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Getting your students ready to write is all about building strength and interest!
I like to combine fine motor and dexterity building activities into my writing groups. It helps with pre-writing skills and keeps the kiddos engaged! Some of the activities are so fun, I use them as our behavior incentive. Here are five tools I use to support my pre-writing students.
5 Writing Tools for Teaching Pre-Writing Skills
- Twist and Write Pencils: My most favorite tool and my students most favorite too! These pencils force students to hold their pencil in a tripod grasp and look like a rocket. What could be better?! (Bonus= they are refillable and come with extra thick lead.)
- Tongs: Helping students learn to master tongs turns any tiny items (think dice, toys, matchbox cars, figurines, etc.) into a lesson in fine motor development
- Playdough: Builds strength and dexterity while being creative! Playdough gets me an instant buy-in from my students of all ages.
- Fingers Trainer: I stumbled across these and my students fell in love. Don’t let the adorable elephant fool you, these are hard work! The possibilities for group activities and creativity are endless!
- String & Beads: Beads and string give students the extra incentive of allowing students to take their creations home or wear them!
Writing in the Elementary Classroom Should be Fun
Read more about the ways I work with my reluctant writers, why I teach writing fluency and how I make sure my kiddos get a few minutes of writing in each morning!