The Literacy Club

I found this week's reading of "Letting Go of Letter of the Week" to be very inspiring and refreshing. As teachers it is our job to inspire young children and to help them to see the joy of reading and writing. This can be done through the simplest of activities in the classroom. It is also our job to provide children with a variety of opportunities to show us that they are already readers and writers.
Many times in some of the classrooms I have interned in I repeatedly hear teachers say to their students, "Don't make your letters messy" or "Don't make your sentences sloppy or you will have to stay and fix it at recess." As children are learning to read and write, their work shouldn't be equated with punishment. By doing so, children will only turn away from reading and writing. I work with a child about three times a week who is clearly struggling with reading and writing as I can see the frustration in her face and the tears in her eyes every time the teacher gives out the dreaded mundane letter worksheets. On these worksheets she must trace the letter and write it over a certain number of times in both capital and lower case while also recalling and chanting along with the class the sound the letter makes. In turn, this activity creates a negative impact on her experiences as she learns to read and write. In the future this young child may grow to not enjoy reading and writing and miss out on the rich experiences it could provide for her.
It is our job as good teachers to avoid telling children their work is "too messy" but instead provide them with the opportunities to revise and edit their own work so that they can obtain a feeling of ownership as well as make them confident as young writers. Good writers revise and edit their work. Additionally, as teachers we need to create exciting and appropriate activities that engage our students as they learn to read and write. We need to instill in children's minds that they are already readers and writers before they ever enter the classroom to build their confidence and excitement so that they will enjoy reading and writing and be life long members of the "literacy club." Below are a few literacy ideas for classrooms off my Pinterest account. I hope you enjoy!

Who wouldn't want to write in a writing center like this?!

Repurposed blocks for reading aids. You could also paste on single letters for spelling aids! 

Nuts and bolts to assist with literacy and fine motor skills!

A much more engaging and exciting activity than worksheets where children can practice writing letters, words, and etc!

A fun idea when you have a sub: Don't tell the kids where you are and then have them write about where they think you are/what they think happened to you. 

Phonetic Flip Chart

Word Clips