Why THIS Works!

The Writing Workshop and The Writing Process

Presented by Aimee Buckner

The Writing Workshop

• The Mini-Lesson - Teach

• Writing – Independent, Guided, Shared

• Share – Summarize / Respond

Brian Cambourne’s Conditions of LearningMeets

The Writing Workshop Format

• The Mini-Lesson

– Short– Focused– Builds on prior

learning– Extends new learning

• Immersion– Surround students with

reading and writing– Tell stories and talk about

writing– Notice different kinds of writing– Make wall charts– Collect words, sentences, etc.

• Demonstration– MODEL with literature– MODEL with student work– MODEL with own writing

Brian Cambourne’s Conditions of LearningMeets

The Writing Workshop Format

• Workshop– Time to write

independently– Guided, shared writing

as appropriate– Conferring– Small groups

• Engagement– The students are actually writing

and making decisions about their writing.

– Students are more invested when they choose their own topics.

• Expectations– Students are expected to write

every day.– Students expect teachers to

provide that time.– Understanding the assessment

rubric(s) helps students work towards high expectations.

Brian Cambourne’s Conditions of LearningMeets

The Writing Workshop Format

• Workshop– Time to write

independently– Guided, shared writing

as appropriate– Conferring– Small groups

• Responsibility– Students are responsible for their

topics and for making decisions about their writing.

– Students continue to notice and share examples of good writing.

– Students respect other writers and the learning atmosphere.

• Employment– Students write for a variety of

purposes.– Students see the affect their

writing can have on others.– Students find ways to write for

authentic purposes.

Brian Cambourne’s Conditions of LearningMeets

The Writing Workshop Format

• Share– Teacher and students

summarize mini-lesson at the end of writing time.

– Students share examples of their writing that connect to mini-lesson.

– Teacher talks with class to set up the next day’s lesson

• Approximation– Students share their

approximations in writing either in a conference or with the class.

– Love their errors!

• Response– During conferences, teacher

responds to student attempts at writing and helps take them one step further.

– Other students may respond to writing that is shared in a peer conference, a small group, or during a whole class share time.

– Writing is scored on the GCPS writing rubrics according to the standards set for each grade level.

Notebook Considerations:Things to Think About

• Does it need to be portable?

• Does it provide a standard size page?

• Is it a size that will be easy for you to collect and read?

• Where will students put class notes?

• How will they personalize the notebook?

• Is it important to take out pages?

Assertions About Writing

• Every student is a writer and has ideas she or he wants to communicate.

  Every student writes at his/her ability level.

Writers are more interested in writing when they select their own topics.

Writer’s are inspired by models, especially those created by peers.

Teachers who share their writing with students

provide powerful coaching.

Assertions continued

• Writers discover their voice when they read their writing aloud to their peers.

• Student writers should publish frequently for audiences beyond the teacher.

• Writing is a recursive process. • Writers consider audience, purpose, and topic when

they compose.

• Volume + Variety = Fluency

The Writer’s Notebook andThe Writing Process

Student Expectations

• Write daily

• Self-select topics

• Try strategies from mini-lesson

• Fold over private entries

• Respect your notebook and others

• Practice what you know about GUMS

Students Can Expect Teachers to…

• Provide time

• Demonstrate strategies to find topics

• Teach mini-lessons

• Respect personal entries

• Keep a notebook on a regular basis

• Teach the rules for GUMS

Launching Strategies

• History of a Name

• History as a Writer

• Best and Worst Writing Moments

• What Makes a Good Writer?

• Favorite Writers

• Goals for Writing

Ideas …

List and Star

Memories

Responding to the World

Write From a Word

Lift a Line

Observations

From Notebook to Project

Students keep notebook entries and notes related to the genre being studied.

Students do NOT keep drafts for projects in their notebook.

Students DO look for patterns in their writing or choose a favorite entry to inspire a project.

Revision and Editing:What’s the Difference?

Revisions can…• Change content.• Replace weak verbs with

strong ones.• Replace adjectives with

specific nouns.• Change sequence.• Rearrange organization.• Create new sentences and

structures.• Create mood and tension.• Develop ideas.

Editing (in school) is…* Correcting spelling.• Correcting punctuation.• Correcting word usage

to make sentences ‘sound’ right.

• Correcting capitalization

Revision Strategies

• Specific activities that address one quality of writing in one place at one time.

• Require students to identify a part of their writing to improve.

• Require students to rewrite more than once within their notebook.

• Require students to choose best revision for draft.

Some Revision Strategies

Word Play Try 10

Rule of Three

Creating Tension

3x3 Seeing Into the Story

Editing Tips for the Teacher• Teaching grammar concepts is not the same as editing.• Remember when you teach ‘grammar AKS’ you’re

developing schema for editing. • The best editing practice is with student writing. Use

samples to model editing practices.• Keep a specific chart listing things kids have mastered.• Hold students accountable – three strikes and they’re

OUT.• Love their errors and use them to guide your teaching.

Grammar and the Notebook?

• Include visual reminders:

Subject + Predicate = Sentence

Noun + Verb = Simple Sentence• Use graphic organizers and glue them in the

notebook for a reference.• Keep lists in the notebook and on a chart.• Keep kids involved.• Show samples from literature.

An Island Grows

Deep, deep

Beneath the sea…

Stone breaks.

Water quakes.

Magma glows.

Volcano blows.

Lava flows and flows and flows.

An island grows.

Connect grammar to literature in the notebook.

What do you notice?

Volcano blows.

I SPY a two word sentence

• Search for other two word sentences from books or student notebooks. Keep a class chart or a running list.

• Identify two word sentences within longer sentences.

Example: The little girl reached for her doll.

Multi-Genre Assignment:Explain a process in a poem using two

word sentences.

• Think of a process you can explain. • Map out what happens first, second, third, etc.• Create a two word sentence to explain each step.

Focus on the noun and verb.• Try to rhyme in an a,a,b,b pattern. Although, it’s not

necessary.• Use this assignment for explaining math topics,

events in history, or grammar concepts.

Sentence Grows

Subjects greet.Verbs meet.Ideas show.

Sentences grow.

SoundMolecules sit.Vibrations hit.Waves scatter.

Ears gather.Nerves pitch.

Brain switches.Message clear.People hear.

This is the tree, when the world was still young, that pushed up through the earth as a small, tender shoot.

This is the tree, now old as a volcano, standing alone on the African plain.

This is the tree with the thousand year roots that spread out to store water in a bottle-shaped trunk.

This is the tree where ground squirrel watches over young, small as mushrooms, asleep in the roots.

This is the tree with far-reaching branches and cool shady places for impala to dance in.

This is the tree where buffalo chooses to sit sleepily chewing in the heat of the day

Multi-Genre Assignment:Create a poster with a poem describing a place or event. Include a picture and interesting facts

about your topic.

• Using the model, This is the Tree, write a poem using a repeating line.

• Using prepositional phrases, weave interesting facts into your poem about your topic.

• Include a picture of your topic. It may be imported, scanned, or hand drawn.

• Include additional information about your topic in an interesting way.

This Is The Moon

This is the moon bright with the Sun’s light that shows up against the dark, night sky.

This is the moon, whose phases tell me, where it is roaming as it orbits our planet.

This is the moon, Earth’s closest neighbor, where a man’s footprints have stayed for over forty years.

This is the moon, that is tangled in Earth’s gravity, and dances with the waves.

This is Earth’s moon.

Interesting Facts

When the moon is getting BIGGER, it is WAXING.

When the moon is getting smaller, it is waning.

The moon goes through its phases about every 28 days.

A blue moon is when a full moon appears twice in the same month.

What goes IN a reader’s notebook?

• Literature Letters

• Guided Reading Notes/Lessons

• Prompts

• Responses to Literature

• Comprehension Strategies

• ?????

How do we get kids to respond this way?

• Direct Instruction

• Model, model, model

• Prompting

• Small Group Work

• Trial and Error

How do we get kids to respond this way…

What I know is true about writing…

•Strategies work

•Thinking develops over time

•Students need to own their work

What’s True For Me About Reading (Garrett, age 9)

Non-fiction is my favorite style of book because what I learn is not fake…it’s true! I like to read about penguins because they are very interesting. I like it when the dad penguin has to keep the egg warm when the mom penguin has to get food for the baby. It is a hard life for them to keep the baby alive and not freeze to death.

I like to read in my head and not out loud. It is easier to read in my head than out loud. I would rather read to myself than to hear someone read to me.

My second favorite style of reading is fantasy, because it is very adventurous and because Harry Potter is in that group. My third favorite style is historical fiction.

From Notebook to Notebook

• Write from a word

• Lifting a line

• Questions: Reader to Reader

• Connections: Within the Book

Write From A Word

How does your experience of ‘camp’ compare to that of ‘camp’ in the book? How has this surprised you as a reader?

Write From A Word: THEME

What does it mean?

Phrases we use with the word.

Thinking Through Ideas

Connect to the Story

Connections: Within the Book

Specific Characters Connection to Main Character

Specific Characters Events in the Book

Events in the Book Events in the Book

Lifting a Line: Rereading

• Noticing (what was missed the first read)

• Inferring

• Vocabulary

• New Understanding

Six Word Summary:

Write often enough to write well!

Six Word Summary:

Rereading brings out the ‘inside’ story.