November writing activities are full of Veterans Day, harvest, and thankfulness. In this blog post, I will share with you my month-long outline of writing activities for November.
Morning Meeting Writing Prompts for November
First thing in the morning, my students have a tiny bit size writing assignment on their desk, ready to complete. This chunked-out weekly writing is part of the November Structured Paragraph Writing.
How it works:
The goal is for the students to write one remarkable complete paragraph. Each day the students are presented with the writing prompt and are given “reminders” to complete the day’s task.
The week-long structure follows this outline:
- Monday- Brainstorm and write the topic sentence
- Tuesday- Detail #1 with supporting information and elaborations
- Wednesday- Detail #2 with supporting data and elaborations
- Thursday- Detail #3 with supporting data and elaborations
- Friday- Write the conclusion and rewrite the final draft
By the end of the week, students have a completed share-worthy paragraph!
The Paragraph Writing Prompts are available in print or digital, including four weeks of writing prompts.
If you’d like to read more about the paragraph writing activities, I have this blog post to provide more information.
November Literacy Center Writing Ideas
Sentence Writing Center
During my reading rotations, I like to offer a variety of language arts activities. A writing station is one of my top priorities. The November Sentence Writing is a must-include since many early writers are still developing their sentence structure skills.
The November Sentence Writing station is entertaining and engaging because the unit challenges students to become part of the “FBW,” the Federal Bureau of Writing. Once students join the FBW, they are challenged with five different “missions,” each providing direct instruction and practice on various sentence structure types.
The November Sentence Writing provides five weeks of writing activities covering the entire month. You may find the activities in print or digital versions.
Pen Pal Writing
A second option for the literacy center is pen pal writing. Within the first few months of the school year, I set up a student pen-pal exchange with another teacher from a different state.
The first letter exchange is an introduction letter for the pen-pals to get familiar with one another. By November, the students are ready to move on and send a letter to share a significant event or moment in their lives. I break the writing process down into manageable chunks with small tasks over a week.
If you are interested in providing the pen pal experience for your students, I have a membership created just for you! Click this link to learn more.
Narrative Writing Instruction
My genre writing focus for November is narrative writing. Since so many of my students are losing teeth at this time of year, I have chosen to use my Narrative Writing Unit (Tooth Themed) resource as my main focus. I broke the five-day unit in half and taught for ten days. It just works better for my schedule.
Genre writing is the meat of my writing instruction, therefor is taught as a whole class with many partner activities embedded. Students will engage in activities dealing with the opinion structure, outlining formats, rough drafts, revising and editing, and then the final draft.
The focused prompt for the two weeks is to write a personal narrative about losing a tooth. Every child loves to tell their tooth fairy story, so this writing prompt is a big hit.
Balanced Literacy Instruction
I still focus on narrative writing during the other two weeks of the month. Still, I present the instruction in a new format which allows for a quick reteach of areas they need more focus on, as found in my data from the previous writing assessment.
For this new format, I use a balanced literacy approach using a literature book as my foundation.
What is Balanced Literacy?
In my opinion, students see reading and writing modeled, share in the reading and writing with the teacher, are coached, practice independently, and actively engage in word study.
I adore reading Turkey Trouble by Lee Harper in November. So naturally, I use my Turkey Trouble Book Companion Activities that engage my students in powerful writing opportunities.
With this book, I can share quality writing, provide opportunities for word study, analyze text structures, engage in meaningful discussions, and provide writing opportunities that cover all three writing genres.
Informational Writing Projects
When you think of November, you think about being thankful. So, of course, I had to add an “I am thankful” writing prompt to my month. It’s my favorite writing project of the entire month.
The writing produced by the students is so heartfelt and warm. With the added touch of a simple decorative turkey craft, the students take great pride in their work. The final project looks great on the bulletin board.
Informational Writing Prompt #2
Another clever November writing project is my Informational Writing Notes and Craft. The project helps students identify details about their topic. Each piece is written on a turkey feather and then added to the turkey to create the completed writing.
Clever, right! Trust me; your students will enjoy this slight twist to revitalize traditional note-taking strategies.
Responding to Text in Writing
Another vital aspect of my writing instruction is responding to a text. Therefore, the writing prompt may vary from lesson to lesson.
Since it is critical to have a writing prompt for every paper, I have created the Editable Writing Response Prompts for this very reason. I can pick the graphic organizer to match the skill with this resource and type in my writing prompt. The last step is to print.
Like magic, I have a writing prompt with the corresponding graphic organizer to brainstorm their thoughts before writing on the backside.
It is truly my go-to resource throughout every lesson.
Early Finishers Writing Activities
Every class I have taught has students who will finish work quickly and be quality work. So, to save my sanity and provide a little push towards a higher level of writing, I give an Early Finishers Writing Activity.
For this, I use my November Fold and Hang Writing Prompts. Not only does the writing help students make a jump on the writing rubric, but it also provides an excellent bulletin board display.
First, students love it because it is easily accessible for sharing with the class. Of course, most students want to have their time in the spotlight. So, with my fold-and-hang method, you can quickly grab a piece of writing for students to share when you have a spare moment or two. (If you’re lucky enough, right.)
Second, students love the prompts and the easy-to-use and illustrate section provided. Each month includes five writing prompts. That’s plenty to challenge your over-achievers and keep your sanity in check too.
Writing Activities Bundled for November
You can get the writing activities here if you’re anything like me and want it all done and ready to go.
Are your students struggling and making very little progress in writing? Or maybe they’re unmotivated or a reluctant writer? If so, I’ve got your back.
Yes…I…Do!
Let me share my secret sauce when it comes to teaching writing to elementary students.
It’s the Sentences, Paragraphs, and Essays: OH, MY! E-book.
Click this link to learn more about how the E-Book can transform your students’ chicken scratch, hap-hazard writing into strong, effective, glorious writing!
Here’s to a “Thankful” November.
-Melissa
