By Kathy Harms, 1st grade teacher, Wake Robin Elementary, Bellevue Public Schools

I wanted to share a couple things that I do in the classroom with WriteReader. We currently do Daily 5 during our guided reading block. One of the tasks is ’Write to Self’. During this time the students get to Journal with WriteReader. They especially like the ease of adding an image to their writing for the day. One feature I love as a teacher is the ability to dictate the writing the student typed. I tell them to sound out words they do not know in their journaling, the teacher dictation helps decipher their writing before sharing with other stakeholders.

The second way I use WriteReader is during Writers Workshop. In first grade, it is their first exposure to the whole writing process.

i.e. Plan (written), Draft (written), Revise, & Edit (with teacher) and Publish (WriteReader).

Before WriteReader it was drudgery to the students when I would say, ’You are ready for your published copy!’ The students were very reluctant to go back and rewrite with the edits. With WriteReader when I say, ’You are ready for your published copy.’ Instead of sighs and dragging feet, I get urgency as they quickly get to work. Once the students complete their books, we also share it to Seesaw a Learning Portfolio. The ability to share work from WriteReader is easy to teach and for the students to do. The students are empowered when their audience grows. You see a sense of pride in the work they do.

I LOVE WriteReader in my 1st grade classroom!

The students are empowered as writers and readers.