How To Use Favorite Things To Get Kids Writing

Everyone has favorites! A favorite sweater ... a favorite animal ... a favorite flavor of ice cream ... use these favorites to get kids writing with the Fantastic Favorites Ten Minute Writing Activity.

Writing Teacher's Roadmap Get Started Guide

If you are following the Writing Teacher's Roadmap Get Started Guide, the Fantastic Favorites writing activity is perfect for Step One - Get Kids Writing. The goal of Step One is to have all your students begin writing as easily as possible. Ten minute writing activities are one way to achieve this goal. They are fun, engaging writing ideas that can be used to support EAL students, reluctant writers, beginning writers, writers who need a challenge, and more!

What Are Ten Minute Writing Activities?

Ten minute writing activities are quick, easy-to-implement writing activities you can complete with your students whenever you have ten to fifteen spare minutes in class. They can also be used as a warm up to begin your writing classes. Each activity includes a writing idea that can be completed in a short period of time. 

Find out more about ten minute writing activities by reading How To Use Fun Writing Activities For Kids.

Why Use Ten Minute Writing Activities?

Use ten minute writing activities to get kids writing. These activities provide students with an opportunity to practice different writing skills.

The quick, fun nature of these writing activities is especially useful in motivating students who:

• struggle with coming up with ideas,
• have trouble getting their ideas down on the page, or
• who have trouble staying focused.

Steps To Use Fantastic Favorites Ten Minute Writing Activity

1. Brainstorm a list of favorite things students might have. For example, a favorite food, a favorite animal, a favorite season, etc. Print all these “favorite” ideas on a sheet of chart paper to hang up somewhere in the room so students can reference at a later date.
2. Give each student a piece of scrap paper.
3. Students choose ten of their favorite things and record them on the template.
4. Give students 2 - 3 minutes to complete this part of the activity.
5. After students have a list of their favorite things, students flip their paper over. On the back of their page, they choose one of their favorite things to write about, describe it, and write about why it is their favorite.

DIY or Ready-Made?

You can easily create the winter senses activity. Use this activity to begin a collection of ten minute writing activities. Keep these activities in an easy-to-access spot so you'll always have them at your fingertips and ready-to-use. Be sure to add the Sticky Note Travel Story FREEBIE to your collection.

Check out these other ten minute writing activity blogposts:

• Acts of Kindness Activity
• Animal Web Activity
• Fantastic Favorites
• Outer Space Postcards

No time to create activities?

If you want to save time and have instant access to the Fantastic Favorites writing activity and many other ten minute writing activities, check out the Ten Minute Writing Activities Growing Bundle.

Each ten minute writing activity provides:

• a teacher notes sheet to explain the activity and outline the different steps and extension option ideas for the activity in detail,
• graphic organizers to complete the activity, and
• draft and final copy templates for your students to use if you decide to extend the ten minute writing activity and work through the writing process.

The ten minute writing activities can be used with all the students in your class to get them writing. 

Materials shown in this blogpost are from the Ten Minute Writing Activities Growing Bundle on TeachersPayTeachers and as part of the Writing Teacher's Roadmap Club. 

Happy writing!

Until next time,

P.S. Many teachers are overwhelmed with teaching writing to their students. The Writing Teacher's Roadmap Club contains everything you need to become confident in teaching your students to become better writers. CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE CLUB NOW!