writing workshop: writing instruction that works
TRANSCRIPT
The Writing Workshop: Writing Instruction that Works
Essential Questions
• How will implementing the writing workshop approach transform my writing instruction?
• How will participating in a writing workshop help each of the students in my classroom develop as a writer?
Learning Objectives
• I can articulate the benefits and essential characteristics of the writing workshop approach, including how it is different from simply teaching the writing process.
• I can implement the key components of the writing workshop: teach minilessons, facilitate writing time/confer with individual students, and facilitate sharing time
Reflect on your own writing process
Think-Draw-Pair-Share
• Think of something you’ve written recently
• Quickly sketch your writing process (2 min.)
• Share your sketch and your story with a partner
• Discuss any similarities, differences, or patterns you notice
The Writing Process
Why Writing Workshop?
• Writing is something you do, not something you know.
• Students need lots of time to write so they can gain experiences as writers.
• We can do our best teaching when we respond to students in engaged in the act of writing, and they can apply the learning in context.
The Writing Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts by Katie Wood Ray, pp. 29-40
Benefits of the Writing Workshop
• Students develop independence and motivation to be writers.
• Students develop a sense of self as writers: ways of reading the world like writers, collecting ideas, reading texts like writers, developing a sense of craft, and so on.
• Students learn to write by writing. The stages of writing occur naturally as they work on authentic writing projects.
• Students develop personal writing processes that work for them.
The Writing Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts by Katie Wood Ray, pp. 29-40
Benefits of the Writing Workshop
• Students develop a thoughtful, deliberate purpose about their work as writers.
• Students become members of a responsive, literate community.
• Students develop a sense of audience, an understanding of how to prepare writing to go into the world.
• The more students write – and write about what really matters to them – the more they develop into able thinkers.
The Writing Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts by Katie Wood Ray, pp. 29-40
Essential Characteristics
• Choices about Content
• Time for Writing
• Teaching
• Talking
• Periods of Focused Study
• Publication Rituals
• High Expectations and Safety
• Structured Management
The Writing Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts by Katie Wood Ray, pp. 1-15
Choices about Content
• Students choose their own topics for writing
• Students learn how to select meaningful topics
Time for Writing
• Students work on writing for sustained periods of time – to experience flow
• Schedule needs to be predictable and routine
A Writing Workshop Class Period
• Minilesson: 5-10 min.
• Independent writing/conferences: 35-45 min.
• Sharing time: 10-20 min.
Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide by Ralph Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi, p. 11
Teaching
• Minilessons: whole class
• Conferences: individual
Talking
• “Writing floats on a sea of talk.” James Britton
• Writers need to talk about their writing
Periods of Focused Study
• Units of study: e.g., the writer’s notebook, the craft of writing (mentor texts), the process of publication, or a particular genre study
Publication Rituals
• Author’s chair
• Authentic audiences
• Real world purposes
High Expectations and Safety
• Choosing not to write is not a choice
• Every student needs to feel challenged and safe
Structured Management
• Management structures: time, space, materials, publication expectations, what to do next . . .
• Status of the Class
Save the Last Word for Me
Purpose: To clarify and deepen our thinking
Roles/Timing: Timekeeper, facilitator
The process is designed to build on each other’s thinking, not enter into a dialogue. Each round should last approximately 3 minutes.
Source: School Reform Initiative
Save the Last Word for Me
Protocol: 1. Create a group of 4 participants. Choose a
facilitator and a timekeeper.2. Each participant silently identifies what s/he
considers to be the most significant of the essential characteristics and why.
3. When the group is ready, a volunteer identifies the characteristic s/he found to be most significant. The first person says nothing at this point about why s/he chose that particular characteristic.
Source: School Reform Initiative
Save the Last Word for Me
Protocol, cont.:
4. The other 3 participants each have 30 seconds to respond, saying what they find important or meaningful about this characteristic.
5. The first participant then has 1 minute to state why s/he chose the characteristic and/or respond to what his/her colleagues said.
6. The same pattern is followed until all four members of the group have had a chance to have “the last word.”
Source: School Reform Initiative
Units of Study
Beginning of the Year: Setting up the writing workshop• Norms and Expectations• Workshop Procedures and Routines• The Writing Process• Writers’ Notebooks• Building Stamina• Reading Like a Writer (Mentor Texts)• Aspects of Writers’ Craft
Later in the Year: Author Study and Genre Study
Each Unit Cycle = 3-5 weeks
The Minilesson
The whole group of students is engaged in a directed lesson, usually by the teacher, but a lesson my also be taught by a student or a guest.
The Writing Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts by Katie Wood Ray, p. 55
Minilesson Topics
The topic of the mini-lesson varies according to the needs of the class, but it typically falls into one of the following categories:
• Procedural
• Writer’s process
• Qualities of good writing
• Editing skills
Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide by Ralph Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi, pp. 10-11
Minilessons Across the Process
• Prewriting
– Generating Notebook Entries
– Choosing an Idea
– Developing an Idea
• Drafting
• Revising and Crafting
• Editing
• Publishing
The No-Nonsense Guide to Teaching Writing by Judy Davis and Sharon Hill, pp. 27-30
Carousel Brainstorming
Gallery Walk
“A writer’s notebook gives you a place to live like a writer . . .”
Ralph Fletcher
Why Notebooks?
The principle, the purpose—not the name—is what’s important . . .
• A place for students (and writers) to save their words—in the form of a memory, a reflection, a list, a rambling of thoughts, a sketch, or even a scrap of paper taped on the page.
• A place for students to practice writing• A place to generate text, find ideas, and
practice what they know about spelling and grammar
Notebook Know-How by Aimee Buckner, pp. 4-7
The Purpose of the Writer’s Notebook
• The most important aspect of a notebook is that it allows students the practice of simply writing . . . in what ever form.
• Writing, rereading, reflecting, and writing some more promotes fluency.
• Keeping a notebook is a process. (It) leads you from one thought to another until you experience the writer’s joy of discovering something you didn’t know you knew.
Notebook Know-How by Aimee Buckner, pp. 4-7
Demo Minilesson
The Power of Listing
• What kinds of lists do people make?
• Why do people make lists?
• What do lists help us do?
Demo Minilesson
Listing Your Life
• People who are important to you
• Places that are significant to you
• Objects that are meaningful to you
Rules for Freewriting
• Keep writing the whole time.
• Don’t erase or cross out; just keep writing.
• If you get stuck, rewrite the last few words over and over until you start writing something else.
• If you finish telling about one idea, just choose another idea to explore and keep writing!
Practice Modeling
• Take turns playing the role of teacher/class
• The teacher shares his/her piece of writing with the class
• The student(s) ask questions and the teacher makes notes to guide further drafting/revision
• The teacher captures and summarizes the kinds of questions that are helpful to the writer for students to use in peer conferences
Writing Time
Students work as writers (which may include both time to write and writing inquiry) while the teacher confers with individuals or small groups.
The Writing Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts by Katie Wood Ray, p. 55
“A conference is a conversation between a learner and a coach.”
Lucy Calkins
Conference Fundamentals
• Listen
• Be present as a reader
• Understand the writer
• Follow the student’s energy
• Build on strengths
• Teach one thing
Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide by Ralph Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi, pp. 52-55
Architecture of a Conference
• Research
– What are you working on?
– How is it going?
• Compliment
– Reference to previous teaching points
– Be very specific
• Teaching Point
– Applies to the writer, not just the writing
– Explicit and focused
• Next Steps
– Challenge to try it
– Commitment to checking back
Practice Conferring
• Take turns playing the role of teacher/student
• The teacher guides the conference
– Research
– Compliment
– Teaching Point
– Next Steps
• The student responds
Sharing Time
Students share strategies, problems, and insights from their day’s work as writers. Sharing may be done as a whole group, in smaller groups, or in pairs.
The Writing Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts by Katie Wood Ray, p. 55
Sharing Time
• Simple Response Share
• Survey Share
• Focused Share
• Student-as-Teacher Share
An Ideal Writing Workshop
Looks like . . . Sounds like . . .
Writing Workshop
Do’s Don’ts
References
References