plot-diagram

https://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/student-interactives/story

http://interactives.readwritethink.org/cube-creator

I can conduct short research projects that build knowledge. (4.6.7.7)

As a parent you can...

Consider checking out some "how-to" books from the library. Discuss the way the book is designed to teach someone to do something. Notice the format, short directions, and pictures or diagrams. Then, choose a topic to create your own family "how-to" book. It could be for a well-loved recipe or some other task that has multiple steps — how to clean the bathroom, unload the dishwasher, or program the DVR.

Online Practice:

I can create multimedia work for a specific purpose. (persuade, inform, entertain, artistic expression) (4.8.8.8)

As a parent you can...

Online Practice

Creativity Applications

Pallet.com

Flipgrid.com, Simple, free video discussions to make learning fun, fulfilling and empowering.

AppleApp: ChatterPix Kids, Storytelling for kids

AppleApp: Draw and Tell HR, Storytelling for kids

AppleApp: Clips, Say it with a video

Google: Google Slides, Tell impactful stories with Google Slides

BookCreator.com

Apple iMovie

Explaineverthing.com, Create engaging lessons, assign activities and tasks. Record instructions and give interactive presentations.

"I Can Statements" below each grade level will correspond with your student(s) report card.

Select Grade Below

Writing allows children to express their thoughts, creativity, and uniqueness. It is a fundamental way in which children learn to think critically, organize and communicate ideas, and make thinking visible and permanent. And learning to write well helps children to be better readers!