Writers Workshop for Elementary Teachers

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Writers Workshop for
Elementary Teachers
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The writers motto should be Never a day
without a line of writing.Ralph Fletcher
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Writers Workshop Overview Agenda

• Day One
• Goals
• Framework
• Classroom Setup
• Rituals Routines
• Writers Notebook
• Folders
• Mini-Lessons
• Charts/Rubrics

• Day Two
• Genres
• Conferring
• Response Groups
• Revision Editing
• Publishing
• Authors Chair

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Goals of Overview

• Understand the rationale for implementing
  Writers Workshop
• Be familiar with the components of Writers
  Workshop
• Reflect on your classroom set up and think of the
  changes that need to occur
• Understand the purpose of Mini-Lessons
• Understand the various types of conferences
• Understand the importance of Response Groups and
  the Authors Chair

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Outstanding Teachers
Outstanding teachers have been characterized in
research studies as effectively and deliberately
planning their instruction to meet the diverse
needs of children in a number of ways.
Techniques include

• creating a literate environment in which children
  have access to a variety of reading and writing
  materials
• presenting explicit instruction for reading and
  writing, both in the context of authentic and
  isolated practice
• creating multiple opportunities for sustained
  reading practice in a variety of formats, such as
  choral, individual, and partner reading
• carefully choosing instructional-level text from
  a variety of materials, with a reliance on
  literature, big books, and linking reading and
  writing activities
• adjusting the mode (grouping) and explicitness of
  instruction to meet the needs of individual
  students
• encouraging self-regulation through cognitive
  monitoring strategies and
• masterful management of activity, behavior, and
  resources.

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Part One-
Writing Process Format
Framework
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Daily Classroom FormatWriters Workshop
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Daily Classroom FormatReading/Writing Workshop
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A quick glance at the five main components of the
Writers Workshop

• Mini-Lesson
• Work TimeWriting Conferring
• Response Groups
• Sharing/Authors Chair
• Publication Celebrations

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Writers Workshop Framework
Component 1 -The Mini-Lesson The mini-lesson
occurs during the first 5-10 minutes of the
Writers Workshop. The mini-lesson is when the
class gathers together, usually on the carpet, to
make a suggestion, raise a concern, explore an
issue, model a technique, or reinforce a strategy.
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Writers Workshop Frameworkcontinued
Component 2-Work Time (Writing and
Conferring) Writing- This writing time is an
indispensable part of the Writing Workshop. This
30-40 minutes is set aside to allow children time
to work on either new pieces of writing or on
ongoing pieces. During this time everyone
writes. When one piece is finished, writers
begin to look for new ideas to write about.
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Work Time Writing
Notebooks
Drafting
Revising
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Writers Workshop Framework continued
Conferring Teacher-student and peer conferences
are the heart of teaching writing. These
conferences take place during writing time and
can take from 5 to 10 minutes to complete.
During these conferences we must keep in mind
that we are teaching the writer and not the
writing. The main objective during conferencing
is to let writers in on what we notice about
their writing process. It is a chance for the
writer to talk about and give the rational about
how and why they did something in their piece. By
doing this, they will learn something that
applies not only to this one draft, but to the
future drafts as well. These conversations help
to build the scaffolding for the students to
become more independent writers. These
conferences provide the teacher with the subject
of future mini-lessons.
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Work Time Conferring
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Writers Workshop Framework continued
Component 3- Response Groups Response Groups
can take place during the writing time. These
groups are usually made up of 3 or 4 students.
Writers go to Response Groups when they need
someone to listen to their piece and offer
advice, or ask questions about their writing.
The group acts mostly as a sounding board or
critical friend. In the beginning Response
Groups will tell the writer one thing that they
liked about their piece, and one thing they would
like to know more about in it. Older or more
mature writers will ask for specific help from
the Response Group. (i.e.) Im having trouble
coming up with a good ending for my piece. Can
you listen and tell me what you think of what I
have so far? The language of the Response
Group should mimic the language of the
mini-lessons, conferences and the charts and
rubrics in the classroom. Response Groups may
take up to twenty minutes to complete.
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Response Group
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Writers Workshop Framework

continued
Component 4 Sharing Time or Authors
Chair Sharing time takes place everyday during
the last 5 to10 minutes of the Writer Workshop.
It is a time to share and support work in
progress. This is where students learn the
language to later confer with each other in
one-to-one peer conferences. Three to four
writers take turns sitting in the authors chair
reading a part of their draft aloud and
soliciting peer responses. Unless its a reading
of a published piece, this sharing usually links
to the days mini-lesson.
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Writers Workshop Framework
continued
Component 5- Publication Celebrations Writers
come together throughout the year to celebrate
their finished work. An authors tea, cookies
and punch, or even a Writers Showcase can
celebrate your writers finished work. Inviting
parents and grandparents or other classes to come
and listen to their stories is another way of
celebrating these authors pieces. Displaying
student work further celebrates a job well done.
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Part Two-

• Classroom Set Up
• Environment

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Writers Workshop Checklist
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Classroom Design
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Gathering Spot for Mini-lessons

• Carpet
• Easel
• Teaching Tools

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Gathering Spot for Sharing Time

• Share a try-it from the
• Mini-lesson
• Ask for help
• Share a seed from Notebook

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Authors Chair
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Authors Chair continued
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Classroom Design
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Community Supply Area
Writing Tools
Writing Folders
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Classroom Design
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Wall Space

• Status of the class

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Wall Space

• Charts

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Wall Space

• Charts

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Wall Space

• Word Wall

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Wall Space

• Spelling Patterns Word Wall

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Wall Space

• Student Work

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Classroom Design
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Writing Areas
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Classroom Design
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Response Group Area

• Carpet or Table

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Classroom Design
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Books Areas
Under Board
Book Shelves
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Book Areas continued
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Book Area for Authors Study
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Classroom Design
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Editing/Conferring Area

• One to One

• Small Group

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Classroom Design
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Publishing Area

• Re-copying final draft

• Publishing on computer

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Part Three-
Rituals Routines

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Ritual vs. Routine?
Rituals are prescribed ways of doing something in
the Writers Workshop. The point of the ritual
is that an activity is always done exactly the
same way. Routines describe the overall
structure of the Writers Workshop. They help
students know what they always do in the
Workshop. (From NCEE Rituals,
Routines and Artifacts Monograph)
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Set Up for Writers Workshop7 Possible Beginning
Charts

• Mini-lesson Guidelines
• When At the beginning of the session
• How long 5-10 minutes
• How often Monday-Friday
• Where Gathered around the teacher at a specific
  gathering area
• How to question Be courteous. Ask questions
  relevant to topic.

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Set up for Writers Workshop

• Writing Guidelines
• You may work by yourself, with a partner or with
  3 other people.
• Go to your assigned work area.
• During this time you may
• -write in Writers Notebook
• -begin a new draft
• -add to a draft
• -go to a Response Group
• -revise a draft
• -edit a draft
• -confer with the teacher
• -publish/ illustrate a draft
• -read for new ideas

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Set Up for Writers Workshop

• What to do if you need help?
• Ask another writer at your table
• Use the charts and rubrics generated from the
  mini-lessons
• Use the word wall
• Sound out the words you dont know
• Signal the teacher (in whatever way the teacher
  choose in case of an emergency)

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Set Up for Writers Workshop

• Response Group Guidelines
• Where? On Xs located around the perimeter of
  classroom
• How Often? As needed at least once a week
• With whom? 2-3 other people
• Where to sit? Student sits around the X on the
  floor or around a
• table with X in the middle. (Practice
  reading piece while waiting)
• Who goes first? The 1st person at the X starts,
  the next person will be the person on their right
  until everyone reads once in the order at which
  they arrived at the X.
• How to listen? Put paper and pencil down, and
  listen.
• What to say? Everyone must respond starting with
  the person to the right of the writer and tell
  them something they liked or felt they did well
  in the piece. Then, ask the writer a question
  about something that is unclear to you or that
  you would like to know more about. Eventually
  writers will use charts and rubrics to help.
• Now what? Go back and consider making at least
  one change or addition to your piece.

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Set Up for Writers Workshop

• Conferring Guidelines
• Your teacher will meet with you at least once a
  week
• If you need a conference with the teacher, sign
  up in the designated place
• Self assess with rubric before you come to the
  conference
• Have a specific idea of conversation in mind
  before you come to the conference
• Bring your writing folder with you to the
  conference
• Bring the mentor text with you

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Set Up for Writers Workshop

• Authors Chair/Sharing Time Guidelines
• Who Teacher chosen students who have published a
  piece or who successfully tried a strategy
  learned in a mini-lesson.
• How long 5-7 minutes
• Where Same place where the mini-lesson is held
• What to bring Notebooks or drafts to share with
  students
• How many readers 1-3 writers

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Set Up for Writers Workshop

• Guidelines for Author Sharing Responses
• Reader sits in a special chair or place where
  mini-lesson was held.
• If it is not a published piece being shared, then
  student only shares the part of the piece that
  pertains to a try-it.
• Author selects who will comment (not teacher
  directed).
• Constructive comments only, no put downs
• Generally no more than three students respond.
• On published pieces, suggestions are not given.

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Writers Workshop Checklist
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Part Four-
The Writers Notebook (A.K.A., Seed
Book or Source Book)

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A writers notebook gives you a place to live
like a writer, not just in school during writing
time, but wherever you are, at any time of day.
Ralph Fletcher


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What is a Writers Notebook?

• It is not a diary
• It is not a reading journal
• It is a place to record reactions-what makes you
  angry or sad or what you noticed and dont want
  to forget
• It is a place to sift and collect important
  things from your life, ideas that may prove
  valuable in later writing.
• 
  
• (from A Writers Notebook
  by Ralph Fletcher)

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Seed ideas to drop in your Notebook
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A writers entry
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A student often gets started in the writing
process
by rereading their seed books to see if
anything they have written in them grows an
idea for a piece to publish. It might be a word,
a title, a quote, or the whole entry that the
writer decides to use.
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Seed ideas to drop in your notebook
Choose an idea
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Part Five-
Writing Folders
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Folders

• Work in Progress Folder
• Uncompleted work is contained in the
  work-in-progress folder.
• Every 10-15 days the students make a pull to
  decide 1) which work goes home, or 2) which
  work goes in
• the evaluation folder.
• Initially the teacher documents the best pieces
  (every 10-15 days). The teacher confers with the
  student to do the documentation. Eventually the
  student documents the best pieces.
• This is a time of self-assessment and
  self-evaluation. Students use rubrics to help
  them make judgments.
• Students get these folders at the start of each
  days writing workshop. For Pre-K, Kinder and 1st
  grade students, this folder will contain a new
  piece almost every day. It is so important to
  keep folders weeded out!

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Folders continued

• Published Piece Folder
• Contains the finished/revised pieces
• Best pieces across a range of genre
• Pieces that the student is especially proud of
  that may not be a prescribed genre
• Any piece the student wishes to include for
  personal reasons. For example, a student may
  want to keep a piece that he/she wants to rework
  at a later time, is not the best, but has a
  really good part, or is on a topic that is
  important to the student
• Each time a student reviews the contents of the
  cumulative folder, decisions must be made about
  the quality of the work. By limiting the total
  number of pieces that may be kept in this
  folder, the teacher insures that choices are
  made. Papers not retained, may go home.

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Portfolio Folder continued

• At the end of the year, the student prepares a
  cumulative
• folder to go to the next teacher. The final
  selections may
• include
• Best pieces as measured against the standards.
• A piece that the student feels that he or she
  worked on the
• hardest.
• 1-2 free picks
• A reflective piece of what the student has
  learned to do as
• a writer.
• In addition, the teacher should place in the
  students folder
• a piece from the beginning of the year to
  indicate growth.

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Part Six-
Mini-lessons
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The content of any one mini-lesson is less
important than the context for it.
Lucy Calkins
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What is the Mini-Lesson?

• The mini-lesson is a brief (5-10 minute) tip or
  strategy to improve writing, to introduce
  something new, or to address workshop procedures.
  It shouldnt become a maxi-lesson!
• Mini-lessons are derived from what teachers see
  in students writing.
• Immediate one-on-one student application isnt
  expected. A few students may try out what was
  presented in the mini-lesson. This
  experimentation is celebrated usually at the
  closing of that days workshop.
• Mini-lessons may be repeated several times
  throughout the year. Some mini-lessons are
  determined by the overall needs of the class.
• Students can also conduct mini-lessons.

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Is it a Procedure, Craft or Skill/Strategy?
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Mini Lesson Activity Key
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Chart to Help Students Understand
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Writer Workshop Checklist
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Touchstone Text
Touchstone text are the examples of writing that
we use to help teach writing craft. These
examples are shared, discussed and scrutinized,
and then hopefully used as models for writing.

• Text you have read and you love
• Text the class has talked about a lot as readers
  first
• Text that you find many things to teach
• Text that the entire class can have access to
• Text is more sophisticated than the writing of
  your best students
• Text written by a writer you trust
• Text that is an example of the genre you are
  studying

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Part Seven-
Charts Rubrics
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Visitors should be able to walk into a
classroom, read the walls, and determine what
the teacher values, what has been taught, and
what levels of proficiency students are expected
to achieve.

It will be from your attribute charts that your
rubrics will evolve.
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Charts give a visual for understanding
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Rubric for expectations
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Example of an attribute chart turning into a
rubric
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Rubric
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Primary Informational Rubric
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Part Eight-
Genre Studies
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What genres do we study?

• Each grade needs to look at their TEKS and the
  National Standards to see what is expected at
  their level.
• Each grades writers are responsible for being
  able to write a piece that tells a story one
  that informs others one that leads readers to
  follow a procedure as well write a response to a
  piece of literature. As the teacher looks at the
  TEKS, the differences and the depth of study for
  each grade is noted.

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Part Nine-
Conferring
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A conference is a conversation.
Carl Anderson
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Conferring notes
After a mini-lesson, students go to write. During
this time, the teacher is conferring with
individuals or small groups.

• Conferring formats
• Walking conferences (random)
• Scheduled conferences (student sign-up)
• Individual conferences (teacher arranged)
• Small group conferences (teacher arranged)
• Editing conferences (during publishing only)

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Resources to use when Conferring

• Student writing
• Familiar published authors writing (Touchstone
  Text)
• Teachers personal writing
• Rubrics
• Charts of past mini-lessons
• Books on writing process
• Newspaper/Internet/Magazine articles
• Excerpts from longer texts

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Carl Anderson says
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Continued
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Keeping Conference records
or
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Writers Workshop Checklist
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Part Ten-
Response Groups
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Response Groups Promote

• Ongoing collaboration for groups to assist
• each other
• Mixed ability levels to work together
• A reader and others to orally respondor
• Sometimes to exchange drafts with written
• comments
• Development of language skills through
• exchange and interaction of a written piece
• Effective communication

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Examples of Response Group Visual Aids
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1-First Reader
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2-Second Reader
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3- Third Reader
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Rules
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HelpfulResponses
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Writers Workshop Checklist
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Part Eleven-
Revision Editing
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Revision Points

• Re-seeing a piece of work
• Developmental
• Depends on teachers demonstration of who to look
  a the world in a new way
• Takes time
• Offers students a chance to get a draft well in
  hand before judging the quality of the draft
• Revisions helps the writer bring clarity to the
  piece
• The writer is forced to ask questions about their
  piece
• Listening is a fundamental part of the revision
  process Student helpers, as well as teachers,
  must learn to listen to each other
• Not every piece should be revised-only those that
  hold the most interest for the writer

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Revising
Notice that revising does not mean re-copying.
Student adds words of clarity or craft to the
first draft.
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One class revising prompts
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What then, is editing?

• Editing is the action a writer takes to improve
  grammar structure paragraphs change sentence
  structure and correct punctuation, spelling and
  usage.
• Editing helps writers learn to express better
  what they mean.
• Editing checks conventions so the reader may
  concentrate on the information without
  distraction.

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Writers Workshop Checklist
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Part Twelve-
Publishing
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I have learned that publication has little to do
with creating a monument and more to do with
gaining a new consciousness.
Lucy Calkins
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Publishing a piece
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Additional ways to publish
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Part Thirteen-
The Authors Chair
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What can sharing from The Authors Chair look
like?

• One child reads his/her piece to the class and
  gets feedback to the work by calling on several
  classmates who volunteer to respond to the piece.
  These volunteers tell what they heard the writer
  say, what they especially liked about the piece,
  or ask questions to elicit more information or
  for clarification purposes.
• This sharing may be a celebration of a finished
  piece, or a breakthrough, or a request for help
  with a draft-in-progress. The writer remains in
  control of the reading.

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Authors Chair continued

• Read Around the Room
• All of the students gather in a circle and each
  one reads into the circle a line or two from
  their piece. This might be their favorite line,
  the part they felt was strongest, or the part the
  loved the most.

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Part Fourteen-
Twenty-five Book Campaign
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