Writing Workshop

Again, let me reiterate. I’m not saying grammar and spelling aren’t important.  Neither are Lucy Calkins, Katie Wood Ray, or Lisa Cleaveland. I’m just saying we need to give kids a chance to just focus on writing.  Since I’ve been using this model I have seen so much growth in my student’s writing. Even those reluctant writers who you are lucky to get a few lines from – I’ve seen growth.  Writing Workshop is about allowing kids to write and be at the level they’re at. If kids are so stressed about how to spell the word “Florida” then their story stops.  If kids spell it the best they can and keep going, then we’ll see more actual content.  Which is the whole goal of writing to me. Content not perfection.  Especially in the early elementary grades.

 

• Differentiation – Writing Workshop allows kids to work at their own pace.  Johnny may have edited and published five stories and be beginning number six.  Susie on the other hand might be a slower writing and working on publishing her first piece.  With Writing Workshop kids don’t have to be on the same page or even the same piece. They’re able to work at their own speed and you as the teacher are able to tailor personal goals to what each student needs during conferencing.

• Content – Writing Workshop focuses on content not perfection. I also like that Writing Workshop allows kids to just write about what they want.  There are no prompts in Writing Workshop. While prompts have their time and place, and students need to be able to write to a prompt, during Writing Workshop, kids write about what they know and have experienced. They can write about learning to ride a bike, their trip to the beach, going to Disneyland, losing a tooth, a class field trip, etc.  They have choice in their content, which makes writing more enjoyable and you will see them more engaged during the writing time.

• Modeling – Another huge focus in Writing Workshop is modeling.  Kids need to see how writer’s write. They need to see how they can come up with ideas. They need to see how to edit. And the best way to do this is through modeling.  Often it’s the teacher modeling with his or her own writing. It also is bringing up other students to model skills taught during Mini Lessons during sharing time.  Modeling is a very important step in Writing Workshop.

• Mini-Lessons are Tailored to Standards – Whether you are using the actual Lucy Calkin’s Writing Workshop resource or you’re doing this on your own (I’ve done both), you can tailor Writing Workshop to your standards.  When I was creating lessons on my own and using the format, I picked standards and made mini-lessons to fit them.  I also would notice things my students were doing and then create mini-lessons based on areas we needed to work on. For example, my students especially at the beginning of the year had a hard time adding details. Their stories were very short.  So, we focused a few lessons on adding details and they then had a chance to practice it during the writing time.

• Kids Love It – Kids love Writing Workshop. I once went to a school where they didn’t have a writing resource and I implemented Writing Workshop using the format and then creating my own mini-lessons. The kids ate it up! They were so excited for Writing Workshop time during the day.  I also saw major improvements in their writing and less stress. Many of the kids since this was new were so fixated on making their writing perfect that the content was lacking.  As they became more comfortable with the process, I saw major growth and they actually enjoyed writing.

 

 

I am starting a new series on my blog called Writing Workshop Wednesdays.  This is a series that has been on my to do list for awhile and with summer here it’s the perfect time to write it up!  I’ve been using Writing Workshop in my classroom for the past 9 years and have used it a variety of different ways.  I’ve had the Lucy Calkin’s materials (which are amazing) and also had to wing it a bit using the format and my own resources.

Here’s what you can expect over the next few weeks in the Writing Workshop Wednesday series:

– Why Writer’s Workshop – July 6
-Writer’s Workshop Set-Up and Products Used – July 13
-Typical Writer’s Workshop Format – July 20
-Mini Lesson Ideas – July 27
-Teaching Editing – August 3
-Publishing Pieces – August 10
-Tying Up Loose Ends – August 17