Using Writing Centers For Middle School

 


Use centers to boost engagement and give focused practice for essay writing skills in your Middle School classroom!



Middle School students can be a difficult crowd.  All they want to do is talk and be silly.  The only way to get them to stay on task is to keep them involved.  And when it comes to essay writing, engagement is paramount!  I suggest using essay writing centers!  

What do I mean by Essay Writing Centers for Middle School?

1.  Writing Centers are Practice Activities for FOCUS

This is the art of staying on topic with consideration for purpose, audience, and task.  So I created a center for each one of these topics:


Your middle school students will love the variety of essay practice activities that get them involved and you will love that they are practicing and learning this valuable skill with less work for you!

Students create a foldable, read texts, complete hands-on activities, and utilize checklists with these centers.  It's not just skill and drill so students are more motivated to participate!


2.  Writing Centers are Practice Activities for ORGANIZATION

When I say organization, I am talking about the structure of an essay.  To me, this means understanding what goes into each paragraph of the essay.


To give students practice with this, you'll find that hands-on activities are the way to go.  I actually provide my students with an essay that is cut up into sentences and they have to arrange them into the proper order for one of the centers.


Your middle school students will love the variety of activities that get them involved and you will love that they are practicing and learning this valuable skill with less work for you!



Task cards and checklists are also utilized to provide a variety of activities.


3.  Writing Centers are Practice Activities for SUPPORT

When I say support, I am referring to the evidence and commentary that goes into the body paragraphs of an essay.  


I think this is where many students struggle the most.  They can find evidence most of the time, but many times they choose irrelevant evidence. Or they choose good evidence but can't seem to explain what the evidence proves.


Your middle school students will love the interactive activities and you will love that they have a way to practice without writing another essay for you to grade!


For a twist, I like to use these centers in competitive teams!  Students rotate through the centers building a "case" with the evidence and commentary they collect.  In the end, each team gets to present its "case" in a debate format.  It's best when students can physically move from one side of the room to another as they change their minds about which side they're on due to the evidence and commentary that's been provided.


4. Writing Centers are Practice Activities for CONVENTIONS

Ah, the part of essays that gets the least attention - from students, that is!  I try to impress upon my students that their writing reflects their care and attention.  And since they want to be seen as one who cares about their work and gives it proper attention, then conventions like capitalization, punctuation, and grammar matter!


So three hands-on centers were born to help them make necessary adjustments!


Your middle school students will love the interaction of hands-on activities and you will love that the work is done!



5.  Writing Centers are Productive

Students generally perform well using these centers because they are actively involved and not merely writing  a-n-o-t-h-e-r  essay.  


One way to manage the centers is to put all the materials for each center into some type of tray or bin.  Then seat students in groups and have the trays/bins move instead of the students.  This seems to cut down on some of the shenanigans that students like to get into when they are moving about the room.  


Ready to try them?  You can get each center separately or buy them in a bundle!   Take 10% off with code:  BlogReader



Revisions are always available in my website shop and you'll actually receive an email once a resource you've purchased is updated.

All of these centers are available on TeachersPayTeachers too!  Click here to view them on TpT.


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Get your Middle School students involved in their learning with centers!  Use active tasks that make learning stick!