Classroom Mailbox
Motivating Students to Write Letters to Friends (Virtual Tour)
Stage of Literacy Development:
Stage 0: Foundation for LiteracyStage 1: Beginning Literacy
Stage 2: Consolidation / Fluency
Ages:
3-7
Grade Range:
PreK K 1stFood Groups:
Primary:
Motivation for Literacy, Writing Processes & Strategies
Secondary:
Text Structures & Genres, Writing Conventions
Transcript
A really great way to have students excited about writing in your classroom is to have a classroom mailbox. I created this one by simply painting a box and putting the letters: mail, on it. And what I do is I put out papers, and depending on the unit I might put out theme papers. Or for now, because it is the holiday time, I put out cards for them to write with envelopes and stickers for stamps. And then I encourage them during free activity to use the writing center to mail letters to classroom friends. I get mail every day and its really exciting. For example if I check the mailbox today one of my students wrote me a question that they had. So their question was did I put their journal in their bag or do I have it on my desk? They also like to make mail for their friends, and I make sure at the end of each day I put the mail in everybody's home bag so they get to take it home and open something special at home.
Activity Objective
The goal of Classroom Mailbox: Motivating Students to Write Letters to Friends (Virtual Tour) is to promote the enjoyment of literacy by providing students with a specific purpose for writing.
Quick Tips
Additional Comments:
- Model appropriate behaviors and expectations at new centers so that students become independent learners.
- Provide students with a variety of writing material and change the material throughout the year to keep students engaged.
- When cards, envelopes, stickers and special writing paper are available, students are motivated for literacy.
- Incorporate real-life activities into your literacy program with the classroom mailbox.
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Drumming Out Syllables: Foundations for Phonemic Awareness
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