Common Core ELA1st GradeWriting

W.1.6: Use Digital Tools to Write and Publish

Also written as CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.6 · Cluster: Production and Distribution of Writing.

Make a Shared Prompt All 41 1st Grade ELA Standards

The Official Wording

With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

Common Core State Standards, Grade 1, Writing · Read it at the source · Checked October 14, 2026

What W.1.6 Means in Plain English

With an adult nearby, 1st graders write on a tablet or computer, often with a partner, and send the finished piece somewhere real: printed for the class library, posted on the class page, or handed to the person it thanks. Typing, adding a photo and printing all count.

Kindergartners (W.K.6) explore digital tools. First graders use them for a job, from drafting to publishing, and the adult support stays. The 2nd-grade standard (W.2.6) reads the same, so the growth from year to year is in how much of the job children do themselves.

W.1.6 I Can Statements

I can type my words on a tablet or computer.
I can take turns writing with my partner.
I can add a picture and share my writing.

W.1.6 Worked Example

One thank-you note, two pairs of writers. Both used the class laptop, but only one pair finished the job.

Prompt

Mr. Delgado, our crossing guard, helps us every morning. With your partner, type a thank-you note on the class laptop, add a picture, and get it to him with Ms. Diaz’s help.

Not Yetthank you mr delgado (Typed by Theo alone while Ana watched. No picture was added, and the note was never printed or sent.)The words made it onto the screen, but one partner did all of it, the note is a single line, and it never reached Mr. Delgado. W.1.6 asks for producing and publishing, and for doing it together.

Meets the StandardDear Mr. Delgado, Thank you for helping us cross the street every morning. You hold up your big stop sign so the cars wait for us. We like your high fives! From, Ana and Theo (Typed in turns, one sentence each, with a photo of Mr. Delgado and his sign added from the class tablet. Ms. Diaz helped them print it, and they handed it to him at the corner the next morning.)Both partners wrote, the tools did real jobs (typing, adding a photo, printing), and the note reached its reader. The note thanks him for something specific, which makes it worth publishing.

Moves to Use

Decide who types first and switch after each sentence.Say the sentence together before anyone types it.Add a photo or drawing that fits the words.Read it on screen together, then print or send it.

Common Mistakes with W.1.6

One partner does all the typing

Theo types every word while Ana watches the screen

Try this: Have partners switch seats after each sentence, so the one who spoke the sentence becomes the one who types the next.

Writing that is never published

A folder of saved documents nobody outside the pair ever reads

Try this: Choose the reader before anyone types, like the crossing guard or the class library, so the finished piece has somewhere to go.

The tool takes over

Twenty minutes of picking fonts and stickers, and one line of writing

Try this: Save fonts, colors and pictures for the end, after the sentences are typed and read aloud together on screen.

Where W.1.6 Fits

Comes BeforeW.K.6Explore digital tools to produce and publish writing, with adult help and alongside classmates.

AlongsideSL.1.5Add drawings or other visuals to make an idea clearer, like the photo in the thank-you note.W.1.5Respond to a partner’s questions and add details, often the step just before a piece is published.

Comes NextW.2.6The same wording in 2nd grade, with children taking on more of the typing and publishing themselves.

Practice W.1.6

Writing Prompt GeneratorFree ToolProject one prompt for the whole class, then partners answer it together in one shared document, switching typists after every sentence.Personal NarrativeK-2On screen

Make a Prompt

Quick Check

Name the three digital jobs in the strong response.
Typing the note, adding a photo from the class tablet, and printing it.
Why doesn’t the weak response meet W.1.6, even though it was typed?
Only one partner wrote, and the note was never printed or sent, so nothing was published and the writing wasn’t shared work.
Who is the reader of the strong response, and how did the note reach him?
Mr. Delgado, the crossing guard. The partners printed it with Ms. Diaz’s help and handed it to him at the corner the next morning.

W.1.6: Other Names

W.1.6CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.1.6