When getting ready for back to school there is sometimes one or two subjects that escape a teacher’s mind, and that is writing and art. Back to school is always chaotic and one fun way to combat the chaos is with writing crafts! and Let’s face it, teaching writing isn’t always easy. When you have kids on varying levels of writing and even handwriting still, it can be difficult to have fun teaching writing.
However, one thing I have found is to start right away with cultivating a love of writing! You can do this by incorporating writing in a variety of other lessons. At the beginning of the school year, things are crazy for a while. Everyone is still learning routines and procedures and you are learning where your students are at when it comes to writing.
In the meantime, you possibly have Open House or Meet the Teacher Night where you might have to have a stellar bulletin board set up. Rather than tailing it to the local store to get expensive decor that won’t last a month, let alone the whole year, work smarter, not harder! And that’s where writing comes in
When I first heard the word craftivity, I thought it was just a made-up word. However, even if it is made up (not seeing it in the dictionary) it is a great way to explain what a writing craft is. Writing crafts are a GREAT way to get kids to love writing AND, BONUS…you can also make some awesome bulletin boards using their writing!
Writing Crafts for Back to School Time
I have made many writing crafts, ahem, craftivities, but the following are great for back to school! You can also use them for other topics and subjects as well!
Using Quilt Squares is pretty much the easiest back to school activity, and it makes for an awesome bulletin board. You can can use these for way more then just “About Me” type writing! They can be used for book reports, sequencing, fact families, character traits, biographies, animal classification, and much more! Once, the whole school participated in creating a character quilt about good character traits.
Did you know that kids love to help out in any capacity? That can even mean having them help make decorations for the classroom! Almost every single bulletin board I made was done using handmade things or students’ work. You can save so much money and kill two birds with one stone by having them do writing crafts, you get bulletin boards, and they get fun writing practice without knowing it!
For example, when it comes to winter well let’s face it, having 20 something kids trying to cut out snowflakes is enough to make anyone go nuts (been there, done that). Now not only can your class practice their creative writing skills, learn about poetry, and have FUN while doing it, YOU can have stress free winter bulletin boards!
Another multi use craft is my Thank You Flower! This comes with several templates and is great for practicing letter writing. Have students say thank you for Mother’s Day, Teacher Appreciation, Donor’s Choose, and much more!
The last writing craft I want to mention is also an interactive flip flap one that can be used year round! Guess Who is a perfect easy display that can be used year-round! Perfect for open house, about me boards, biographies, and SO much more! With these templates the possibilities are endless! Students fill out the top flaps that come in several sizes with clues and then write or draw the answers beneath!
If you like writing crafts AND also like saving, check out my Year Long Writing Crafts Bundle! It has 13 writing crafts currently in the bundle and includes fun writing activities for the entire year! Each craft includes a variety of templates so it can be used for different grades or writing levels. There are also directions and ideas for how each craft can be used or displayed! Take the guesswork out of finding fun writing activities and also create some awesome bulletin boards as well!
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