Building the Writing Workshop the “Write Way” 3 rd -5 th

1. Building the Writing Workshop the “Write Way” 3rd-5th Catawba County Schools Lora Drum Kathy Keane

2. Today’s Objectives: • Participants will leave this session with the knowledge and tools to effectively implement the writing workshop model. The components of the Lucy Calkins (Units of Study) will be the focus, along with multiple hands-on activities and strategies for building a solid foundation for writing instruction. • Participants will walk away with a “tool box” of items to use for journaling, modeling, sharing, and conferencing with students.

3. Writing is all around us…

4. Goals of the Writing Workshop • To help students see writing as a way of telling about things • To develop students’ fluency in writing • To provide opportunities for students to learn to use grammar and mechanics in the context of their own writing • To help students learn about specific forms (genres) of writing during focused instruction to ensure that struggling writers are supported in order to maintain their motivation and self-confidence

5. I Have, Who Has… Activity Review of the components of Lucy Calkins writing Workshop

6. Getting Yourself Ready… • Ensure that all students have a writer’s notebook • Start your own writer’s notebook • Have a 2 pocket folder for each student • Have note/letter ready to send to parents • Suggestion: cover notebooks with clear contact paper or tape

7. Tools for Writing Workshop • Writer’s notebooks (suggestion: MEAD composition books) • Writer’s Toolboxes (basket/ tote that holds materials for writing: pencils, pens, highlighters, tape, glue sticks, scissors, Post-it notepads, markers, etc.) • 2 pocket folders • Writing Mini-Offices

8. Writer’s Notebooks http://www.learner.org/resources/series205.html Program 1: start at 1:18, Teacher 1- modeling writing skip to 8:53 Teacher 3- modeling poem

9. Writer’s Notebook Entries“Gathering Ideas” • Poetry • Family stories that we know • Writing generated from conversations we've had or have heard • Lists of people or place names of interest • Entries about things we care about • Things we wonder about • Celebrations or victories • Dreams http://quest.carnegiefoundation.org/~dpointer/jennifermyers/workshopapproach.htm Writer’s Workshop Introduction Mini Lesson by Jennifer Myers

10. Getting Your Class Ready… Getting Your Room Ready • Establish a meeting area • Arrange your room so that students can work in small groups • Have “toolboxes” for each group

11. Writer’s Toolbox

12. Basic Writing Workshop Format: • Call to Workshop • Connections • Teaching • Active Engagement • Linking • Writing and Conferring • Mid-Point Teaching Point • Sharing http://www.learner.org/resources/series205.html Program 4: Mini-lesson- Introducing the Writing Workshop

13. 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 • Explicitly name what will • be taught/learned

14. Writing Workshop • Mini-lesson (10 minutes) • Students Writing/Teacher Conferencing (20-30 minutes) • Sharing (5-10 minutes) So what do each of these components look like…

15. Teaching (Mini-lesson) • Has a Clear Objective - Teaching Point • States the Purpose Explicitly • Teacher Models – Demonstrate • May Provide Guided Practice • Explains and Gives Examples

16. Mini-Lessons • Teacher models the process of writing for students • Teacher writes in front of the class and thinks out loud about what she/he is doing as a writer • Teacher models making decisions, making mistakes, how she/he puts words on the page • Students are gathered together to observe, and make any notes in their writing notebook

17. Mini Lesson: 10-15 Minutes The mini-lesson is where you can make a suggestion to the whole class...raise a concern, explore an issue, model a technique, reinforce a strategy. First the students are engaged in their own important work. Then ask yourself, "What is the one thing I can suggest or demonstrate that might help most?"   A mini-lesson generally lasts 5-10 minutes. You should try to choose a teaching point that you feel would benefit many members of the class.

18. Basics for Constructing the Perfect Mini-Lesson • Choose a method of writing in front of students using chart paper, an overhead projector, or Schoolpad depending on the purpose (chart paper can be used to post as reminders) • Students need to be gathered in a space separate from regular instruction • Must be focused on one particular concept, skill, or technique • Look at curriculum and students’ writing to determine focus of mini-lessons

19. Types of Mini-Lessons • Procedures • Conventions • Craft Balance of Each Type is Important!

20. Procedures • Type of lesson used to set the structure and expectations during writing workshop • For each procedure you want students to follow, use a mini-lesson to model and teach the expectation/process • Important to have clear expectations and then demonstrate those to your students • Any time you feel a procedure needs fine-tuning or complete change, use a mini-lesson to model that change Page 68- Minilesson Ideas for Management- Guiding Readers and Writers by Irene C. Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell

21. Conventions • Key is to find a way to model using mechanics/grammar and editing mechanics in your writing rather than simply “telling” students about mechanics • Get away from practice of having students practice mechanics in unrelated writing tasks • Model using mechanics in your own modeled writing. Page 70 Minilesson ideas on Conventions Guiding Readers and Writers by Irene C. Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell

22. Craft • Craft of writing deals with content: How do you write a strong lead? How do you write a powerful conclusion? How do you narrow your focus? • Use children’s literature as mentor texts for modeling p. 72-73 Minilesson Ideas:The Writer’s Craft Guiding Readers and Writers by Irene C. Fountas & Gay Su Pinnell http://www.learner.org/resources/series205.html Program 7: Teaching the Writing Craft- start at 19:04 mini lesson strong leads

23. Content Focus Getting an idea-making lists-things you love-writing from emotion-experiences-moments in time Adding detail Adds responses/telling the inside story Choice of words/ descriptive language Replacing tired words Great beginnings Wow endings One moment in time Observations "I wonder" writings Something ordinary Staying on focus Working with a seed idea Developing a plan for writing Finding your voice Genre studies:-poetry-informational reports-letters-autobiographies-biographies-picture books-persuasive-How-to books Conventions Focus Use appropriate spacing Spelling phonetically Spell "High Frequency" words correctly Spell using analogies Capitalize I, names Capitalize beginnings of sentences Ending punctuation marks Quotation marks Commas Use of "and" Using appropriate grammar Using paragraphs Recognizing and correcting run-on sentences Sample chart created during a Mini-Lesson Examples of Mini- Lessons

24. 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

25. Link • Before sending student off to write independently, restate the teaching point and encourage students to use the skill taught in the mini-lesson in their ongoing work for the day.

26. Writing Time • Students write • Teacher confers with individual students or small groups

27. Students Writing • Students spend their time somewhere in the writing process: planning, drafting, revising, editing, or publishing • Students spend most of their time on topics of their choice • Students do not publish everything they write • Students work as writers work using the materials writers need

28. Independent Writing/Collecting Entries • After the mini lesson, students work in their Writer's Notebook to collect entries that may later become published pieces of writing.  The total writing time lasts for about 35-40 minutes, but during that time some students may be involved in conferences with the teacher or with their peers. • Students choose entries in their notebooks to take into "draft form."  It is these carefully selected pieces of writing that will be taken through the process of editing and revising so that they can be published and shared with others.  All entries in the Writer's Notebook do not become published prices of writing.  All published writing is added to each student's Writing Portfolio, and some pieces can be put into student created books.

29. Student Writing

30. (Mid-workshop teaching point) Sometimes you will find it necessary to stop and teach/re-teach a concept/skill during the writing workshop- this will be necessary when you are seeing several children struggling with the same issues

31. 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

32. Teacher Conferring • The teacher conducts individual conferences to differentiate the instruction and provide multilevel support for the students. • Conferences are held every time writing occurs. • A conference provides a weekly opportunity to assess student progress and make appropriate instructional decisions. • Conferences are conversations, not interrogations.

33. Conferring Teaching 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 Conferences are conversations, not interrogations!

34. Types of Conferences • Roving Conferences • Individual Student/Teacher Conferences • Teacher Scheduled Small Group Conferences • Peer Conferences • Teacher Drop-In Conferences Conferences are conversations not interrogations!

35. Roving Conference • This is usually used as the students are beginning their writing. The teacher circulates around the classroom as the students are organizing their work. This is a quick session – about two minutes – in which the teacher asks the students simple questions, assists in a variety of ways and makes note of any difficulties that may be used as a focus for mini-lessons. As a teacher talks with a student, the know some of the other students maybe listening and learning from the conversation.

36. Individual Student/Teacher Conference • Teacher Conferencingis conducted after the mini-lesson, while the students are working on their individual pieces. Conferences can be formal or informal and can be conducted in a special spot or at their table. Use open-ended questions and allow plenty of time for students to think before they answer. The goal is to get them to tell you their thinking. Do not worry about punctuation and spelling at this time unless you are conducting a conventions conference. • It is important to ask questions that lead students to discover what they have to say and want to communicate, and that encourage them to talk about their work. The teacher can, for example, ask: • Are you pleased with your writing? • Who are you writing this for? • Why did you choose this topic? • Where are you now in your draft? • Do the sentences make sense? • Does your writing say what you want it to say? • Are there any details that you could add which would make this clearer? • What do you think you will do next? • Where do you see this writing going? • What is the most important/interesting part? • Are the beginning and ending effective? • What title would you give this piece? • Have students reread parts and talk honestly about the story. If a conference is going well the student's energy for writing increases. You might want to complete an Individual writing conference record and have the student take notes as well.The student should leave the conference wanting to write.

37. Small Group Conferencing • This may also occur during the writing process and may focus on the introduction, modeling or reinforcement of a specific writing skill, to a group of students based on their needs. It also gives them the opportunity to observe how the teacher helps others improve their writing and then be able to do the same when they peer-conference.

38. Peer Conferencing P(Praise) What do you like about my paper? Q(Question) What questions do you have about my paper? P(Polish) What specific improvements could I make? • Here students independently listen and give feedback to their fellow student writers. Using what they have learned in the teacher- student individual conferences, the peer will comment on various pre-determined aspects of writing. • In peer conferences, students need to know how to maintain a helpful and supportive relationship. Teachers need to take time to model good responses and set some ground rules such as the following: • Be positive. Respond to what the writer is trying to say and what the writer does well. • Be helpful. Do your best to make comments that will be useful to the writer. • Be specific. Talk about specific words, phrases, or paragraphs • The tone of the response should be positive. It should emphasize what is going well and how to make things even better.

39. Conferencing Guidelines • Keep the conference short (3-5 minutes) • Get the student talking • Listen carefully to what the writer is trying to say • Assess the writer’s confusions, confusions, strengths, next steps • Affirm and reinforce what the writer has done well (praise, offer suggestions, provide resources) • Provide scaffolding • Establish goals with the writer’s input http://www.learner.org/resources/series205.html Program 12: Peer Conferences start :58, then skip to 5:23 (mini lesson: eye to eye/knee to knee)

40. 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. • Students are given opportunities to share their work

41. Sharing • “We write to be read.” – Atwell, 2002 • Many students will write just for the opportunity to share with classmates. • Sharing time is a critical component of the writing workshop. • Students share parts of their writing pieces in progress or read their latest published works.

42. Sharing • At the end of writing workshop everyday, students are brought back together for a 5-10 minute group share and reflection.    Sometimes a writer might share to ask for help or receive feedback from his or her classmates ("I like my story, but I can't think of a good title.").  The author might also want to share part of an entry of which he or she is especially proud. • During many group shares, each student gets a turn to share a small part of an entry, especially if you have asked students to try a particular new skill during the day's mini-lesson. 

43. End of Workshop Share Author’s Chair

44. Sharing • At the end of writing workshop everyday, students are brought back together for a 5-10 minute group share and reflection.  When students sign up to share or are asked to share, they take a seat in the coveted "Author's Chair."  Sometimes a writer might come to the author's chair to ask for help or receive feedback from his or her classmates ("I like my story, but I can't think of a good title.").  The author might also want to share part of an entry of which he or she is especially proud. • During “many” group shares, each student gets a turn to share a small part of an entry, especially if you have asked students to try a particular new skill during the day's mini-lesson.

45. Publishing • Partner Sharing • Out of the Classroom • Author’s Chair • Publishing Party • Young Author’s Day • Parent Tea

46. PORTFOLIO IDEAS • The final product becomes part of the students' Writing Portfolios. • 1 Final Product will be selected to be included in each student’s portfolio each nine weeks. • Each nine weeks’ final product for the portfolio should be from a different writing genre.

48. Other considerations… • Establish non-negotiables • Establish procedures for movement • Decide on signal • Use writing workshop language consistently • Set the length and time for daily writing