Engaging Writing Activities for Young Writers

Primary teachers know we have students who come to us writing up a storm and others who are very reluctant to write anything! How do I get my first graders writing from day one? The short answer is…we write ALL THE TIME! (Me included!)

We don’t just write at “writing time”. We write on whiteboards, sticky notes, anchor charts, and paper. We write when we are reading, we write during math and science, we write during literacy stations, we write notes to each other, and we write to communicate or remember something!

Teaching young writers can be tough, but also so rewarding for both writer and teacher!

Here are SEVEN ways I get ALL of my first graders writing!

1. Display All Kinds of Their Writing

Little ones love to write and draw for their teacher, so as much as I can, I put that writing on display! The author gets so excited to see their hard work posted in our room and it always encourages others to give it a try, too! I always have student work posted on bulletin boards, but these authentic, from-the-heart writings need to be up as well!

If I need a reminder note or a simple chart for our classroom, I usually hand them a sticky note or piece of paper and have them write it. It gives them ownership in our classroom while also letting them see writing as an important communication tool.

2. Whiteboards are fun!!

My students LOVE their personal whiteboards! After laying out the ground rules (no drawing/coloring on the boards, no scribbling, use erasers not fingers, etc.) whiteboards are a big part of our classroom.

Here are a few ways we use them:

ABC writing
- Students bring their whiteboard and marker to our meeting spot. I set a timer for a minute or two and they write the alphabet in their best handwriting. I have them do capital and lowercase for each letter. We do this every week or two so they can see the growth. Maybe the first time, they only made it to “Gg”, but the next time they make it to “Kk”. We take time to share successes and challenges and make corrections as needed. It also encourages them to practice during our station time or free time, too!
Number writing
- This is basically the same as ABC writing, but with numbers.
Message writing
- This also takes place at our meeting spot. They get one minute to write a message of some kind to me. Then, they hold it up and I read them out loud (quickly) or answer any questions that are written for me! It’s a hit!
Dictation
- This can be as simple as me saying a letter or a high frequency word, moving all the way up to sentences and they write it on their board. Then, we do a quick check and discuss as needed.
Reading Groups
- We use our whiteboards for reading response activities for all levels of readers. They may make a story map, answer questions, ask questions, do a simple retell, list facts, and more!
Literacy Stations
- Students can use them to practice writing their name, high frequency words, words with our current phonics focus, and more! We also use them for “Word Hunts” around the classroom. For example, if our phonics focus for the week is inflectional endings, students look around the room for words that have an ending and write it on their board. This works for all sorts of activities and they love it!
Free writing
- During our literacy stations, students can free write on their whiteboard. They love to show me what they’ve written and I often take pictures for my own collection or to show their parents if they desire.
Whiteboard Substitute
- During stations, I’ve also put ABC or number pages for tracing in a page protector. Students use their whiteboard marker to practice during our stations.

3. List Writing Station

List writing is one of the first stations I introduce in first grade. It’s easy and inviting for everyone. Established writers love to come up with all kinds of ideas and fill up many lists, while reluctant or emergent writers have an easy activity to get started on.

You can grab some FREE lists to try in your classroom OR get set for the whole year with this List Writing Bundle.

4. Shared Class Journals

Our first shared class journal every year is “Notes to the Teacher” and it is MY FAVORITE! I get sweet love notes, interesting stories, and lots of questions. I write back a few times each week and they are so excited to read what I’ve written to them.

Click the picture below to get these FREE “Notes to the Teacher” journal covers sent to your inbox!

Get the whole fun pack of Shared Class Journal Covers HERE!

5. Engaging and Kid-Friendly Writing Prompts

I started working on these prompts this year and they will be part of our morning work activities. I love to switch out what we do each morning to keep them interested and focused, but also to give them a few choices. By having these monthly writing journals ready to go, kicking off our morning with writing will be easy and fun! They can also be great for literacy stations, writing warmup, or early finishers!

>>>>>>GRAB THIS YEAR LONG BUNDLE NOW…300 writing prompts (each with a student-friendly writing checklist) for you to use with your writers!

6. Write Across ALL Subjects

We don’t just write during our Writer’s Workshop! We write at math time, we write about books we read or listen to, and we write during Science, Social Studies, Health, and more!

7. Model, Model, Model

Just like my first graders, I also write all the time! I write greeting messages to them on the whiteboard. I write out anchor charts with them for our different activities. During writer’s workshop, I model the activities with my own writing. I’m also a big note taker and they see that. In fact, if I worry about forgetting something, they always say “Write yourself a note!” or even better, sometimes, they just write a note for me!!