AT Tip 5 - Writing!

There's a lot to be said on this topic, but I'll keep this short and (hopefully) sweet.

1. For Emergent and Early Writers –
Experience with text and daily opportunities to write are crucial to developing literacy skills. All students can learn to express themselves through writing, although some may use nontraditional methods. Here are some ideas for non-traditional and emerging writers:

• Letter play (see list of web site letter activities in AT Tip 4)
• Use regular or onscreen keyboard (Classroom Suite) for free writing exploration, invented spelling, and writing name.
• Use talking text feedback (Classroom Suite) – students hear letters (& words) spoken as they type.
• Write with word banks or phrase banks – Classroom Suite.
• Use word prediction.
• Write for a variety of purposes: here are some

∆ Make lists of colors, people, pets, foods, or anything.
∆ Write about a picture, an event, a personal experience.
∆ Retell a story from a book read in class - using pictures and words.
∆ Journal – Today in school I ...
∆ Fill in blanks to complete sentences or write a story - Wacky Web Tales (Mad Libs)


2. For Students Writing Paragraphs and Extended Responses
Students, who are struggling to write Paragraphs and multiple paragraphs, may find word-processing less frustrating than a pencil and paper. Keyboarding is an important skill at this stage of writing (District 97 Custom Typing information)
• Lessons in Microsoft Word

• Formatting a document (Basic Formatting in Word, presentation in Word Handouts)
• Editing in Word (Editing in Word, tutorial in 'Word Handouts') – a presentation which can be viewed in QuickTime (as a movie) or opened in PPT.

-Sheri

AT Tip 4 - For Reading and Writing

A. From Read-Write-Think, a vast resource for students, families, and teachers, comes reading, and letter exploration (under Student Materials):
http://www.readwritethink.org/student_mat/index.asp
Build letter fluency through experience with letter recognition and letter sounds.

• KiddoNet Alphabet http://www.kiddonet.com/gb/flash/phonics/Intro.html
• Poisson Rouge Alphabet http://www.poissonrouge.com/abc/index.htm
• Julia’s Rainbow Corner http://www.juliasrainbowcorner.com/html/a2z.html
• Match Pictures to Letter Sounds: In this activity, students type their name to start, and print their picture matches when they are finished - a nice tangible product. http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/picturematch/
  

B. . Students using word processing - How to Format a Word Document
It’s helpful for students, who use word processing, to know some basics about Microsoft Word.
I've posted 2 resources about basic formatting, you'll find these in "Microsoft Handouts"; one is a PDF handout "Basic Formatting in Word", and the other is a Presentation in QuickTime of the same name (can also be opened in Power Point). Use this presentation in the computer lab or classroom before you begin a writing assignment.
Skills in this lesson include: using the menu bar, how to find & open toolbars, using text alignment tools, zoom, and the ability to properly format an assignment.