Writers Workshop

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Writers Workshop

• 6 1 Ideas

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Workshop- Why?

• Primary writers want to communicate for real
  reasons.
• Positive feedback is needed about what is working
  well and what needs improvement.

• Older ones may need more motivation, but if given
  the chance they will write for real purposes and
  audiences.
• A sense of community develops.

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Workshop- How?

• A. Schedule Every day if you can manage it.
  The more the children write, the more they want
  to. It becomes a pleasant routine.
• 1. Minilesson whole group or small group. (5
  10 minutes)
• 2. All write, including teacher. Author can
  start a new piece, can work on a rewrite, can be
  getting ready to publish. Eventually they can be
  working on research, dialogue journals, readers
  theatre scripts, lists. (20-35 minutes. This
  depends on age of children.)
• 3. Conference with some as they continue to
  write. Work out how many you want to talk to each
  day.
• 4. Share choose from one to three volunteers.
  Authors chair.
• 5. Discussion (10-20 minutes combined with
  sharing.)
• 6. Finished product turned in if desired.

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Writing Workshop Schedule?
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Procedure for Minilesson

• Begin with explanation of how to do workshop.
  You will have to repeat this for a while.
• Eventually the 6 1 traits of ideas,
  organization, voice, word choice, sentence
  fluency, conventions and presentation are the
  minilessons. (Ill return to this.)

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All Write

• Be sure that all have the supplies they need.
  Writing journal or notebooks, paper or story
  paper, pencils, pens, markers.
• All write or draw pictures if that is needed.
  Sometimes this gets them started on a topic.
  Just make sure that they dont ONLY draw.
• They can talk to each other if need, but mostly
  they write.
• You model.

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Conferencing

• At first, I just walk around the room and talk to
  all as to what they are doing.
• After procedures are firmly in place, I start
  having 2-3 conferences per day. I keep a chart.

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Sharing

• Have Authors Chair. I model to start.
• Ask for volunteers to read their pieces. Other
  children put their work away in their own writing
  folder.
• Keep a chart after a while, children all want
  to share. At beginning, if they dont, I dont
  force them. I just tell them that they will have
  to share soon.
• I will help those get ready to share if they
  need.
• Writing doesnt have to be finished to be shared.

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Discussion

• Work on oral and listening skills. I model.
• Reader can ask questions of the audience.
• Audience can ask questions, or make suggestions,
  or tell a favorite part. I model how to do this.
  This gives the reader/writer to have items for
  editing.
• I ask audience about organization, or voice, or
  whatever we are working on.

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Publication

• At particular times, after workshop was going
  well, I told them they were to pick any item from
  folder that would become a published piece.
• They could have published before and we would put
  up somewhere in the room or on a bulletin board,
  but at this time they must.
• Our marvelous librarian always asked for pieces.

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Lets Write

• What do we do first?
• What is the procedure?
• What do you need?

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6 1 Ideas

• I started my year with the Trait book, whose
  first section is Ideas.
• If you dont have the trait book you can make a
  folder with place for idea list.

• I could read you a story and you could do copy
  change.
• I could have you just rewrite an ending of a
  story you have heard, or give the main character
  more adventures.
• I could ask you to come up with your own
  experiences how has the conference gone, how
  was your trip to Bahrain, has your principal come
  up with a great new idea you have been wanting to
  try.

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Do you want a teacher conference?
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Sharing/Discussion

• Ill read mine first.
• Ill ask a question about mine.
• Suggestions? Order?
• Understandable? Favorite part? Next part?

• Brave person who volunteers.
• Suggestions for order? Anything you didnt
  understand?
• What could he/she write about next?
• What did you like the most?

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Pretend its tomorrow!

• Minilesson on Organization Does your lead grab
  the readers attention?
• Listen to this story beginning!
• So today when you write, revise your beginning of
  yesterdays story or when you start a new one,
  make sure it has an interesting start.
• Anyone want to tell us your story? Just the
  beginning?

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Pretend its another tomorrow!

• New Day!

• Voice is personality.
• Voice shows that the writer really cares about
  the subject.
• Does your writing sound like you do when you
  talk?
• Voice shows if the writer is serious, sad,
  humorous, angry, tense.
• Can you rewrite your first two lines to sound
  more like you?
• Write or rewrite.
• Volunteers to read?

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Word Choice Sentence fluency - flow

• Im not going to give you a minilesson on these.
  Arent you happy? I dont do minilessons every
  time, but I do review sometimes to start
  workshop. I will remind that we will be
  listening to voice, or organization.
• Getting through all of this takes a school year.
  Any ideas you want them to have you put in
  minilessons.

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Conventions

• This is the last part of the Traitbook.
• When kids are writing, I tell them not to worry
  about spelling correctly, just do their best.
• However, whenever we do revisions I will help
  check if need. You could do a minilesson anytime
  on grammar, capitals, etc.
• Computer programs are useful for revisions.

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Presentation

• The ideas are endless!
• Graphics, spacing, margins, fonts, slides can be
  considered as well as covers or brochures or
  posters.
• Have a real purpose! Work is presented for
  others to read in the library, or tell readers
  how to make something, or travel brochure to put
  in the local market.

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Assessment

• Dont assess every paper in the folder. Perhaps
  have the student choose.
• You can grade just particular part, dont focus
  on conventions first because then children think
  that is the most important part
• However, you need to prepare parents for a folder
  that comes home with many unfinished papers, with
  spelling that isnt corrected, and ideas that are
  never developed.
• Student rubrics in traitbook, but you can give
  them one to use yourself.

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Questions?