WRITING CENTRES
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To keep writing as a high interest task for the students, they will have the opportunity to chose they type of writing they would like to do.  Centres evolve throughout the year and are often generated and taught by students.  Some of the writing centres include:

Book Reviews:  Students will learn to write and publish their own book review online at http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/swyar/.

Stories:  Students will have the opportunity to build stories through play (using puppets, figurines or their favourite stuffed animals).  Students will also use visual planners to consider all elements of the story (characters, time, setting, conflict and resolution).

Plays:  Students will plan a story using a template and use puppets or act out a script.  They will be taught how to record this script.

Comics:  Students will learn the elements of creating an engaging comic. Students will experiment with comics that deliver a joke in three panels or less and stories in a series of panels.
 
Editorial Piece:  Students will listen to a news article about a current event from the website http://teachingkidsnews.com.  Students respond to a writing prompt from this story.  They will explain how they formulated their opinion based on personal connections they have experienced in their life, or other similar stories they have read (text to self, text to text or text to world).  Each student will have the opportunity to publish one of their editorial pieces in our classroom newspaper throughout the year.

Advice Column:  Students can write to our classroom advice team for advice on how to deal with a conflict they have encountered in class or in the playground. These letters can be presented during our weekly community circle for additional advice.

Global News: In addition to learning about how to write a letter and craft emails, students will learn about different cultures around the world by being matched with international pen pals. Our current pen pals  are from New Zealand, Brazil, Isreal, England and Africa.  Please let me know if you have any other family members or friends around the globe who would like to be in correspondence with our class.

Recipes:  I will demonstrate or set up the ingredients for a recipe at the café.  I will give a brief demonstration on how to do this.  Students will be able to use an ipad to make a video of themselves making the recipe.  They must then write the recipe down on the template cards.  They can also scribe a copy of their show as a script. Another option is to copy a recipe from a book.