Using Whiteboards

Whiteboards are always a popular writing tool in our classroom.  Sometimes we put them on a table and invite students to use them.  Often they just help themselves to record a message or take a survey of their friends' favourite colour.  Students feel comfortable taking risks when writing on whiteboards because they can simple wipe the boards off and start again, making them an excellent tool for beginning writers.  They are also fun because students get to use "the teacher" markers.

Here we are using information from our non-fiction texts about pets to gather and record information.



 Writing begins with pictures.

Students have enjoyed using whiteboards to conduct surveys of their friends.

Then students begin to understanding that letters are symbols that convey as message.  

Understanding that letters convey a message is an important step in writing.

 Here are students using whiteboard to explore shapes:

 

 

Ask your child to tell you what they are up to in these pictures and to identify some of the important places and faces from around the school.

 

 

The snow has been a welcome addition to the playground.  It has given students new opportunities to play and explore.

 

When it warmed up one day last week we posed this question to the class:



We rearranged tabled in front of the windows so students could record their ideas.

Students asked for help writing some of the words they needed to label their pictures so we made this chart. 

Here is what they came up with: