Magic e Read and Write the Room

I don't know about you guys, but my students **LOVE** any time we do read and write the room!  They are on task, focused, and just plain in the zone when we are doing it, and all with a smile on their faces.  I guess it doesn't hurt that I give them a time limit, and make it a competition either.  ;) 

In the past I have used several versions of read and write the room activities from various teachers, and I have created some small ones for my personal use.  I decided that I would make a larger packet of read and write the room words for magic e, because it is such a huge concept for our little firsties.  You can click on the picture below to pick it up in my TpT store.  We will be working on magic e for several weeks, and I can use these babies at least once a week during that time.  Also, once we've covered all the vowels separately, I will mix them up and use them as review during guided reading for the students who are still struggling with the concept.  For this read and write the room, I combined the usual word cards, with the magic e wand I saw on Pinterest.  I made a version of the wand that is included the packet.  You will need to print one wand for each student and tape it to a popsicle stick.  (I laminated my stars before I taped them to help them last longer.)  The students will hold the wands up to the word cards to read the word, and then write it on the recording sheet.

For those of you who have never done read and write the room, this is the way we do it in our classroom.  I copy the words I am using on colored paper, laminate them, and then cut them out.  (That way I can put them in a baggie and save them for next year of course!)  Then (usually while the kids are at lunch) I hang the words around the room.  When they get in and see them they are so excited, and I start to hear the buzz.  You know the one I'm talking about.  The little whispers from several different students saying things like, "Look over there!" "Oooo...we're gonna read the room!"  "Yay!"  Iabsolutely love that sound.  I know they are just as excited to do it, as I am to watch them.  Makes my heart happy!  The kids each get a clipboard, a recording sheet, and a pencil.  They put their name on the sheet and wait for the me to give the okay to start.  I set the timer....usually for five minutes, but it can vary depending on the kids' ability levels and the number of words.  Then I say go.  They walk around the room searching for the words.  They whisper read the words to themselves, and then write them on the recording sheet.  Then they keep looking.  They are not allowed to talk to each other during this time.  If they finish before the timer goes off, they line up by me so I can check it over.  The other students continue to work until the timer goes off.  The person who got all the words first (or the student with the most words when the timer goes off if no one is finished) is the winner.  Then we go over the words as a whole group.  I'm telling you, they think it's one of the funnest things we do in our class.