Back To School Writing Prompt Bulletin Board

1-2-3 Come Rave On With Me!

Are you looking for some quick and easy back to school things? I love doing activities that can be made into a student-generated bulletin board, which helps check one more thing off my long "to do" list. If you need help with that too, you'll enjoy my Quoth The Raven packet filled with fun.

edgar allan poe activities, poe lessons, poe bulletin boards, poe writing prompts, writing prompts for september, writing prompts for the first day of school, writing prompts for back to school, poetry lessons, quoth the raven activities, raven activities, icebreakers for school, word art activities, student-generated bulletin boards, directions for how to use Tagxedo, I don't know of any teacher who does not cover rules and regulations on the 1st day of school; seems like that takes up the better part of the day and can be a bit boring for the average kiddo. Why not let your students have a say in the rules? With a little teacher guidance, you can pretty much steer your students into thinking up everything you'd have put on a list anyway.

edgar allan poe activities, poe lessons, poe bulletin boards, poe writing prompts, writing prompts for september, writing prompts for the first day of school, writing prompts for back to school, poetry lessons, quoth the raven activities, raven activities, icebreakers for school, word art activities, student-generated bulletin boards, directions for how to use Tagxedo, I thought a cool way to do this was with Edgar Allan Poe's "nevermore raven". If your school mascot is a raven, you'll find this even more appropriate. Choose one of my "Nevermore" headers and then ask students what they think should NOT happen in their class. Examples for older students would be texting, put-downs, having cell phones ring, and checking Facebook on their laptops. Younger children will think of name calling, kicking, biting, spitting, pinching, pushing, hitting etc.

Jot down things as they come up with them. Have a discussion of why they think avoiding this kind of behavior will be helpful to the class. After you have made and voted upon things that need to be on your classes' Nevermore List, type it up, laminate and post it. Employing student participation, makes children feel important and part of the process. You may want them to sign the document, as further reinforcement of your class's rule commitment. Red ink anyone?

edgar allan poe activities, poe lessons, poe bulletin boards, poe writing prompts, writing prompts for september, writing prompts for the first day of school, writing prompts for back to school, poetry lessons, quoth the raven activities, raven activities, icebreakers for school, word art activities, student-generated bulletin boards, directions for how to use Tagxedo, To expand on the "Nevermore" theme, discuss why it's important to try and do your best and improve throughout the year. Discuss your students' goals and what they want to accomplish. Afterwards, discuss any behavior that might get in the way of reaching those goals. i.e. missing assignments, not doing homework, not studying, not reading, procrastinating, etc.

Have students reflect on their own personal goals and things they'd like NOT to do anymore. Have them write their thoughts down on the template. Make a copy of their 1st day photo and have them glue it to their paper to make it extra special.

Another interesting writing prompt for the 1st few days of school is done with word art.

edgar allan poe activities, poe lessons, poe bulletin boards, poe writing prompts, writing prompts for september, writing prompts for the first day of school, writing prompts for back to school, poetry lessons, quoth the raven activities, raven activities, icebreakers for school, word art activities, student-generated bulletin boards, directions for how to use Tagxedo, I absolutely LOVE Tagxedo. It's a FREE, and an extremely easy word-art program. I have a multitude of ideas of how to use this site that is never ending. With the help of an adult, even a young 5 or kindergartner can make a word picture. Since most of us have a computer in the classroom to use as a center, this offers relevant technology time. I call this writing "craftivity" Quoth the Student Forever More. Run off the raven holding a sign so each of your students has one.

If you'd like to cut and paste your students' photo and type in their name, as I've done on the sample, visit the very creative and generous Tidbits and Trinkets for the raven graphic. If you like the font I used, it's called Kelly Ann Gothic. You can find it for free by clicking on the link. Otherwise, simply use my template and have students glue their photo in the frame and write their name.

Play around with Tagxedo before you demonstrate it to your class. I suggest making your own sample. Students always enjoy learning things about their teacher. For your convenience, I've included my raven silhouette so that you can import it. I didn't want to make this blog too long, so I've included a Tagxedo "how to" with the packet. There's also a word art "Nevermore" raven poster.

Explain to students that quoth is an old English way of saying "said." This is why they'll be attaching their raven with the sign to their word art. i.e. Kelli is raving about the wonderful qualities she possesses, that make her special.

edgar allan poe activities, poe lessons, poe bulletin boards, poe writing prompts, writing prompts for september, writing prompts for the first day of school, writing prompts for back to school, poetry lessons, quoth the raven activities, raven activities, icebreakers for school, word art activities, student-generated bulletin boards, directions for how to use Tagxedo, I've also designed a hanging tag to help make your bulletin board pop. Explain to your students that they "earn" one of these when they have given their best effort and completed the activity. The portrait of Poe is from a real US postage stamp. I got the free digital clipart tag over at Granny Enchanted. I stumbled upon her wonderful site late last night and am thrilled to be using some digital clip art now. My wheels are turning of all sorts of things I want to create!

Students print out their word art ravens, attach them to a sheet of black construction paper, along with their photo-name. Punch a hole somewhere and tie on their tag. After students share their work, scatter them over a b. board covered with aluminum foil, newsprint, or wrapping paper with a vintage look. I've provided a header that says: "Writing worth raving about." as well as one that says: "Here's something to rave about: ___________'s new students!" Insert your name.

edgar allan poe activities, poe lessons, poe bulletin boards, poe writing prompts, writing prompts for september, writing prompts for the first day of school, writing prompts for back to school, poetry lessons, quoth the raven activities, raven activities, icebreakers for school, word art activities, student-generated bulletin boards, directions for how to use Tagxedo, edgar allan poe activities, poe lessons, poe bulletin boards, poe writing prompts, writing prompts for september, writing prompts for the first day of school, writing prompts for back to school, poetry lessons, quoth the raven activities, raven activities, icebreakers for school, word art activities, student-generated bulletin boards, directions for how to use Tagxedo, If this is too crafty for you, I've also made a 5-point "rave on" writing extension. Students could also comment or write about Poe's quote that I used in a mini poster, that you can throw up on the bulletin board There are bookmarks to match as well.

If you have older students, (8th -12th) have them listen to a rendition of The Raven poem on YouTube. I've given you a list of 4 of my all-time favorites, complete with spooky sound affects. I've also included a writing prompt for this activity + 2 awesome raven photographs, that students can also ponder about.

Click on the link to view/download the Quoth The Raven packet.

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