What is Writers’ Workshop?
n A regular part of the school day in which students write on subjects of their own choosing
n A well-managed, well documented period of instruction
n A time for knowledgeable teachers to demonstrate writing strategies in different genres of writing
n An opportunity for all students to work at their own independent level
How does Writers’ Workshop differ from traditional writing instruction?
What are the challenges of doing
Writers’ Workshop?
n You need to find time in your school day for a sustained period of writing.
n You must spend a lot of time figuring out a manageable system… even with pre-planning, you’ll have to do a lot of adjusting.
n Each day, you’re on your own for planning lessons. There’s no manual to tell you what to do next.
n You need to release more control to your students and help them be independent.
n There will be times when you’re not sure what you’re doing!
What are some benefits?
n You’re meeting the individual needs of all your learners in one block of time.
n You will get to know your students so much better--- both their abilities and their lives!
n Young children become better readers as they have authentic practice with phonics.
n Students learn to be independent thinkers and problem-solvers.
n Work shows growth over time.
n YOU, the biggest expert on your students (not a textbook publisher!) decide what your children need to learn next.
SO, you want to do
Writers’ Workshop.
Now what?
#1 Find time……………………………………………………...p. 4
#2 Think about the structure of your class period………..….p. 4
#3 Know what students of each age group need to learn...p. 5
#4 Understand the levels of spelling development……...…p. 6-8
#5 Determine how you will manage your workshop………p. 9
#6 Work at your conferencing skills……………………p. 10-1 1
#7 Have a note-taking system that works for you…………p. 12
#8 Have a plan for assessment…………………………….p. 13-15
#9 Decide what you will teach first…………………….p. 16-19
#10 Get started, with resources at your fingertips …….p. 20-26
#1 Find time.
n Find an uninterrupted block of time in your day to fit Writers’ Workshop. Aim for every day of the week. Try to do it in the morning, when the students are most productive and when your patience is greater.
n PreK-K 15-20 minutes
n Gr. 1-2 30-40 minutes
n Gr. 3 40-60 minutes
#2: Think about the
structure of your class period.
n Mini-lesson 5-10 minutes
n Independent Writing 15-45 minutes*
n Share Time 5-10 minutes
*Adjust depending on your students’ age and ability.
2
#3: Know what students of each
age group need to learn.
n Pictures can be used to tell a story.
n Writing is talk written down.
n Letters make up words.
n Writing goes from left to right. / All of previous, plus…
n Writing goes from top to bottom.
n Simple sentences make sense.
n Stories have a beginning, middle, and end.
n Writers can read their own writing.
n Letters represent sounds.
n Words have beginning, middle, and ending sounds.
n Capital letters begin names and sentences.
n Sentences end with a period.
n Spaces are between words.
n There are some words we all spell correctly. / All of previous, plus…
n There are different types of writing: narrative, poetry, fiction/nonfiction, how-to, etc.
n Good writing makes sense.
n Writers change their writing to make it better.
n Good writers use interesting vocabulary.
n The beginning, middle, and end of a piece are developed.
n Sentences end with periods, question marks, or exclamation marks.
n We use what we know about words to spell new words. / All of previous, plus…
n The stages of writing are prewriting, writing, revising, and editing.
n Writers use different revision strategies to improve their writing.
n A piece of writing focuses on one topic or idea.
n Writing includes details, and details should be in an order that makes sense.
n Resources can be used to check spelling and to find more interesting words.
n Quotation marks, apostrophes, and commas are used in writing.
n Capital letters are used for all proper nouns. / All of previous, plus…
n Paragraphs include a topic sentence and supporting details.
n A piece of writing should have a purpose and an intended audience.
n Ideas are connected with transitional words and phrases.
n Capital letters are also used for titles and abbreviations.
n Subjects and verbs agree in writing.
n Verb tense is consistent throughout a piece of writing.
2
#4: Understand the levels of spelling development.
n Your task is not to get everyone to the same level, but to move everyone forward.
n As you see children using but confusing more advanced ideas, you know they are starting to move to the next level.
n Support your children where they are at, while challenging them to a level they can achieve.
Emergent Letter-Name Within-Word Syllables &
Alphabetic Pattern Affixes
0-5 yrs. 5-8 yrs. 7-10 yrs. 9-14 yrs.
*Of course, all students are different, and you may find a child in a stage whose description does not match his/her age.
STAGES OF SPELLING DEVELOPMENT
(Also known by other names, such as emergent, early, transitional, fluent)
- EMERGENT -What students do correctly / What students use but confuse
Early / § write on the page
§ use a writing utensil / § draw and scribble for writing
Middle / § horizontal movement across the page
§ clear distinction between writing/drawing
§ lines and dots for writing
§ letter-like forms / § letters, numbers, and letter-like forms
§ writing may wrap from right to left at the end of the line
Late
V for elevator
D for down / § consistent direction
§ some letter-sound match / § substitutions of letters that sound, feel, and look alike
b/p d/b
-- LETTER-NAME ALPHABETIC --
Early
BD for bed
SHP for ship
Y for when
L, LP for lump
U for you
R for are / § write most beginning sounds
§ correct direction
§ know most letters of the alphabet
§ clear letter-sound correspondence
§ partial spelling of blends/digraphs / § letters based on points of articulation (J, JRF for drive)
§ often long vowels by letter name
Middle
BAD for bed
FOT for float
LOP for lump / § most beginning and ending consonants
§ clear letter-sound correspondence
§ frequently occurring short vowel words / § substitutions of letter name closest in point of articulation for short vowels
§ some consonant blends and digraphs
Late
FLOT for float
BAKR for baker
PLAS for place
BRIT for bright / § all of the above plus:
§ regular short vowel patterns
§ most consonant blends/digraphs
§ some common long vowel words / § substitutions of common patterns for low frequency short vowels: COT for caught
-- WITHIN-WORD PATTERN --
Early
FLOTE for float
PLAIS for place
BRIET for bright
TABL for table / § initial and final consonants
§ consonant blends/digraphs
§ regular short vowel patterns
§ good accuracy on r-influenced single syllable words (fur, bird)
§ some frequently used long vowel words / § long vowel markers:
SNAIK for snake
FELE for feel
Middle
SPOLE for spoil
DRIEV for drive / § all of the above plus:
§ slightly more than half of the long vowel words in single-syllable words (hike, nail) / § long vowel markers
NITE for night
§ consonant patterns
SMOCK for smoke
§ inventive substitutions
TEACHAUR for teacher
§ ed and other common
endings
MARCHT for marched
BATID for batted
Late
CHUED for chewed / § all of the above plus:
§ single-syllable long vowel words
§ may know some common suffixes / § low frequency long vowel words
HEIGHT for height
§ ed and other common endings
-- SYLLABLES AND AFFIXES --
Early / § initial and final consonants
§ consonant blends/digraphs
§ short vowel patterns
§ most long vowel patterns
§ ed and many other endings / § consonant doubling: HOPING for hoping
§ doubling and e-drop
AMAZZING for amazing
Middle / § all of the above plus
§ consonant doubling: shopping, cattle
§ double and e-drop: stopping, amazing / § syllables that receive less stress: HOCKY for hockey
§ FAVER for favor
Late / § all of the above plus
§ long vowel patterns in unaccented syllables (compose/composition)
§ double and e-drop / § some suffixes and prefixes:
ATTENSION for attention
PERTEND for pretend
#5: Determine how you will manage your workshop.
Some things for you to consider…
Paper:
§ unlined paper bound between construction paper covers (one per month?)
§ spiral bound notebook – never tear pages out!
§ loose leaf paper kept in folders
§ NO erasing—just crossing out with a single line through
§ use backs of pages / skip lines
Writing Utensils:
§ markers, crayons, colored pencils
§ pencils only
§ kept at desks, or in a central location?
Getting help
§ turn a cup over
§ do not stop work to wait for the teacher!
§ no interrupting teacher during conferences (“Are you bleeding to death or throwing up?”)
Mini-lesson
§ stay at desks and look at board
§ gather on a rug or other location
Writing time
§ certain time period of writing (5 min?) before asking a question
§ when finished with one piece, start another
§ can students talk with each other? How much / how often?
Sharing time
§ author’s chair
§ system for keeping track of who’s shared and when
§ procedures for listening
o eyes on speaker
o hands, bodies still
o think about questions you may have
o time for repeating, responding, questioning
#6: Work on your conferencing skills.
Always be thinking of ways to help this WRITER, not this writing!
“Is my teaching going to just help this piece of writing, or is it going to make this student a better writer tomorrow?”
Conference Do’s and Don’ts
1. DO begin the conference with a question.
a. “How’s it going, ______?”
b. “What are you writing about now, ______?”
a. Where are you now in your writing, ______?”
2. DO listen. Be a person. Enjoy, care, respond! Kids can tell if you’re not really interested.
3. DO choose one, maybe two, important things to teach.
a. “I want to show you how to label each picture with a letter.”
b. “I’m teaching you how to leave spaces between your words.”
c. “Let’s work at just using capitals at the beginning of sentences.”
d. “We’re going to focus on SH and the /sh/ sound.”
e. Today I want to help you put periods in the correct spots.”
f. “We’re going to work at crossing out what doesn’t fit.”
g. “Let’s try adding more information to your story.”
h. “I’m going to show you how to use commas.”
i. “We’re going to use the Word Wall to help with your spelling.”
4. DO help students who are stuck finding a topic.
a. “Tell me about your weekend/ family/ friends/ pets/ neighborhood/ likes & dislikes/ memories/ hobbies/ birthdays/ favorite books/ sports, etc.”
b. “What’s a story you tell again and again?”
c. “What are you good at?”
d. “What have you read/heard/seen/felt/ that you can’t forget?”
5. DO ask questions about the writing process, such as:
a. “Can you tell me how you wrote this?”
b. “What problems did you have when writing this?”
c. “How long have you been working on this?”
6. DO help a child focus an unfocused piece.
a. “Do you have more than one story here?”
b. “What’s the most important thing you’re trying to say?”
c. “What’s your favorite part? How can you build on it?”
d. “Is all this information important?”
e. “What parts don’t you need—can you cross them out?”
7. DO ask students questions to help them develop short pieces.
a. “What else do you know?”
b. “How could you find out more about this topic?”
c. “Is there any part that might confuse the reader? How can you make it better?”
8. DO ask questions to help students evaluate their writing.
a. “When you read this over, how do you feel about it?”
b. “If you had to think of all your writing, and put it in piles of best, good, and less good, which would this be in? Why?”
9. DO NOT try to make the piece of writing perfect by fixing every little thing.
10. DO NOT spend too long on a single conference. Five minutes is pushing it. Other children need you, too!
11. DO NOT neglect to start with something positive. Children, like adults, are sensitive about their writing!
12. DO NOT forget to celebrate how far a child has come—even if it’s not as far as you’d like!
#7: Have a note-taking system that works for you.
a. grid on a clip board – this way you can see whom you’ve met with recently – start a new grid when you’ve met with everyone
AdamTues 9-3
Had trouble finding a topic—we referred to chart at front of room—got him started on his pet / Lou / Billy
Wed 9-4
No periods in his piece at all! We read it together, stopping at each spot for a period.
Gabe / Thomas
Tues 9-3
Just one sentence written in 15 min- showed him how to ask himself questions to help develop / Mandy
Wed 9-4
Having trouble with digraphs ; wrote “ch/sh/th” in back of her notebook with pictures as helps
Matthew
Tues 9-3
Still not leaving spaces between words—got him to slow down and use “magic lines” / Liam / Haley
Thurs 9-5
Very good writing; just encouraged her… need to think of a challenge next time!!
b. index cards: have one for each child; put on clip board so you know whom you want to meet with that day. Then file later. Can do something similar with post-it notes. Place on a paper in a binder—with one page for each student.