How To Use Write the Room

Have you heard teachers raving about Write the Room and wondered what all the excitement is all about? Maybe you don’t understand how to use it OR the purpose behind it. My goal is to explain how I set up this activity, how to use it, why I use it and different ways I allow kids to become engaged with a full year of Write the Room.

Set Up

Write the Room is LOW PREP – just Print and Cut the cards. Laminate if desired but not needed. Print the recording pages.

Secret Tip: I use the same border for ALL my Write the Room recording sheets so that I can use them all year and not have to recycle the extras at the end of each week or month.

Tape the 12 cards around the room. Set out the recording pages in a center and set up is done.

Store each thematic Write the Room set in a plastic bag and label it. All you will need to do is take down the old pictures and put up the new pictures each week. Copy enough recording sheets for a month and you won’t need to worry about those for awhile. You can also leave the Write the Room up for two weeks and change them out twice a month depending on how long your themes last.

How To Use

How do you use Write the Room? So students get a clipboard and recording sheet that has numbers 1-12. On each card is a word, picture and a number (a different number on each card). Students walk around the room, find a card, write the word next to the correct number on the recording sheet.

This is a great way to introduce thematic vocabulary each week OR review the vocabulary words. It also allows students to practice handwriting and strengthens fine motor skills. Kids are learning how to spell words while having fun!

Add To Centers

You could put this activity in a center and let them choose to go to the center OR you can assign this center. I add this to my writing center so that when they choose to go to the writing center there are multiple activities. Here is how I run centers so you can better see how I would use Write the Room in my centers:

Centers Need Routines

Center Organization Made Easy

Whole Group

Another really fun thing to do with Write the Room (if you choose not to put it in your centers) is to allow the whole class to do this activity all at the same time. They work together, help each other and get so excited to get a clipboard and recording sheet and find those words. It’s a little noisier but I definitely find that it’s productive noise. Maybe even JOYFUL noise!

You might have a bunch of your own Write the Room resources already. If you do not, I have a large bundle. If you bought each of the resources in this bundle you would spend $120. But this bundle is only $30 and you are set for the year. Take a look at all the themes. If you only need a few you can buy them individually. I like to have a variety of handwriting options as well as tracing pages and picture pages. There is something for everyone!