Writer's Workshop
| Where to begin???? Ok, first of all go grab Fountas
& Pinnell's Guiding
Readers & Writers Grades 3-6 again. During Writing Workshop
(WW), students engage in independent writing of a variety of texts in a range
of genres. The teacher guides the process and provides instruction through
a focused mini-lesson and through individual conferences with the student
writers.
Kids learn to write by writing, so the bulk of a writing workshop consists of...writing! A writing workshop is a block of time set aside in the school day to focus exclusively on the writing process. Writing workshops take various forms, but the basic components are the same. In most cases, a writing workshop consists of teaching a particular skill or concept, a much larger block of time devoted to writing and conferring, and an activity that allows students to share their writing with the group. Although the writing workshop won't look exactly the same in every classroom, many elements are common. The simplest structure for a writing workshop starts with a mini lesson and a much larger block for writing and conferring. A "typical" writing workshop might look like this:
Where do you get your ideas for lessons, Mrs. Barnett? Good Question. I pull my lessons from my students writing. Where are they at? What do they need next? What do I need to teach based upon my Standards? What specific lessons do my kids need to writing in a genre? I am also fortunate enough to have The Continuum of Literacy Learning, Grades K-8. This text identifies behaviors and understandings to notice, teach, and support in the the literacy classroom. It is broken down by grade level and the guided reading milestones are laid out level-by-level along Pinnell and Fountas’ A–Z gradient to facilitate reading instruction at the precise level at which it is most appropriate to support new learning. View a sample chapter from Heinemann here
To get you started, Fountas and Pinnell have laid out WW mini-lessons in their text (ch.5) as well as how to get started with it all (ch.6), here are some more places to visit for additional information and resources. Springfield, IL Schools have adapted the first 2 weeks of RW and WW into lessons. Springfield Public Schools WW (lessons, ideas, pacing charts) NCTE: What Research Says About Writing Mandy Gregory Starting a Writer's Workshop Mrs. Hillman's Writer's Workshop WritingFix from Northern Nevada Writing Project (mini lessons and ideas) Mini Posters to track Student's Writing Stages 6+1 Trait Writing Lessons (searchable by grade levels and trait) 6+1 Trait Scoring (explains all the traits, gives examples and even practice scoring guides
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