Real-World Writing Projects
My favorite kind of activity to assign students at the end of the year is the kind that reviews multiple standards at once. You may have seen some of my blog posts about my Math PBL Projects, and how they do exactly that! But, on the literacy side of things. I have a couple of ELA PBL Projects that blend together literacy and writing skills (and a touch of science and social studies every once in a while, too!) These are great projects right before a big break of any kind, because they pull together so. many. things! But, they also give students a great dose of real-world application with literacy, which I feel strongly about! Students are more invested in the idea of writing if they can see how they will use it one day. These ELA Projects help them see how useful writing and literacy really are!
Let me show you what I mean with a couple of examples:
Run for Town Mayor Project
In this Run for Town Mayor ELA Project, students tie in a little bit of social studies knowledge by writing about what a mayor does. This can inspire a great conversation about laws, citizenship, elections, and more...all 2nd grade social studies standards!
After you’ve set the stage for what a mayor is, the students go on to begin their campaign! First, they plan a campaign speech, tying in persuasive writing. From there, they will need to address some issues the town has been having. Littering is an issue, and students will plan a news interview where they address the problem and propose a solution (more literacy skills!)
Some schools are petitioning to require school uniforms. Can your students persuade the people that they should or shouldn’t adopt this policy?
From there, students will plan the new billboard to go in town, describe the different parts of their town, hire people for some new jobs, and research a new mode of transportation to be introduced to the townspeople.
All of this wraps up with students writing a friendly letter to their OWN town mayor...an assignment that requires a little more research, and reviewing the friendly letter format.
Whew. That is a LOT of literacy in one assignment! Let me show you how this looks in another project:
Run an Animal Shelter Project
If a social studies tie-in won’t excite the class you have this year, maybe writing about animals will? In this project, students take over the operations of an animal shelter, all with their literacy skills!
The project begins with students planning and writing a persuasive essay about why people should adopt. From there, they spread awareness about their shelter by naming it, creating a slogan, and writing important information to advertise.
Students will apply what they know about character traits by writing descriptions of the animals in their shelter that will help prospective families get to know them. They also will match incoming adoption applications to the right kind of pet, using the traits that clients describe themselves with.
Finally, using planning and research skills, students will research the proper care for each kind of pet in their shelter, and create pet care brochures that can be sent home with new families. They will also plan and host a dog wash and donation drive to collect supplies and funding for their adoption agency.
As you can see, both of these projects pack a LOT of academic punch. There’s so much for the students to practice, all while working on real-world activities that people really do as part of their own jobs! In this odd end-of-year season, I can see no better way to show students how far they’ve come with their writing, while also letting them work on a project that is high-interest for them!
The two projects listed in this blog post come in both PRINTABLE and DIGITAL formats. You can get to them by clicking the links or photos above, or the button below.