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Word Bank Writing Centers for Kindergarten

You want to start your students off on the right track to love writing! We get it! That’s why Simply Kinder has the perfect bundle of centers for you that encompasses all of this, based on fun vocabulary themes! Get a Free complete “In Our Classroom” writing center below! Then keep reading to learn more about what word bank writing centers are and how they can be a great learning tool in your classroom! They’re fun, engaging, and low-prep.

If you’re a Simply Kinder + member, then instantly download this resource here! Want to learn more about the new option to get thousands of resources in one simple click without paying every single time, then click here!

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Read all of the Simply Kinder Science of Reading articles here.

This activity goes well with these Simply Kinder Resources:

What are Word Bank Writing Centers?

These vocabulary-based writing centers should be the newest addition to your literacy centers! They’re based around a set of themes that can be changed throughout the year to match the themes are you are doing in your classroom. Each theme has eight vocabulary words that students use to complete the different writing activities around those words.

There are many different options for how to display the 8 vocabulary words in each theme:

  • Single page “poster” with themed vocabulary words
  • Double page “posters” with words to go into a binder
  • Small pocket chart vocabulary cards
  • Hanging vocabulary chards (quarter page in size)
  • Binder ring vocabulary card

There are also different writing activities to go along with each theme:

  • 3-page themed idea page listing 7 things students can do in the writing center
  • Write the word pages with different font styles
  • Themed sentence writing printables
  • Themed story writing page with all 8 vocabulary words
  • Themed story prompts
  • Themed letter printable to write a letter
  • Themed label the picture printable
  • 2 foldable books (fold or cut and staple)
  • Non-themed printables where students cut and glue the desired word to the printable (write a letter, write the word, story prompts, lists, etc).

This is an ENDLESS bundle! Anytime a new theme is added, you simply need to re-download for updates. The current themes include:

  • School Supplies
  • In Our Classroom
  • School Lunch
  • Shapes
  • Birthday Fun
  • How I Feel
  • Weather
  • Fall Fun
  • On the Farm
  • In the Garden
  • In the Jungle
  • At the Zoo
  • Animals
  • Under the Sea
  • & more to come!

So you have the bundle, and you know what it is, but now what?

How to Set Up in Your Classroom:

Choose an area of your classroom to set up your writing center that is easily accessible to students, easy to reach to change themes, and visible from a distance. A bulletin board with a table underneath would be the perfect place!

(The pictures show many of the items included, but we don’t suggest using all of it).

Start with a bulletin board.

  • You are going to want to displace the three direction pages. This will change with each theme so students see exactly what they can do.
  • Choose how to display the current words. You can hang them on a string, use a pocket chart, or just hang the poster. We like having the words nice and big so students can see them but your space will determine how to display them.
  • Set things up so you can easily reach and change them when the theme changes.

Set up your table.

  • Consider having a binder with all the previous word banks in it for future reference. You can also use the the binder ring set and hang it on your display.
  • Have lots of supplies ready – pencils, pens, crayons, markers, scissors, glue, etc. We like to use Sterilite drawers.
  • Have the word bank words available. We set one drawer for Word Banks and just switch out those pages with the theme.
  • Paper trays. We always had paper trays as well where we have different pages for students to do during this center. There are a combination of templates from the Word Bank theme and blank pages.

Lesson Plan Ideas (I Do, We Do, You Do)

I Do & We do: Start by introducing the vocabulary words in a whole group setting. If you have a smart board, you can open up the PDF and project them there. Or nothing beats a great anchor chart or pocket chart! Cut out the 8 words and have students paste them onto a large anchor chart paper one by one.

  • Practice saying the word together
  • Describe the word
  • Act out the word (if applicable)
  • And see what students come up with when discussing the word

Then have students practice with a partner in a think-pair-share or partner talk. Students can discuss vocabulary words, ideas for the model activity (what would you write in a letter to a monkey), or other focus-related questions.

Next, practice one of the writing activities together and model how-to for students. Such as letter writing to an animal. Brainstorm ideas together, model sentence writing with capitals, spacing, and punctuation (while students most likely will not complete on their own yet, this is great to demonstrate together).

Also consider that words like hot and carrot may be from another set. Having those previous Word Banks available to them will help them think critically when they write. How do they spell the word or where can they find the word? Very powerful stuff.

You do: Hopefully modeling the center above will translate into a powerful You Do experience during their center time.

Word Bank Writing Centers for Kindergarten

If you are looking for a set of word bank writing centers to use with your students, with a huge variety of writing activities, be sure to check out our NEW bundle here!

In this writing center you will:

  • Create a structure and routine for your writing center.
  • Minimize the amount of prep for you as the teacher.
  • Hold student interest as the words change with your theme.
  • Align your center with your daily instruction.
  • Build vocabulary in hands-on ways with your students.

Get this resource inside Simply Kinder + along with thousands of other activities for your classroom here! Want to learn more about the new option to get thousands of resources in one simple click without paying every single time, then click here!

Free In Our Classroom Writing Center

Try out In Our Classroom complete word bank writing center by entering your information here! The Simply Kinder Freebie Fairy will send that right over to your inbox. Already a subscriber? No worries! Just unlock it here too.

Or grab it here instantly inside Simply Kinder +!

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