Word Processing Possiblities

Student Word Processing Activity Suggestions

Writing is an integral part of the school curriculum and the responsibility of all teachers. Students need the opportunity to write often and get feedback on what they write. The Word Processor is a tool for writing – drafting, editing, editing, revising, and publishing. Even the youngest of children, without keyboarding skills, can use the word processor to tell their stories to an “older” (student) recorder, one who can type their stories for them.

Each of the following suggestions is taken out of a larger context; none is meant to be a stand-alone or singular activity, but rather a natural extension of a larger project or thematic unit.

In Language Arts:

write an alternative ending to a story

retell and write a well-known folk tale or fairy tale

as part of a poetry unit, write and illustrate many different types of poems – final drafts printed and made into an anthology

extend an autobiography unit – use photos to illustrate events in their autobiography

create letterhead for writing thank-you notes, letters, etc.

given a story-starter, complete the story

In Math:

write story problems and give them to other students to solve

as a fraction extension activity, have students double a no-bake recipe and rewrite the recipe

Cross-curricular:

design posters or signs to illustrate concepts within different content areas

publish books to showcase examples of themes: verbs, nouns, first aid, planets, states, pioneers, countries, ancient history

In Science:

keep a science log of experiments

extend a unit on plants – plant seeds and keep a record of activity – how often the plant is watered and fertilized and when the first growth appears – write a description of the characteristics of the plant – illustrate the stages of growth

recall events and write a group story about a recent field trip to the zoo, COSI, or other sites

make a time line of different eras and illustrate them

write a report

In Social Studies:

create time lines to illustrate historical events

create family trees and write short descriptions of relatives (teacher: be sensitive to the family situation of some students – you may decide not to this in some classes due to their composition)

write reports, essays, research papers

Teacher Uses

Sub folder information - standardized classroom procedures; lesson notes, location of items in room as well as building (copier, restroom, phone, etc)

Create a file where students are given one line to start a poem (“I feel as jumpy as ...). Throughout the day students add a line to this collaborative poem. Do the same thing with a prose story starter. Start a “dialogue” with two persons talking to each other; have students complete it.

Word Processing Possibilities

Student Word Processing Activity Suggestions

Teacher Uses