writers workshop

Summer

Literacy

Institute

K-2 Launching the Launching the Writers’ Writers’

WorkshopWorkshop

Pat AdkissonPat AdkissonCathy BlackCathy Black

Union County Union County SchoolsSchools

K-2 Literacy Institute

Turn and Talk1. Sit knee to knee.2. Quickly choose who will go first.3. Partner 1 talks.4. Partner 2 talks.5. Speaker speaks loudly and clearly.6. Listener listens with a calm body.7. Everyone takes responsibility for

their own listening.


The Social Side of Writers’ Workshop

• “Writing is by nature a social process.”• Writing represents the means by

which a message can be communicated to someone else.

• Children learn how to become writers through meaningful interactions with more knowledgeable people.” -Linda Dorn 2001


The Cognitive Sides of Writers’ Workshop

• The child must understand and pull together ideas or knowledge.

• The child must hold the ideas in working memory long enough to transcribe the message. Healy, 1994


What must the young writer be able to do when

he/she writes?

Turn and talk


Writing is Shaped through Practice and Feedback

“When children write, they acquire searching, monitoring, evaluating, and self-correcting their actions.” -Linda Dorn, 2001


Writing Depends on the Interrelatedness of Three Aspects of

Writing•Comprehension of ideas•Expressive language•Facility with mechanics


Balance/Putting It Together

• If the child has too many new things to learn, this can interfere with the orchestration process.

• The primary grades are critical times for shaping orchestration.


The Teacher Can Ask Four Simple Questions:

1. What is easy for the writer to do?2. What is hard for the writer to do?3. What does the teacher expect the

writer to do ?4. What does the teacher expect to do

for the writer? -Linda Dorn, 2002


The Writing Process1. Prewriting2. Drafting3. Revising4. Editing 5. Publishing


Time“Children should leave the first

grade having spent countless hours with pens and markers in hand and paper in front of them making all the decisions someone who writes has to make.” -Katie Wood Ray, Lisa Cleveland, 2004


Confidence • Recognize that it is scary to

begin.• Be prepared - have your materials

on hand.


Anatomy of the Mini-Lesson

• Connection• Teaching• Active Engagement• Link• Confer• After the Workshop Share


Connection• Links what has been done to what

is expected to be learned in the present lesson

• May serve as a quick review of previous learning


TeachMini-lesson

• Has a clear objective - teaching point

• States the purpose explicitly• Models – Demonstrate• May Provide Guided Practice• Explains and gives examples


Link Before sending student off to

write independently, encourage student to use the skill taught in the mini-lesson


Active Engagement• At the end of the mini-lesson

students are given the opportunity to try-out the lesson through sharing with a partner

• At times students may watch other students trying something out


Writing Time• Students write• Teacher confers


Conferring• The teacher may meet with students

individually.• The teacher may meet with small

groups of students with similar needs• The teacher takes the time to record

her compliment and teaching points


ConferringThe Compliment

• The teacher looks for something that the student is trying to use in his/her writing.

• The teacher uses specific language to compliment, “I am going to complement you for….”


ConferringTeaching Points

• The teacher looks for what the student knows.

• The teacher looks for what the student needs to know next

• The teacher asks herself what is the most important thing that she can teach this student next?

• The teacher must decide how she is going to teach the child


Sharing• Students return to same place that

they were for the mini-lesson.• The teacher may decide to restate the

teaching point of the mini-lesson and share examples of student work.

• The teacher may decide to introduce a new writing behavior that was observed.


Lesson OneBegin with the Whole

“We don’t begin by breaking the process of writing down and asking children to do just one small part of the process. We believe it helps learners to have an image of the whole thing they’ll be trying to do, even though it can feel ambitious to show them the whole thing and say “Get started doing this” -Lucy Calkins, 2005


•Writer’s Workshop Times

1. Gather on the carpet (2 minutes)

2. Mini lesson (7-10 minutes)3. Write (25-35 minutes)4. Confer (while students write)5. Share (3-5 minutes)


Lesson OneGather on the carpet

• Don’t worry about assigning partners the first day.

• Designate an area for students to gather.


Lesson OneSet the Purpose for Writer’s Workshop

• “We are going to write books like the authors of the books we like to read.

• We will write songs like the ones we sing.

• We will write letters.• We are all going to be authors.”


Lesson One Connection• Explain that every day students

will work in a writers workshop and that it will always begin with a meeting.

• Share that they will become writers.


Lesson OneTeaching

• Show how you go about choosing a topic you know and care about.

• Think aloud. Highlight the kind of thinking that you hope the students will do.


Lesson One Sketch

• Show how you are thinking about your story.

• Make your sketch simple.• Show your whole idea and

then separate it into parts.


Lesson OneLabel the Sketch

• Label the parts that are important to the story.

• Expect students to try even if they do not know enough about graphophonics to do as the teacher does.


Lesson OneThe teacher restates what she did in the

mini-lesson• A writer thinks in his head about

something he enjoyed or was important.

• Then he sketches it quickly.• Then he labels the parts of the

sketch that are important.


Lesson OneActive Engagement

• Have students close their eyes.• Have students think of something that

they have done recently or something that they do often.

• After a moment, have students open their eyes and tell someone sitting next to them what they might write about (Turn and talk).


Lesson OneMaking a Link

• Let students know that they will be thinking of something they know about or happened

• Students can write by sketching and writing


Lesson OneThe Teacher Passes

Out Paper• Have paper ready.• Have one sheet and one

pencil for each student.• Be prepared with a system to

pass out paper quickly.


Lesson One Practice

• Close your eyes, think of something that you would like to draw and write about.

• Turn and talk to someone about your story.

• Sketch your story.• Label the important parts.


Lesson OneThe teacher confers as

students write• Conferring is the heart of

teaching writing.• Students will learn to write for

longer periods of time as they become more experienced.


Lesson OneShare

• Have students hold their work up for all in the room to see.

• Praise and celebrate.


Lesson OneDemonstrate How to

Put Away Writing• Tell students that everyday

they will keep their work in a folder.

• For the first day, have a place that students can quickly put their folder

• Instruct students to come to the carpet.


Lesson OneOn the Carpet-

Celebrate• Share one or two students’

work.• It may not be necessary to

highlight the entire work. Focus on the part that needs to be emulated.

• Make the students know that writer’s workshop is special.


Remember•Each student will take in

only that which he is able to take in.


Turn and Talk

• Identify the key points to remember in this lesson.

• Why start with the whole lesson first?

• What happens in each part of the lesson?


The Mini-Lesson, Lesson Two

• Focus on what happens in the mini-lesson.

“Today, and everyday, we will start the writer’s workshop with a mini-lesson. In a mini-lesson, I will remind you what we have been doing in writing and then I will tell you what we’ll learn today.” Lucy Calkins, 2005


Lesson TwoRevisit the Procedures of Writer’s Workshop

• Remind student of what occurs in the mini lesson

• Have a student’s sample from Lesson One ready to share

• Celebrate


Lesson Three-What Do You Do When You Think That You

Are Done?• Students will work beyond when

they first consider themselves finished.

• Students will add more to their picture or words or start a new picture.


Review Other Lesson Plans

• Turn and Talk


Anchor Charts

• Aids teacher and students in remembering procedures and expectations

• Added to during the year• Are removed when no

longer used


Activity• Break up into groups of 3-5• Brainstorm a list of Launching

Lessons titles• Put them in order


Activity• Use the lesson plan format

provided.• Complete lesson plan(s) to be

used in the unit.


Plan• How will you launch Writer’s

Workshop?• What will you do to help others

learn about this important unit?• Turn and talk.


References

• Calkins, L., and L Memmelstein. 2003. Launching the Writing Workshop. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

• Dorn, L J, and C. Soffas. 2001. Scaffolding Young Writers – A Writers’ Workshop Approach. USA: Stenhouse.


References• Healy, J. 1994. Your Child’s

Growing Mind. New York, NY: Doubleday.

• Ray, K W, and L Cleveland. 2004. About the Authors, Writing Workshop with Our Youngest Writers. Portsmouth, NH. Heinemann.

writers workshop

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