My students need a set of magnetic words, alphabet stamps, a set of magnetic boards, unifix letter cubes, stencils, thin markers, colorful pens, colored pencils, glitter construction paper, green, blue and pink paper, envelopes, and 2 books of stickers.
How important is writing to you? How about when you are writing an email or letter to a friend or coworker? How about when you are contesting a bill? When making a shopping list? Now imagine you can't write even a complete sentence--how could you function?
I am the freshman language arts teacher in an occupational high school for students with mild cognitive impairments along with other disabilities such as autism, physical, and emotional disorders in Chicago. Our curriculum centers on the important life skills students need to prepare for life outside of high school like shopping, dining out, following directions, advocating for yourself, etc. All of my units in English have a common component: writing.
Over the years I have created and taught an extensive language arts curriculum where students are learning to write in all different situations. However, when they are not compelled by an assignment, I have found most of my students do not want to write. They struggle with spelling, grammar, even handwriting. Since they do not want to write other than to complete their work (and for many that is a struggle) they are not receiving the extra practice they need to improve their writing skills. They also develop a learned helplessness attitude because they are not motivated to write and feel that they fail when they do so.
To help change my students attitudes towards writing and help motivate them to practice their skills in fun and meaningful ways, I am looking to create 2 writing centers in my classroom. In the first center students will be working with letter and word manipulatives to make different words and sentences in interesting ways. There will be word magnets (some of which I have myself from my own magnet poetry kits) and boards to create sentences and poems, letter blocks, stencils, even stamps to create words and sentences. The second center will be a publishing center. There, students will have a large range of materials to create their own letters, books, poetry, etc.
I am asking for colored paper, markers, pencils, pens, and stickers and will use a lot of my own resources such as bare books, funky scissors, craft supplies, etc to help complete the area.
Help motivate my students to write. Even if they are just writing their names or a few basic words, all the practice will lead to strengthened skills and greater independence. All it takes are writing supplies and manipulatives!
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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