Using Writing Offices to Support Primary Writers
In my opinion, writing is one of the more difficult subjects we teach our students. We know what a strong writer looks like, but getting our students to that point isn’t as formulaic as teaching them math or how to read. It can feel overwhelming when you have a variety of writing abilities in your room, and you’re trying to find a way to support them all at the same time!
Fortunately, I have found something that works for every student, every time. Creating writing ‘offices’ for each child is a way to give support to your students while they are writing, without you having to be with each student at once!
What is a writing office?
A writing office is simply a collection of supportive writing materials that you put together for students to reference when they are writing independently! The reason I call it an office is because I set mine up inside manilla file folders, and students can stand their offices up on their desk. It looks like they are writing inside mini-cubilcles! Standing the file folders up creates privacy for each writer, but it also shields them from distractions around the room. The only thing they can see in front of them is their writing tools!
What should I include in one?
I like to notice the questions that my students ask me over and over again during our writing time, and create resources for them to use to find their own answers. When your students are writing, what do they ask about a lot? It might be how to spell certain sight words, where and when to put punctuation marks, how to form certain letters, etc.
Using the needs of my students, I created sets of resource materials to put inside of their offices! Now, students can help themselves find the answers to their writing questions, which frees me up for things like writing conferences!
Benefits of Creating a Writing Office
1.) Students develop independence during writing time. They will know that they have the answers they need at their fingertips!
2.) Student confidence in writing grows. When our students don’t have to rely on us to figure out how to write a letter or spell a word, their sense of autonomy increases. This helps them begin to identify as a ‘writer’, which is so important to boost their confidence and help them grow!
3.) You will stop answering the same questions every week. This saves your sanity a little, but also frees up your time to teach other things!
Grab my Pre-Made Writing Offices
If creating your own offices sounds too time-intensive, and you’d like one that’s completely done for you, check out my student writing offices HERE. This bundle listing includes both a printable and a digital option, so you can use the office that bet fits your current teaching situation.
These include everything you need to support your growing writers. You can print alphabet charts, sight words, color words, seasonal words, and more! This set also includes sight word lists for Pre-K-3rd grade, so you can differentiate your offices to best meet each student where they are!
You can read more about how I set up these writing offices in THIS BLOG POST.
If you try these offices in your classroom, connect with me on Instagram and let me know how they work for you! Or, you can reach out to me at mydayink@gmail.com! Enjoy!
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