More Writing!

Thanks to the wonderful suggestion of one of our parents, we turned two shoe organizers into mailboxes for the children. After explaining that each child and teacher in our class had his or her own compartment for 'special deliveries' we encouraged the children to write cards and letters at the writing table and deliver mail to one another. Needless to say there was much interest and excitement by both the writers and receivers of mail!  The children used classroom resources (e.g., word wall, name cards, printed phrases at the card center) to help them write their messages. What fun!

Some Ontario Curriculum this activity fulfilled includes:

4.1 demonstrate an interest in writing (e.g., choose a variety of writing materials, such as adhesive notes, labels, envelopes, coloured paper, markers, crayons, pencils) and choose to write in a variety of contexts

(e.g., draw or record ideas at learning centres)

4.2 demonstrate an awareness that writing can convey ideas or messages (e.g., ask the teacher to write out new words for them)

4.3 write simple messages (e.g., a grocery list on unlined paper, a greeting card made on a computer; labels for a block or sand construction), using a combination of pictures, symbols, knowledge of the correspondence between letters and sounds (phonics), and familiar words

4.4 begin to use classroom resources to support their writing (e.g., a classroom word wall that is made up of children’s names, words from simple patterned texts, and words used repeatedly in shared or interac- tive writing experiences; signs or charts in the classroom; picture dictionaries; alphabet cards; books)