When I think about writing in a first grade classroom, I brace myself for ALL the struggles. We all know them. Students often struggle with low stamina, following the writing process correctly, claiming they are “done” when they aren’t, or saying, “I don’t have anything to write about!” And then after we jump all of those hurdles, we come to the daunting task of editing so the kids can ACTUALLY be done. But we’re all about growth mindset over here! So instead of struggles, we came up with a solution: Writing Checklists for PRIMARY learners.
Primary Writing Checklists
Of course giving primary students tools like a writing checklist seems like the most obvious thing to do to help them gain independence. But we absolutely cannot forget the magic behind them: YOU. As we all know, for these tools to become really powerful, we have to take A LOT of time modeling and practicing. In our classroom, at the beginning of the year, we spend a lot of our writing block simply refining what it should look like. We choose topics we have experience or knowledge on to write about. Then their ideas get put on paper by brainstorming. We write and we write to build our stamina and grow.
When it comes time to edit, together with our checklists, we create authentic individual goals to work on to grow and become better writers. I model incorrect pieces so students can help me edit my own so they see exactly how to utilize this resource. I want to let you know I spend WEEKS modeling each specific category. They watch me before they bring their papers to the carpet and then we do it together. The students help each other and then they practice, practice, practice! After long breaks, we spend ample time reviewing how to use these so the students are independent while editing even after being away! While it may sound like a lot, the kids LOVE editing their own writing and of course helping me “fix” my mistakes!
Primary Writing Checklists
So let’s dig into all the awesome categories we cover with these checklists when we pull these out during our editing portion of the writing process. The checklists make sure we have looked over our writing for capitals, good spacing, sight words, punctuation, and to make sure everything makes sense before publishing.
Primary Writing Checklists Starts with Searching for Capitals
One of the reasons I LOVE using these checklists is because we can really learn about the mechanics of writing and how it helps us as readers! In our classroom, we use green highlighters to search for capitals because who doesn’t love using highlighters?! We highlight correct capitals in our writing, while circling capitals that need to be fixed on our final copy. What an authentic way to learn about capitals and explore more about WHY we use them in our writing.
Spacing
Our finger spaces box gets checked after we make sure our spacing is correct throughout our entire piece. This is a tricky one with littles and takes a LOT of modeling so they don’t have a huge gap between words and call it done because there’s a space. You can check out these fun spacemen I created to help students really understand how much space is needed! You can also grab this freebie by subscribing!
High Frequency Words on Primary Writing Checklists
The next item on the list is to check that all of our high frequency words are spelled correctly. Students are encouraged to use the classroom sound wall or their personal word collection notebook/dictionary to check for spelling errors. I am a HUGE proponent of phonetic spelling, especially for primary students. However, when it comes to high frequency words, I am a big believer in making sure they are spelled right. It also provides great opportunities for students to search for them and practice those recognition skills. It empowers students to use all of their tools to help them. All at once, they get practice searching, recognizing, and spelling high frequency words. This prepares them so much more when they come across the words in a story to be confident in knowing and understanding that word!
Punctuation
The punctuation box brings out our highlighters again! This time we use red/pink highlighters to call attention to correct punctuation and again we circle places where we missed them or used incorrect punctuation. This authentic method helps students learn punctuation marks, understand their importance, and practice proper usage. It is amazing how much you’ll notice how this particular box on the checklist transcends into your reading instruction. Students begin to notice all kinds of various punctuation when they’re reading and why writers use them. It gets them more excited to use punctuation correctly and read with more prosody because they know what the punctuation mark is for. Talk about a win win!
Does Our Writing Make Sense?
The last piece of editing before our publishing stage is making sure our writing makes sense. In order to check our “makes sense” box we read our writing OUT LOUD to make sure we and others can understand our writing. I really encourage them to read it out loud because we know what we want to say in our minds, but reading aloud we can really HEAR that we included everything we intended and didn’t make any silly mistakes. It’s also fun to use different voices to engage them, get them excited and motivated to really want to read over their work to check that it all makes sense!
The Power of Peer Editing with Primary Writing Checklists
These checklists are perfect for peer and independent editing, giving students a helpful resource to ensure they’ve gone through the writing process thoroughly. This frees you to spend more one-on-one time conferencing with students. These checklists can be used with ANY type of writing and are super kid-friendly, with both visuals and words. Available in two sizes—one for whole or small group lessons and another for individual use—these checklists can be laminated for repeated use. They foster collaboration, academic discussions, and encourage students to push each other to become stronger writers. They’re also a huge time saver for teachers during writing time! Peer editing allows for tons of differentiation, offering ways to pair and group students to push advanced learners or support those needing extra guidance. It’s incredible to watch students help and support one another in their writing journey. But how do we get there?
We typically begin using the checklist independently to ensure we ALL know how before bringing in peer editing. Does peer editing sound scary in primary? If I’m being honest, I was TERRIFIED when thinking about teaching first graders how to peer edit. However, with the use of these checklists and of course LOTS of modeling and practice… these kids DID NOT disappoint! I was SO impressed at how much better they could push one another compared to getting help from me. Kids have a way of reaching one another better than we can sometimes and it’s powerful when we can recognize and foster that. You can also bet their understanding is at a mastery level when you get to the point of THEM teaching each other all the mechanisms of writing! Let’s empower these little learners and see the amazing things they can do with more independence!
Authentic Goal Setting
We know that setting goals and providing feedback has HUGE impacts on student learning and growth. With these checklists, students know exactly the area they need to improve in and can set their OWN goals! Talk about some powerful learning. While students are working, you have MORE time to confer one on one and support students because guess what… They are working on their own! It makes such a difference and feels SO good to get to more students for one on one support. Check out this idea I learned on Instagram. It was also a huge help and great visual for students to see during writing time. It also works great to help keep me on track!
What Are Teachers Saying about These Primary Writing Checklists?
Teachers tell me over and over again how much this resource has helped transform their students’ writing. Read below some of the wonderful things teachers have to say about these checklists.
“Great resource! I printed out a copy for each student to have on their desk to refer back to and created a larger scale one to have available for them to see in the classroom. A great way for them to self correct their writing.”
“Love this checklist! I use the mini templates in small group/ my writing center. The larger templates stay on my board for us to refer back to when writing!! A must have!”
“Perfect visual to send home with students to utilize during distance learning or to include on daily slides! Thank you!”
“This is a great resource for editing in the primary grades! Very user-friendly!”
“Love the great visuals with the easy to understand checklist. ”
“I love using these when my students are peer editing. It helps them pay better attention to their writing.”
“Super simple writing checklist to use with 1st graders. They were able to use it to help with their writing.”
“Love the format of these!! Thank you!!”
“I LOVE this resource. It is a helpful reminder for my students when they are writing. The checklist is fun.”
“Great visual reminder for students and helps to build self-monitoring skills during writing.”
The Year Long Writing Bundle
Why not load your students up with all the support and resources to help them become strong, independent writers for the entire year? Grab the GROWING bundle of tools and lessons to help your students become amazing writers! This resource covers all your writing standards for the entire year, from small moments to research writing. Grab it now and get every new resource ever added FREE!
Love this and want more posts like it? Check out these below!
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How to Teach Small Moment Writing
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