First graders love to write about themselves. Often the writing can consist of several sentences beginning with the pronoun "I." Writing from first person point of view is an engaging activity for first graders because they have more knowledge about the subject. Often the story can resemble a list of things they like or do not like.Topics related to their family and pets capture their interests and they like to draw pictures of their family. Allowing students to draw and illustrate their stories makes writing more fun and it gives students a chance to include things that they cannot spell or express in words.
Animal themes and topics are popular in first grade. Non-fictional writing about animals is an engaging way to write about facts. Students like to write about where animals live, what they like to eat and what the young babies look like. This theme also captures children's imagination and they use animals as a way to explore writing from another view point. Students like to imagine what the world looks like from an ant or a bears' perspective. Putting thoughts into words provides children with a sense of empowerment and writing from an animal's perspective increase students understanding about writing techniques.
In most classrooms with first graders, there is a certain atmosphere around the festive season. Students love to write letters to Santa Claus and poems about reindeer and snowmen. Other holidays and special occasions often appear in their stories or journal entries. Students like to share their experiences of other special days such as family members' birthdays or their own birthday. You can help children to write journal entries about special days by providing prompts such as "describe your best birthday" and "a special birthday for me is . . ." Fine motor skills take time to develop and some first graders may still have problems with forming letters and translating what they think into written from. Allow the children to focus on the content rather than the written form or the spelling. First graders could make journal entries several times a week. Including photos or pictures makes this an engaging learning activity.
Magical subjects and dreams often fascinate first graders. Many students like to write about what would happen if they walked into a spooky house, met a monster or saw a dinosaur at the shopping center. In first grade, many student stories consist of a couple of lines. Asking students to tell the idea behind the story can help them with writing the story. Inspiration for the topics often comes from stories or poems that are read in the classroom. Prompt topics for writing by reading a wide selection of stories.