January Ideas for Interactive Writing

Hello, this is Brandi from The Research Based Classroom. I know it's not even Christmas yet, but now that I'm done with Christmas in the classroom, it's time to start planning for January. I am a huge fan of interactive writing for the K-2 classroom and today I am sharing some of my favorite January writing ideas. First, a quick look at how I implement interactive writing.

• I like to plan 4 days a week for writing and I give it about 15 minutes each day.
• Everyone writes the text on their own paper while we write on the class paper. I put the class paper on the easel and everyone else writes on their own paper. I know lots of teachers who have students write on whiteboards, but I like my students to have a finished text that they can take home and read to their family. Choose what works best for you.
• Every student writes on the class paper. At the beginning of the year in first grade it might be one letter at a time, but by the end of the year it's a whole word at a time. So it's important to write longer texts as the year moves along.
• We compose the text together. Students make suggestions and we work together to decide what we will write. Many of the decisions are made by a quick vote.
• You can teach any writing skill with interactive writing. Decide what to focus on by what you see that your students need. Use interactive writing as a time to teach skills your students need for their independent writing. Here's a small list of skills that can be taught:

You can write about any topic, but here are some of my favorite January topics:

• Directions for building a snowman
• New Year's Resolutions for the class

Penguin or Polar Bear Facts

A biography or list of facts about Martin Luther King Jr.

Create a list of things that good readers or writers do

Create a list of rainy day activities

Write about snowflakes after reading Snowflake Bentley

Read the story of Ruby Bridges and retell her story

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If you are looking for ideas for other months, you can find these ideas and more in my Interactive Writing for Grades K-2 download at TpT.

Happy Writing!