And the goal this year is….WRITING!

Each year, as the school year begins, I set a new goal for myself as a classroom teacher. Never one to repeat the exact same lessons, I am constantly looking for new and inspiring ideas.  Two years ago, I spent much of my summer researching Guided Reading and how to implement this into a kindergarten classroom. Last year, I worked to diversify student learning through twice weekly math centers, in addition to using our school adopted curriculum. This year, I plan to focus on writing.

For the past four years I have used a writing program by Write Source. It has a colorful workbook, with lots of illustrations, and covers the main components of a kindergarten writing program. But, quite honestly, it is not high interest for the students. After researching and combing the lesson plans on the phenomenal website, Teachers Pay Teachers, I have decided to use Writer’s Workshop to supplement my writing program. I found an amazing eight month unit form TPT millionaire, Deanna Jump. In this unit, she links literature to writing activities, that give the students concrete examples of how and what to write. (Writing is super abstract for kinders….in the past, students have struggled to write on a topic of their choice months into kindergarten.) I am excited for this new adventure and am curious to see how the children like the activities. My goal is to officially start the units in October, since the students will likely need to learn their letters and sounds in September. I’ll keep you posted!

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Here are some of the books that are part of the Writer’s Workshop units.