Writing Workshop
English 8
2014-2015
Why do we practice writing?
The best way to think of why we practice writing, is to think in terms of the goals we have for our
writing. This year, in English, we will focus on the following year-round goals:
1. We will practice writing in order to communicate effectively with others.
2. We will practice writing in order to express ourselves creatively.
3. We will practice writing in order to utilize effective writing skills.
4. We will practice writing in order to improve the way we articulate ourselves and to
increase others’ comprehension of our writing.
We will not address all these goals all the time, nor we will always have the same goals.
However, these will give us a good start on something to work towards as a class.
What will I need to do?
In class, you will participate in writing mini-lessons that demonstrate each genre listed below.
You will then be expected to try (in class) a draft of that genre. In addition, we will participate in
beautiful words, designed to get you thinking of different topics and exploring idea generation.
:
Rant / commentary
Free verse poetry
Persuasive
Reviews of books, movies, etc.
For Academic Only: Memoir
Prompt response
For each of these genres, you will see a teacher model, as well as a list of “tips” on how to
construct your draft. You will then use class time, as well as time at home, to draft your rough
drafts.
We have some class goals or skills that we will be working on, including:





Audience
Structure / organization, including paragraphing
Pre-writing
Transitions / flow
Writing Workshop procedures, including how to conference
Through your writing, you should keep in mind the goals that we have set for the class. You are
expected to incorporate information from mini-lessons, as well as use your own practice, to show
proof of progress towards these goals.
We will also be teaching you how to conference with teachers and peers. You will be expected to
record the results of these conferences and use them to work toward your goals.
And I get a grade for this?
Actually, you get two! You get one for your drafting, and one for your final product. When we
get closer to the end of the quarter, you will be choosing one or two pieces to revise. We will
have revision mini-lessons and revision time in class, where you will need to make sure you have
done the following:





Conferenced with peers
Conferenced with the teacher
Addressed the specifics of the genre
Have clear organization and structure
Have clear transitions between paragraphs
At the end of the revision time, you will conference individually with the teacher to show them
your final piece, determine your final grade, and choose goals for next quarter.
Drafting Grade:
30 points – You need at least a1 page draft per genre, with at least two genres being taken to
completion (two or more handwritten pages), in order to gain your full 30 points.
Final Piece (2 typed, double-spaced pgs) – You will get more information on a rubric as one is
developed.