Writer's Workshop

I use a writer's workshop approach to teach grammar, mechanics, and the writing process to my students. Read on to see what writer's workshop is...
Daily Writing Workshop
 
Mini-Lesson Component: 5-25 minutes

This is a whole class lesson to teach a writing skill. The content could be about grammar, spelling, writer's craft, etc. The mini-lesson could be taught through modeled writing, read aloud to illustrate the skill, choral reading, a reminder of previous learned knowledge, a class discussion about the target skill, showing of work, direct instruction, etc. If the starting activity is brief, the sharing component can be extended and vice versa.


Writing Component: 20-25 minutes

During the writing session, students are actively writing, with or without teacher guidance.


Students are:

Writing a practice piece,

Prewriting,

Working on a new piece,

Working on an ongoing piece,

Peer conferencing,

Revising,

Working with the teacher,

Using a dictionary/thesaurus,

Publishing work

Teacher is:

Roaming to ecourage, guide, and help,

Conferencing with individuals,

Conducting a group lesson or conference

Sharing Component: 5-15 minutes

At the end of writer's workshop, students will share work they have done during the writing time. This sharing can happen in many ways and for different purposes. 1. Author’s Chair: 1-4 students present their writing to the class audience. 2. Whole Class Peer Conference: 1-4 students share their writing to get ideas on a specific part of the writing piece. The class audience gives warm and cool feedback. 3. Sharing of an interesting way of doing things: If Mrs. Poston notices a student revising, editing, publishing, or writing in a way that could help his/her classmate, she may ask the student to share what they have done.