3 Reasons to Use Seasonal Writing Activities
Bringing the seasons and upcoming holidays into your classroom during your writing block is a great way to motivate writers at all ages.
No matter how old students get, they still love to celebrate the changing seasons and holidays. Using holiday and seasonal writing activities in your classroom does not mean that you must give up rigor or critical thinking, or even skip teaching the standards in your curriculum. Instead, by tying the standards that you already have to teach to seasonal activities you want to teach, you will:
See student interest and participation increase
Hear meaningful discourse among your students
Watch students apply strategies you taught them as they make connections to what is happening outside the classroom
Not convinced yet? Here are 3 reasons to bring seasonal writing activities into your classroom.
The Perfect Time to Brainstorm
In the upper elementary classroom, brainstorming is often the forgotten step of the writing process. The students are always in such a rush to start writing that they often overlook the important piece of brainstorming or brain dumping about the given topic. No matter how many lessons I teach, graphic organizers I give them, or writing process posters I hang, students skip brainstorming.
However, when we stop and take time to brainstorm about seasonal topics, I have found students enjoy brainstorming. They not only like to recall their past experiences during their own brainstorming time, but they are also eager to share them with their peers, too.
The days we spend brainstorming about the seasons are meaningful lessons that students remember the next time it is time to brainstorm. We go slowly through each step, making sure to use our brainstormed list to help us write our best narratives.
In action in my classroom:
When writing descriptive narratives about fall settings, we spend an entire period focusing on brainstorming. First, we start by brainstorming different fall settings and activities that students have experienced. Then, we work through the brainstormed list generating ideas and ways to describe each setting listed. After that, we critically analyze our list deciding which brainstormed setting would lead to the best written descriptive narrative.
Opportunities for Figurative Language
I love to bring figurative language lessons into just about any reading and writing activity or lesson that I teach. My students always love to learn new figurative language techniques to include in their writing pieces. There is no better way to get in some extra personification or metaphor lessons than to relate figurative language to the seasons outside the classroom window.
In action in my classroom:
When practicing figurative language during a seasonal writing activity, begin with brainstorming! I simply write the season on the whiteboard and have students brainstorm different nouns they would see or visit during that season. When the list is completed, students select three items from the list and three forms of figurative language that they want to practice. I have students create illustrations of each noun and then write with figurative language right below it. This is a great, quick practice and they always turn out display worthy!
Experienced Based
Anytime students can write about an event that they have experienced their writing comes alive. Many students have recent seasonal experiences and rich memories that they can easily pull from and bring into their writing. Seasonal writing activities can be brought into your classroom not just for narrative writing, but for any writing genre from poetry to informative writing.
Seasonal informative writing is a simple way to include real-world writing in your classroom in a natural, engaging, and of course seasonal way. Procedural writing is one form of informative writing that hooks upper elementary writers. You can again review brainstorming by having students create a list of different procedural topics related to a season. Before you know it, students will have created an amazing list of procedural writing topics that are perfect for the entire season!
In action in my classroom:
When the holiday season begins, we write procedural pieces about high-interest topics such as how to wrap a present, how to make a secret family recipe, and how to celebrate a family tradition. These activities are turned into hands-on lessons simply by bringing in wrapping paper, scissors, and tape or inviting students to bring in recipe ingredients and items that represent a tradition they want to share. What's great about these activities is that they are not holiday-specific, so they are inclusive to all students and celebrate each child's individuality.
Not only is writing about the seasons and holidays motivating and engaging for students, but it is a great way to help students learn and practice previously taught and new techniques to help them grow as writers.
SPOTLIGHT RESOURce:
I love using the seasons to motivate writers! This seasonal writing activity is perfect for fall writing with figurative language activities, too!
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Jeanine is the creator of Think Grow Giggle and has been teaching upper elementary students for 16 years, specifically third and fifth graders. When it comes to teaching, Jeanine includes her love of reading and writing in every lesson. She loves teaching writing and having the opportunity to bring out the author in each of her students. Jeanine holds a BA from Western Connecticut State University in American Studies and Elementary Education and an MA from Fairfield University in Educational Technology. In addition to being a certified elementary teacher, she is also a certified Reading Specialist for grades K-12. Living on the north shore of Long Island means that her free time is spent at the beach, where she enjoys outdoor activities, reading, and spending time with her husband and three children.