Today, I am sharing how I set up and organize Write the Room for use during my literacy centers and answering questions about it! Write the Room is actually the second literacy center I teach my kids because it’s so easy to implement!
What is write the room (WTR)?
WTR is a movement-based activity that is also great for learning vocabulary and working on handwriting! Students get up and walk around the room, finding words and writing those words down. They can find the words anywhere in the classroom, so it’s called write the room! We use a more directed write-the-room where the students use a recording sheet with pictures and find those pictures around the classroom. The pictures contain the word. Students find the picture and write the word!
How Do You Organize Write The Room?
Our organization is quite simple: it’s color-coded just like our center wheel! (CHECK OUT OUR CENTER WHEEL HERE!) I use color-coded baskets or buckets that match the color of our literacy groups. This allows the students to know exactly which basket they can choose from. The baskets allow me to differentiate the recording sheets!
I have also used these baskets from the Dollar Tree. The baskets hang on the wall with command hooks!
Included in each basket are the recording sheets for WTR. These recording sheets tell students what pictures they are looking for and what words they are writing. Each recording sheet is themed to match our themes and helps students learn vocabulary! Again, the pictures on the recording sheet correspond to the cards on the wall. The students can tell from the recording sheet which cards to look for and what words to write.
Do you differentiate or do students have choice in write the room?
Absolutely! Like every center in our classroom, we want students to have a choice in their learning. This choice gives them a voice in their learning. Voice and choice empower our students. Empowerment means engagement! Each group’s basket might have three or four different choices for them. So, usually, in the classroom, I have four different “themes” hanging up! Students can choose any of the “themes” from their basket! This allows me to differentiate for my students! At the beginning of the year the write the room might be letter tracing or even coloring letters so they can still participate if they’re not ready for writing!
Here’s how it works. The cards are on the wall. The pictures on the recording sheet match the pictures on the wall. Students find a picture, find it on their recording sheet, and write the word.
What skills do you include in the write the room?
Write the room is great for thematic vocabulary. For example, each time we do a new theme or unit or research project, we put up a “write the room” for that theme. This allows constant reinforcement of the vocabulary for that theme! I also use write the room for letters at the beginning of the year.
When and how often do you change the write the room activities?
THE KIDS! That’s right!!!! Train two or three students to help change our the write the room so it’s less work for you! I use Velcro dots to put the words on the wall. The velcro dots make changing out the cards easier. You can train the students to take the cards down, sort the cards, and put up new cards! The “Write The Room Team” puts the new cards up! We change write the room monthly to keep it easy for teachers and kids.
Any tips for making this center even more fun?
YES! PROPS! We have a basket of headbands and glasses that the kids can wear when they are writing the room. They can choose ONE prop to wear. If they take it off, they don’t get another one. This eliminates them spending their time at the prop basket! We get most of our props from Dollar Tree!
Are you looking for writing-the-room activities for your kids? Check out our WTR For The Year creation! It includes a write-the room for each month! It includes cards and two different recording sheets for monthly thematic vocabulary! We also have WTR with REAL PHOTOGRAPHS! Keep the learning going all year long, and keep your students engaged by changing out the themes!
We also have a bundle of all three of our Walk the Room activities! For only $15, you can get Write the Room, Count the Room, and Add/Subtract the Room—that’s a year’s worth of Walk the Room activities for $15! Click the image to grab your bundle!
Also, check out our research projects for thematic write the room activities!
