Beginnings: Setting
Up and Maintaining
A Writer’s Workshop
Archdiocese of Milwaukee
Summer Literacy Institute
August 6, 2014
Winnie R. Huebsch, Ph.D.
Educational Consultant
Why Do We Write?
First things first….
Technology is changing
things….in this new literacy
environment, is writing still
important? Why or why not?
Let’s discuss. Turn to a partner
and talk. Then we will share.
Value of Writing
• Writing influences the way we
think
• Writing forces us to confront
issues, to define and redefine
our own feelings and positions,
and enables us to express
ourselves to others in more
effective ways.
Writing Enriches
Personal Growth
• Writing enables us to reflect
deeply on our own experiences,
to examine our most basic
assumptions, and to be in touch
with our innermost selves. In a
way, writing is a self-discovery
process.
Writing has Value
Writing is portable and
permanent. It makes your
thinking visible.
But…Let’s be Honest…
• Truthfully, many of us no longer
write frequently. It is a skill that
requires practice and many of us
no longer engage in it
frequently.
• Therefore, it can be hard to
teach for some of us!
Why It Can Be
Difficult
• We were not taught that way.
• It can be a bit ‘messy’ and many
teachers want structure and
control…which is
understandable
Accepting the Challenge
• Implementing a Writer’s
Workshop can be daunting…so,
before you start…
–
–
–
–
Understand the process
Be very prepared
Start slowly
Accept that challenges will occur
Inform Parents
• Parents are our biggest allies.
But, most were not taught using
the writer’s workshop method.
It is important that they
understand the benefits so that
they can be supportive of the
challenges and benefits
involved.
Why Writer’s
Workshop??
• It is a wonderful way to
organize and manage a class!
• It works better than other
management systems.
Impact on Students
• Children love the opportunity to
write about topics of interest to
them.
• They love the independence
inherent in working within a
writer’s workshop.
• They thrive on structure, which
a good writer’s workshop has.
So, Start Slowly…
.Step 1: “Storying”
• The first step is oral.
• Storying is one way to help hesitant
students become better writers.
• Spend the first 2-3 weeks of school
‘storying’, before writing in
notebooks.
• ‘Storying’ also builds a community of
writers!
Begin by modeling
‘Storying’
Suggestions:
•Tell a story from a memory. (A time I
was sad, afraid, excited, embarrassed.)
•Use a read aloud to start a
conversation. (For Example: You
might read a book about sledding or
playing in the snow, and then tell
about a similar experience you
remember.)
Begin by modeling
‘Storying’
• Describe someone special or
something interesting.
• Do a "quick draw" and then tell the
story inside the picture.
• Tell about something you love or really
dislike and why.
• Have students bring in photographs
from home and tell about the event or
people.
Begin by modeling
‘Storying’
• After you have told your story, give
everyone else in the class the chance
to tell a related story.
• Do this over several
days.
• Talk to them about the importance
of good manners: listening to others,
taking turns, responding correctly.
Example of Storying:
‘A/B Partner Talk‘
• Each partner gets 2 minutes to tell a
story. Partner A tells a story on a
topic. Partner B listens and then asks
any questions after the story.
Partner B then tells his story.
Partner A listens and asks questions.
• Then, the students turn to a new
partner. They repeat the same
process.
Example of Storying:
‘A/B Partner Talk‘
• This time, students might remember
to add the detail their partner asked
them about. Each student should
share with 2 or 3 partners.
• This process helps children develop
their stories orally and teaches them
how to revise by adding detail and
editing information.
Focus on the Talk
• The intentional focus on oral
language will help students build
confidence and a repertoire of ideas.
• Develop an class idea list on a chart
in your room. The ideas should be
general so that they can apply to
many students.
Focus on the Talk
• Students can have a writing folder
with ideas for writing included on
the inside cover.
Build Anticipation
• ‘Storying’ usually lasts about 20-30
minutes, which will be your whole
Writing Workshop block for the first
few weeks.
• Students will begin to get excited
about writing as they realize they
have something to write about.
Suggestions for
“Anticipation”
• Set a date to begin writing. Mark it on the
calendar and begin talking about it with
excitement.
• Begin a writer's notebook of your own
and show it to the class.
• Have students personalize their
notebooks. Decorate the covers - use
pictures, drawings, wrapping paper, etc.
Or, cover them with clear contact paper to
protect them.
One last note on
storying…
• Consider using storying throughout the
year. “Storying” can be helpful in getting
students motivated again after a long
break, such as winter break, or after you
complete a genre study.
• During these times, you will probably
only want to spend about a week
‘storying’. During that week, you could
use your mini-lesson time to story with
your students, and then use the
remainder of the time to write and share.
Source: Fletcher, R. A Writer's Notebook, Unlocking the Writer
Within You,
What Topics Can Kids
Write About?
• With a partner, brainstorm a list
of topics that students might
know a lot about. Write down
several. Then, we will share.
Structure and Schedule
for A Writer’s Workshop
Order and Suggested times:
1. Mini Lesson(5-10 min.)
2. Status of the Class (2 min.)
3. Writing and Conferencing(2040 min.)
4. Sharing (5-10 min.)
Materials for the
Workshop
Suggestions for Materials:
• blank paper in a variety of sizes, lined/unlined
• materials for covers (construction paper,
wallpaper, cardboard)
• markers, colored pencils, pens, pencils, crayons
• tape, glue, scissors, stapler
• stationary, envelopes, stamps, catalogues
• phone books for mailing letters and cards
• paper clips, erasers, correction tape
• dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, thesauruses
Mini Lessons
• The mini-lesson is our forum for making a
suggestion to the whole class...raising a
concern, exploring an issue, modeling a
technique, reinforcing a strategy. First our
students are engaged in their own
important work. Then we ask ourselves,
"What is the one thing I can suggest or
demonstrate that might help most?"
• Calkin, L. (1994). The Art of Teaching Writing, pp
193-5.
Mini- Lesson
• Time – 5-10 minutes
• A short lesson focused on a
single topic for which students
might need help. There is no
need to do a mini-lesson daily.
2-3 times a week is appropriate.
Mini Lessons
• The writing workshop mini-lesson
is the whole-class teaching time,
which often lasts 5-10 minutes.
• The teaching must be explicit and
concise.
Mini Lessons
• Choose only one focus for the
lesson. This could be a content focus
or a conventions focus. Be careful,
though. We often over-focus on
conventions!!!.
• Remember, It is the content that is
the heart of the text.
Mini-Lesson Suggestions
• Teacher Demonstration
Often a teacher will demonstrate writing an
entry in front of the children on a chart or
overhead. This works well if you can actually put
the overhead projector on the floor and gather
the children close to you. The teacher uses this
demonstrated writing like a think aloud.
• Examples:
– Rereading each sentence you write before moving on
– Rereading a series of words as your are writing a
sentence
– Using post-its to write revisions
Mini-Lesson Suggestions
• Student Writing
Students learn best from each other. Get
the child's permission before sharing his
writing in a mini lesson. Use student
writing to show what kids did well, not
what they did wrong.
• Use the Common Core Content Standards
on writing for your grade level.
Mini Lessons
• “Sometimes the mini-lesson will be
designed to create a warm glow around
the workshop. The easiest way to do this is
to read aloud from wonderful literature... a
story, a poem... and to do so without
turning the reading into a lesson. Instead,
we simply read aloud . . . and then
immediately, and with no discussion, we
write and write and write.”
Calkins, L. The Art of Teaching Writing, p.
194,
Advantages of the ‘Mini
Lesson’ Approach
• Students practice their skills in an
authentic way.
• Time is not wasted giving tests.
• They develop greater confidence and
independence.
• Less time is spent correcting papers.
• Kids like it!
Let’s Brainstorm
• What are some mini-lessons that
you feel would be important as
you begin the writing workshop
process?
• Talk it over with a partner and
write down several suggestions.
• Then, we will share…
Status of the Class
• Time: 2-5 minutes
• A quick way of finding out what
each student is working on.
Status of the Class
• Have a poster with library pockets for
each student. In each pocket place 3
cards,
– Red: Work in progress,
– Yellow: Illustrating,
– Green: Publishing.
• Each student may have any of these 3
colors in their pocket depending what
they are working on.
• Students should place the color in front to
indicate the stage they are in during their
Steps in the Writing
Process
•
•
•
•
•
•
Brainstorm
Draft
Revise
Edit
Final Draft
Publish
Writing/Conferencing
• The teacher listens carefully to what the
student says about his writing and asks
questions to clarify and deepen his
understanding of the student's work.
• Teacher makes a decision based on the
conversation with the student, and then
explicitly teaches one thing that will help
him.
• Source: Anderson, C. (2000). How's It Going? Heinemann.
Teaching During
Conferencing
• Teacher confers one-on-one or with small
groups. In grades 1-5, the teacher confers
with 3-5 children per day.
• Help with ideas to write about or
motivation. Help the students revise and
edit their stories.
• Help them determine when they are
ready to move forward. Do this for about
20-30 minutes.
How to Conference
• Some students work on publishing
and others on illustrating; a few
students will work on stories.
• The students get their folders so you
can review what they are working
on.
• Conference with each child to
brainstorm on writing ideas.
How to Conference
• Students may have 5-6 stories in
their folder before picking one to
publish.
• Not everything we write needs to be
published.
• Being able to visit with several
students a day allows you to keep
each on track and move them
forward in the writing process.
How to Conference
• The conferring time is often referred
to as the heart of the workshop. It is a
time for the teacher to: (1) affirm what
the child is doing well and (2)
teach/reteach a skill or strategy within
his/her own writing.
• Be careful to teach the writer, not
this piece of writing. Teach the child
one strategy he/she will be able to use on
many other pieces of writing in the future.
Why do “Sharing”?
1. It gives children a real audience for
which to write.
2. It provides children with immediate
feedback from the teacher and
other students.
3. This will eventually help the child to
self-revise because he will begin to
predict what others will ask about
the writing.
Sharing
• Sharing usually takes about 10 minutes.
• If you run short of time, do not skip the
sharing time. Instead, either save the
sharing time for later in the day or use a
simplified method for sharing, such as
having everyone turn to a partner and
read what they have written.
• Students need feedback from the teacher
and from the larger group.
Sharing
Sharing
• About 3 children share per day. In primary
grades, the most common form of sharing is in
the Author's Chair.
• The class offers feedback consisting of positive
reinforcement (e.g., "What I like most about
your writing is...) and wonderings (e.g., "What
does your dog look like?).
• The teacher needs to model both kinds of
feedback for several weeks in younger grades.
Creative Publishing
Ideas
• A newspaper for the school or an article
for a local newspaper
• A picture book or chapter book,
• A "How-To" or teaching book for the
school or class library
• A letter to send to a friend, family
member, or an important person
• A biography or autobiography
• A guided reading book for other students
Creative Publishing
Ideas
• A poster to decorate the room for a holiday
party
• A list of directions or rules for parts of the
school
• A flyer or brochure
• A scrapbook for your family (e.g., family
vacation, memories from growing up, etc.)
• An alphabet book
• A framed word portrait or poem to hang on
the wall
Creative Publishing
Ideas
• A skit or play to be performed for or by
other classes
• A comic strip for the school office, your
doctor's office, etc.
• A "Get Well" card or poem for a sick friend
• A calendar with your best poems or other
pieces on each month
• A collection of memories placed in a time
capsule
The Process of
Publishing
When you feel students are ready to publish a
piece, teach them the following steps:
• Read your writing out loud to at least 2 other
people. You might ask one or more of the
following questions:
– Does my writing makes sense?
– Are there any parts that aren't clear?
– Does my writing leave you with any
unanswered questions?
– Did my words paint a picture in your
mind?
The Process of
Publishing
• Check your own work with a
revising/editing checklist.
• Have a conference with your teacher to
see what one new thing she can teach you
about being a writer.
• Try the strategy that your teacher
suggests to you in the conference.
• Go to the publishing center and choose
the materials (paper, crayons, etc.) that
you want to use in publishing this piece.
• Be sure to make the corrections that your
teacher has written on your practice copy.
Spelling Suggestions for
students
• Read the writing backwards, from the end
to the beginning.
• Identify words you think may be
misspelled and look to other resources for
help.
• Use Environmental print (displays in the
room, word wall, etc.)
Spelling Suggestions
• Use a computerized spell check.
• Try to spell the word a variety of ways
and ask yourself which way looks right.
• Ask yourself, "Is this word similar in
meaning to other words I can spell?" Do I
know parts of the word? (Ex. courage courageous)
Editing Checklist Primary
Name: _____________________ Date: __________
1. Does it make sense?
2. Did you leave spaces between your
words?
3. Did you use capital letters to begin
sentences?
4. Did you use ending punctuation marks?
Editing Checklist 2 –
grades 3-5
Name: _____________________ Date: __________
1. Did you reread it carefully, checking for places
where readers might be confused?
2. Did you check the spelling using a variety of
sources?
3. Did you use correct punctuation? (ending,
quotation marks, commas)
4. Have you tried to take out extra words that don't
add much?
Editing Checklist 3
Name: _____________________ Date: __________
1. Did you use appropriate punctuation? (ending marks,
commas, quotation marks, etc.)
2. Did you use capital letters appropriately?
3. Did you give enough information so the reader won't be left
with questions?
4. Did you use several sources to check your spelling?
5. Does your writing flow in an organized way?
6. Did you indent and use margins when using paragraphs?
7. Did you use details and descriptions?
8. Did you write an effective beginning and ending?
Remember…
“All good writing is
swimming under
water and holding
your breath!”
F. Scott Fitzgerald
A Final Word
“We are all apprentices
in a craft where no one
ever becomes a master.”
Ernest Hemingway
References
• Writer’s Workshop: A guide to getting started in the real
world. PowerPoint Presentation.
• Springfield Public School District 186
http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/resources/language
arts/instruction/?mod=105
• Fletcher, R. A Writer's Notebook, Unlocking the Writer
Within You,
• Jeanne Morris Jmorris565@aol.com.
Maple Elementary, Fontana, CA
• Writers workshop: Teaching that makes sense.
http://www.teachersfirst.com/lessons/writers/index.
html
• http://www.ttms.org/PDFs/05%20Writers%20Works
hop%20v001%20(Full).pdf
• learn.tsinghua.edu.cn/cod_go.jsp?cod_id...