Writing Ideas


Summer is the perfect time to recharge your batteries.  It is also the time to look for new ideas.  

Do you have a monthly paper count for the copy machine?  If so, then you probably spend quite a bit of time using the Ellison die cut machine.  It is an easy way to add colorful, hands-on activities to your lessons that doesn't require a copy machine.

I have a few ideas to share with you using an Ellison machine.


At the beginning of the year, students are always very chatty.  They want to tell each other about their summer.  Why not channel that energy into a personal narrative assignment? You can use this planning sheet and writing page.
Click HERE to download this FREEBIE.


After they write about their summer, your students will choose one thing that happened to them this summer.  They will design a t-shirt advertising that one thing.  They will get up and share their t-shirt and tell about it.

Click HERE to see the diecut.




Click HERE to see the house diecut.

This house diecut can be used a variety of ways.  Use it with your math facts unit or word families.  



Click HERE to see the key diecut.

This is also a versatile diecut.  One idea is to give each student a different colored key for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.  Brainstorm key words when solving word problems.  Example:  addition - add, in all, sum, total


Click HERE to see the globe book diecut.

This globe book would be perfect for a unit about a country or continents.  I also think it would be good extension for Christmas Around the World unit.

Do your students study countries?  I have FREE printables that you can use with this to make a book about the country.


Click HERE to download the FREE printables.




Click HERE to see the suitcase diecut.

I love the suitcase die.  I picked out dies that could be used throughout the year.  
  • At the beginning of the year, ask your students if they went on a vacation or visited family.  Let them draw what they packed for their trip/visit and then write about their experience.
  • Read the book Ira Sleeps Over, discuss their experiences with sleepovers, and then write and draw about their experiences.
  • Let your students to use their imagination in November.  Tell them that they are going to journey back into time to the time of the pilgrims.  Pretend like they are planning a trip on the Mayflower and can only take 3 things.  Draw the things on the suitcase (above) and then write about why these 3 things would be helpful on their trip and final destination.





Click HERE to see the camera diecut.

The camera diecut is another versatile one.  
  • Put your students pictures in the middle and you have a quick and easy bulletin board.
  • Write the different word families in the middle and then title the bulletin board "Snapshot of word families".  Let your students brainstorm a word bank to hang under it.




Click HERE to see the weather diecuts.

Glue this on colorful paper, write words that describe snow in the middle.



I am so excited to tell you that I have a special giveaway!  You could win all of the dies that you see in this post plus an Ellison All Star machine. How great is that?!!!  It is a $250 value.

Click HERE to read more about the Ellison machine.  It is small enough that you can keep it at home or take it to school.  


2 comments

Unknown said...

I'd love to win this! There is always such a long line for this at work :-)!

mymothersdaughter said...

I would love this too ... ours at school never seems to work!