Writing Workshop
This year, in addition to
Daily Literacy Stations, students will be taking part in Writing
Workshop. The purpose of Writing Workshop is to provide children
with authentic experiences that nurture the love of writing and
allow them to experiment with various forms of written
expression. The curriculum for Writing Workshop is
literacy-based and builds throughout the year. During Writing
Workshop, children participate in
mini-lessons, interactive/shared writing, independent portfolio
writing, peer conferencing and conferencing with Mrs. Elton.
Writing Workshop differs from other forms of writing instruction
because we do not have assigned topics. Instead, students are writing individual stories based on their
own experiences. Students are
also writing at their individualized ability level and are
encouraged to use the strategies that we have learned to write
at "their personal best".
What Does Writing Workshop Look Like in
Room 18?
Mini-Lesson (7-10 minutes)
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- Teacher is working with whole class.
- Teacher makes a connection to a previous lesson or ongoing study.
- Teacher introduces a specific writing skill or strategy.
- Teacher models how to use skill or strategy while actively engaging students in learning experience.
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Independent Work Time (60 minutes) |
- Students are around the room stations working on
writing.
- Teacher is checking the status of the class
and recording students who do/do not have specific
strategies in place.
- Teacher is conferencing with individual
students about their writing.
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| Sharing and Author's Chair |
- Students meet as a whole class or with a partner to discuss
pieces they are writing and strategies they utilized during independent work time.
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Mentor Text Connection
(10-15 minutes) |
- Depending on available time, the teacher may open the lesson with a read-aloud.
- Teacher uses text which allows her to model a
specific skill or strategy to be taught.
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Our tentative units
of study for Writing Workshop
| September |
Building a Community of Writers |
| October |
Pattern Books |
| November |
Non-Fiction
Question & Answer Books |
| December |
Small Moments |
| January |
Author
Study/Revision |
| February |
Revision/Writing
for Readers |
| March |
Non-Fiction All
About Books |
| April |
Poetry |
| May |
Personal
Narrative |
| June |
Fiction |
We will also work on writing through
shared and interactive writing,
class books, anchor charts, cloze sentences, reading response,
the morning message and our work on writing literacy station.
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