There are few activities as fun, engaging, and useful as write the room.
But how do you maximize your write the room activity?
Many write the room resources are missing a key component that's necessary to promote letter recognition and writing skills.
Let's explore my secret to maintaining an intentional focus on number and letter formation during write the room activities!
What does it mean to write the room?
Write the room is a fun and engaging literacy center where students learn vocabulary while moving around the classroom.
Teachers create cards with words and pictures, then purposefully place the cards around the room for students to walk around and discover.
When they find a card, students write down the word on it.
Students use recording sheets for their write the room activities to write down the words.
The recording sheets have the same pictures from the write the room cards to help guide students.
Most write the room resources use recording sheets with just a picture and blank line, but this results in a big missed opportunity for students!
What is the point of write the room?
Before we dive into my secret for write the room activities, let's discuss why they're great literacy centers for students.
Yes, write the room is fun and gives students a chance to be mobile around the room.
But...
One of the biggest benefits of write the room activities is promoting literacy skills through letter formation!
While students walk around the room finding word cards, they practice writing words, learn to use writing utensils, and connect with other students in a fun way.
My kindergarten students love finding picture cards around the room while practicing writing skills on their recording sheet.
It keeps students engaged the entire year if structured correctly!
Now for the best part.
Let's explore the exact process I use to set up write the room for my little learners.
How do you organize your write the room?
Before we get started;
If you're looking for free resources to help organize your write the room activity, check out my Back to School Write the Room freebie!
It's a small preview of my complete Differentiated Write the Room Bundle on TpT.
Step 1: Pick Your Theme
First, I always choose a theme for my write the room activities.
A few themes my students love are rhyming words, beginning sounds, word families, and color words!
Centering your write the room activity around a consistent theme is the perfect way to make it engaging and purposeful.
Step 2: Prep Your Picture Cards
Next, print and cut out your word cards in preparation for placing them around the room.
(There's a great alternative to velcro dots I'll share in the next step!)
With your cards printed and cut out, you're ready to print your recording sheets and set out clipboards for your students.
Step 3: Place Word Cards Around the Room
A traditional write the room setup usually involves sticking velcro dots on each word card and placing them around the room for students to discover.
The downside to this is teachers spend a lot of time setting up the velcro dots, placing word cards, and taking them down every time students complete the activity.
I've found it's much easier to set up self adhesive pocket holders in the beginning of the year!
Just place your word cards in the pocket holders, then when it's time for a new round of write the room, just place the new word cards over the previous ones in the pocket holder!
You don't need to worry about dealing with velcro every time or sorting your word cards throughout the year.
It saves a lot of time.
At the end of the year, my students love removing all the word cards from the year and sorting them.
As an added bonus, my Differentiated Write the Room Bundle features picture cards that fit perfectly in pocket holders!
Step 4: The Recording Sheet Secret
The recording sheet is where we as educators have the opportunity to maximize our write the room activities.
You might think this step involves just printing out recording sheets and separating them in baskets based on levels.
But a recording sheet with just a picture and blank line misses the mark when it comes to a big part of why we practice write the room in the first place;
Reinforcing letter formation!
I use a recording sheet template with traceable text, starting dots, and handwriting lines to help students practice writing with correct letter formation.
This is exactly what makes my Write the Room resource differentiated from other resources.
An intentional focus on letter formation during your write the room activity results in improved writing skills from the beginning of the year through the last few weeks of school!
This small upgrade to a recording sheet makes a world of difference for learners as they write words.
My recording sheets are available with different levels of difficulty for students who are ready for more of a challenge.
For example, higher levels might contain just handwriting lines or starting dots with no traceable lines.
Step 5: Let Students Show Off Their Writing!
Once students complete their write the room activity, give them the opportunity to showcase their work in the classroom.
Whether that means taking recording sheets home to show their family or gluing it to a notebook, an important step of write the room is encouraging students to be proud of the work they've accomplished.
Final thoughts
After following the steps above, you're ready to start your own write the room activity in the classroom!
Remember that this is not just a fun and engaging way to get students moving around the room.
It's also a great opportunity to reinforce correct letter formation through purposeful recording sheets!
Check out my Differentiated Write the Room Bundle if you're looking for a complete write the room set that offers guided letter formation.
Want to try before you buy?
Grab a back-to-school write the room free printable below!
