How To Differentiate Writing Centers

We all know all students vary in their writing abilities and it’s important to meet each learner in our classroom. It’s important to differentiate to meet their needs. But how?! Keep reading to learn five different ways I plan for differentiated writing centers in my classroom.

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Use Different Types Of Writing Paper

It’s important to give our students the right type of writing paper. I have never liked using writing journals with primary students because it can be difficult for students to know where to begin, where to end, what lines to write on, etc.

Some students will need more lines per paper while others will need less. Some will need the primary lined, while others will just need a line. It’s important to make sure students have the correct lined paper so that they write the appropriate amount. For example, some students may want to write more but because they only have so many lines, they may limit themselves to that amount. On the flipside, students who will write less may feel intimidated by the amount of lines.

Don’t Expect All Students To Write The Same Amount

Not all students will write the same amount when writing. Some students will take longer to write a small amount, while others will write quite a bit.

Use Real Life Photos For Vocabulary Words

photograph vocabulary cards for writing center

Using vocabulary cards with real life pictures help students who are apprehensive about spelling on their own and ELL students. Additionally, it introduces vocabulary that all students could benefit from.

Give Students A Choice

When students get to choose what they are writing, they are more likely to write more. They will typically choose what they want to write about, which will result in them enjoying their writing and possibly writing more than they would if it was about something they didn’t typically enjoy. Our writing centers include different types of writing such as lists, notes, opinion writing, informative writing, etc.

Self Assessments

When there’s an opportunity for students to self-assess their writing, students will be more cognizant of what and how they are writing. With our writing centers, students can self-check their punctuation, inventive spelling, capitals, and finger spaces.

Sentence Stems

For students who have trouble beginning the writing process, sentence stems can help. The sentence stems help them begin a sentence and then they have to finish the sentence.

Try A Free Writing Center

Are you ready to get started with differentiated writing centers? You can try out our writing center for free!

Writing Centers For The Year

Check out our writing centers for the entire year! You can plan an entire year’s worth of writing centers and know your students will be engaged in the writing process with differentiated activities.

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Our writing centers include: