Lesson 7: Setting Up the Writing Workshop
Date: Monday 4/30
Creator: E.Quigley
Overview
Students will have rules for the writing workshops to follow and will write their first freewrite.
Objectives
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Students will know the habits successful writers follow.
They’ll have a list of rules/procedures for independent writing time.
They’ll have one freewrite for the first essay prompt of the common application.
Materials:
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Flipchart paper
Marker
Personal Statement journal/folder/binder
Elmo or board
Graphic Organizer: Idea Web
Set-Up
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Hang two pieces of chart paper.
We strongly recommend you have
students keep all writing for the
project together in one place and that
you collect it daily.
LESSON PLAN
Morning
Check-in
15 min.
Whole
group
share.
(6 min.)

Distribute and review warm-up questions: (8 min.)
Think about the sample essays you read. What habits or practices do you think
those students followed in order to write such solid essays? (Give an example)

Share out or do Cold Call. Give credit for completing both writing tasks and for being
a good listener/participant. (7 min.)
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Explain: We discussed in the morning the habits and practices the writers of last
week’s essays probably followed. Please share some of these.

As kids come up with ideas, teacher records on chart paper the most accurate
responses. (Challenge the responses that might not be accurate). Try to draw out
the following:
Materials

Morning
check-in
question
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Chart
paper/
marker
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Chart
paper/mar
ker
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They came up with a bunch of different ideas before focusing on one.
They got down to the writing and didn’t overplan.
They wrote often and did it for more than 30 minutes straight.
They didn’t stop writing when they didn’t know how to spell something or couldn’t
come up with the perfect word. They moved on and went back to it later.
 The reread their piece over and over, getting rid of things, adding things,
reorganizing whole sections.
 They shared their writing for lots of different people, taking constructive criticism.

Whole
group
share.
(6 min.)

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Post poster to refer back to it.
Explain: We’re going to use these practices in Advisory. What procedures should be in
place so everyone can follow these practices during class time?
As kids come up with procedures, teacher records on chart paper. Some possible
procedures:
For this part, you may
choose to have your own
rules and not get the kids’
input. I do it this way
because I find the kids are
often more strict about
this than I am.
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We must write from beginning of Advisory to the end.
No talking, unless we want to read our writing outloud. First run it by Ms. Q.
We must sit apart so we’re not tempted to talk.
We’ll play music, but the teacher gets to decide on it.
_________ (responsible student) will open or close windows so the temp is
comfortable.
 When we start typing, we must stay on our own google doc. We can’t go to other
sites, programs, etc. for any reason.
Post this poster and refer to it in the beginning and/or end of each writing session.
Explain that this is part of their habits of work grade.
Independent
Writing
(15 min.)
 Explain: You’ll now practice these procedures doing your first freewrite. We’re going
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to do this with each of the prompts from the Common Application.
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 Post the following prompt (the first essay question):
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or
ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
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 Students choose to jump into the freewrite in one of two ways:
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Option 1: (for kids who aren’t sure what to write about) Create an idea
web using the attached graphic organizer. After, choose one idea to
jump into Option 2.
Option 2: In your journal, jump into the writing. If you don’t know how
to begin, jump into the middle of the action: I was…..when…. (I was in
the Bodega with my friend Brian when suddenly a homeless man in the
same aisle fell to the floor).
 Students write independently. As they do, evaluate them based on the procedures
the class came up with.
Wrap-up
 Commend specific students who followed the procedures. Explain what (if anything)
needs to change for tomorrow’s writing session.
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Elmo or
board.
Writing
folders/jou
rnals
Graphic
organizer:
idea web.
Idea Web
Name: _________________________
Use the web below to brainstorm ideas for the following prompt:
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma
you have faced and its impact on you.
1. In the first level of bubbles, write experiences, achievements, risks, or ethical dilemmas
2. Then create a second level describing the impact the above had on you.
Family means
more there
than here.
Missing New
York less than
I expected
Visiting
father in
Columbia
New value for
fatherhood
significant
experiences,
achievements,
risks, or ethical
dilemmas