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Grade: Elementary
Subject: Reading/Writing
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~Writer's Workshop Help Ideas~Hi, my name is Jeanne Morris. I actually teach second grade but I am a Literacy trainer for my district. I teach other teahers K-3 during staff development inservices. I teach in a year round school so this year has already started for me in July. I don't plan on starting Writer's workshop until after the first month of school. Many of the kids don't even know that they can write. I also need to get to know the kids and their ability better. I'm beginning the year with a lot of work on a "ME" unit. I want them to have a lot of background knowledge of themselves and their family before we begin. Almost all of the stories are about themselves at these ages. I am hoping this will give them a plentiful amount of topics until they get the idea of writer's workshop.
I am also doing a lot of shared writing and guided writing. I am conducting many mini lessons on spacing, capitals and such now even before I begin WW. To do WW with a finished edited product is difficult with beginning first graders but it is worth the rewards.
You may want to begin by doing less editing and more of the getting them started with mini lessons and ending with finished pieces. Perhaps a month or so later then you can get into editing with them. By then the mini lessons may have caught up with the process of ww. This may help if you have many kids who think they can't write.
The outline of the writers workshop likes like this;
1. Mini-Lesson (5-10 min.)
2. Status of the Class (2-3 min.)
3. Writing (20-40 min.) & Conferencing
4. Sharing (10 min.)
You will want to take the low end of this schedule if you are teachinf K-1st
Writer's Workshop
This is how I run my writer's workshop in my class-
I have a poster with library pockets for each student. In each pocket I have 3 cards, red=Work in progress, Yellow=Illustrating, Green= Publishing. Each student may have any of these 3 colors in their pocket depending what they are working on. I begin the workshop on the rug in front of a whiteboard easel.
On the board I begin writing about something to the class. I model how to think of an idea, punctuation, or anything that will help my students on their stories. Modeling is very important in primary writer's workshop! I do this for about 5 min. The mini lesson can be a whole group or a small group if only a few students need the lesson.
Then I do status of the class. I look at the pocket chart to see who is publishing (An edited,word processed piece ready to be illustrated.) I excuse those students to get their writing folder and sit down at their desks. I then excused the illustrators (Those who have been hired by someone who is publishing to help and/or do it for them. Illustrators receive full credit on the published work.)
That leaves just a few students who need to work on stories. The students write about experiences they have had. Also revisions or continuations of their favorite books are popular. The students get their folders so we can review what they are working on and if they need to finish anything. I am able to conference with each child to brainstorm on writing ideas, and to help them to organize their thoughts to continue a previous stories. Students can have 5-6 stories in their folder before we pick one to publish. I stress just as in real life not everything we write needs to be published.
After I send all of the students off to do their job I continue to write. This models for them how to complete the story. (They also tend to bother you less if you are busy. They tend to try themselves rather than bother you.) After 2-3 min. I begin to individually conference with the students. Working on anything from helping them with ideas to write about or motivation. When needed I will help the students revise and final edit their story. I do this for about 20-30 minutes, depending on how well the students are working. We then take time to share completed work on the rug and even hear works in progress. Peer editing is a very important tool for good writing.
Now here's something, that really helped me, that I had to learn the hard way. I like to introduce Writer¹s workshop by reading THE HUNGRY GIANT, and THE HUNGRY GIANTS SOUP by Joy Cowley. I read these books during shared reading. (This takes about 2 weeks. They need a lot of experience with the books.) Then I set them up with the idea about extending the story to part 3. I have all of them write their stories.I pick about 1/3 of the class to publish. I type them up and we assign illustrators to help illustrate. The finished product is the word typed on the bottom of a regular ditto page they color right on the ditto paper. I then have 1/3 Publishing, 1/3 Illustrating, and 1/3 with work in progress. That means I will be conferencing with only a few students. This helps me to get comfortable with the entire process. I am not stressed to do everything at once. You will find time to really work individually with students.
Here's the other hint. I make sure students who are illustrators must publish a book before they can help illustrate another book this makes sure those artistic students get to publish also.
Our favorite part is the author chair reading the final bound product. The are so incredibly proud. They are the favorite books in the class.....
Teacher¹s Role in the Writing Process
Prewriting
The teacher:
Provides background experiences so students will have the prerequisite knowledge to write about the topic.
Allows students to participate in decisions about topic, function, audience, and form
Defines the writing project clearly and specifies how it will be assessed
Teaches information about writing form
Provides opportunities for students to participate in idea gathering and organizing activities
Writes a class collaboration with students
Drafting
The teacher:
Provides support, encouragement, and feedback
Emphasizes content over mechanics
Teaches students how to draft
Encourages students to cycle back to prewriting to gather more ideas or ahead to revise when needed
Revising
The teacher:
Organizes writing groups Teaches students how to function in writing groups
Participates in a writing group as any listener and reactor would
Provides feedback about the content of the writing and makes suggestions for revision
Insists that students make some revisions
Encourages students to cycle back to prewriting or drafting when necessary
Editing
The teacher:
Teaches students how to edit with partners
Prepares editing checklists for students
Assists students in locating and correcting mechanical errors
Diagnoses students¹ errors and provides appropriate instruction
Corrects and remaining errors that students cannot correct
Sharing
The teacher:
Arranges for genuine audiences for student writing
Does not serve only as a judge when receiving student writing
The Student¹s Role in the Writing Process
Prewriting
Students write on topics based on their own experiences.
Students engage in reversal activities before writing.
Students identify the audience to whom they will write.
Students identify the purpose of the writing activity.
Students choose an appropriate form for their compositions based on audience and purpose.
Drafting
Students write a rough draft.
Students emphasize content rather than mechanics
Revising
Students share their writing in writing groups.
Students participate constructively in discussions about classmates¹ writing.
Students make changes in their compositions to reflect the reactions and comments of both teacher and classmates.
Between the first and final drafts, students make substantive rather that only minor changes.
Editing
Students proofread their own compositions.
Students help proofread classmates¹ compositions.
Students increasingly identify and correct their own mechanical errors.
Sharing
Students publish their writing in an appropriate form.
Students share their finished writing with an appropriate audience.
~Info on the Four Categories of Mini-Lessons~
Mini-lessons in K-3 should be mainly modeled in 4-5th they can be mostly conversational
Can be as simple as a talk and only a few minutes or can be much more involved.
Can be a lesson for only a few students that need it or can be whole group.
It seems the k-1-2 tends to be more whole group.
1.Procedural: dealing with the operation/management of the workshop
behavior during mini lesson and Writer¹s Workshop
where to get materials.
how to use pocket chart
what to do when you are done with the story.
sharing rules
status of the class
how to use folder
2.Skills: conventions of the language
revision
plot
character
setting
punctuation
capitalization
paragraphing
margins
editing
stretching a word to hear the sounds
concept of story- beginning, middle, and end
problem and it¹s resolution
use correct spelling
use temporary spelling in draft if word is unknown
3.Qualities of Good Writing; examining models
Author studies-Reading and discussing good literature and how we can use what we discover in our writing. Here are some book totles and what they can be used to teach during the mini lesson.
Beginning, middle and end-
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett
Sun up, Sun down by Gail Gibbons
The Great Escape By Eileen Christelow
Rosie¹s Walk by Pat Hutchins
Make Way for Ducklings by Robert McCloskey
Aladdin and the Magic Lamp By Deborah Hantzia
Problem and Solution-
Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes
The Fourth Pig Escape By Teresa Celsi
Martha Speaks By Susan Meddaugh
Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus
Elmer By David McKee
The Spider and the King by Carol Kruger
The Schoolyard Mystery By Elizabeth Levy
The Birthday Present by Virginia King
Frog and Toad Together Chapter Spring by Arnold Lobel
Spark student writing-
When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
Begin at the Beginning by Amy Schwartz
Joy Cowley Writes by Joy Cowley
The Important Book by Margaret Wise Brown
Extension to books-
Sun up, Sun down by Gail Gibbons
The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins
Surprise information-
I like Music by Leah Komaiko
Recalling Memories-
Aunt Flossie¹s Hats by Elizabeth Fitzgerald Howard
My Grandmother¹s Cookie Jar by Montzalee Miller
The Button Box by Margaret Reid¹s
The Front Hall Carpet by Ruth Heller
Beautiful language-
My Island by Kathryn Lasky
I Wish I Were a Butterfly
Metaphor-
The Uproar by Doris Orgel
Classroom scenes-
Autumn Street by Louis Lowry
Muggie Maggie by Beverely Cleary
The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
Staying Nine by Pam Conrad
Pageant by Kathryn Laskey
Childtimes by Eloise Greenfield
Writing new endings-
Jack and the Beanstalk
Brown Bear, Brown Bear , What Do You See? by Bill Martin
Polar Bear, Polar Bear , What Do You See? by Bill Martin
Authors page-
Stringbean¹s Trip to the Shining Sea by Vera B. Williams
Author notes-
Catherdral Mouse by Kay Chorao
Book Jackets-
Fish Eyes by Lois Ehlert
4.Strategies: lessons in key strategies used by writer¹s
topic selection
what to do when your stuck
adding descriptions
staying on focus
peer editing
peer revising
leads
endings
voice
story sequence
audience
beautiful language
quality illustrations during publishing
expanding vocabulary to sharpen descriptions
visual details
describing with accuracy
condense story
expand story or part of story
linking sounds and actions
alliteration
metaphors
synonyms
simile
personification
describing ordinary objects
dialogue
vocabulary
reread previous days work
get a picture in your mind
titles
Writing using different genre
In the beginning of first grade. (and second) I feel that too much editing a child's story ³ruins² that child's self-esteem. How many times have you seen a child come up to show you their story with a smile on his/her face, only to go back to their seat with a paper full of red marks that they are expected to recopy. Without making even more mistakes, than when they started! Resulting in feeling like they don¹t know how to write. I feel that many times over editing does more harm, than good, in the early writing process.
When I edit I don¹t over do the editing. I¹m going to be retyping them later anyway. I address the major punctuation mistakes, misspelled words found on the word wall, and anything we have learned during our mini lessons. But I leave much of it alone. This helps that kid who is struggling just to get a few sentences out, time to feel like he/she is a writer. Mid-year in second grade I address more editing, during my individual conferences.
I use something called ³legs² when doing my conferences. Many times a child will seem to have 2 or 3 different stories going on inside their original story. I use these ³legs² to help the child expound on the best one. It's the easiest way to teach revising. I take a piece of paper and cut it in half horizontally and I tape it to the original paper. I have the student expound on the good idea. We together add each leg as needed. It begins to look like a spider, sometimes with very long legs! We draw arrows to show where to connect each ³leg.² I edit the rest later if needed, and follow the legs when I type up the story later that day.
The children enjoy writing more to their story becausethe "Legs" seem to make writing fun. They are excited to add more. Once they have created a wonderful story that makes more sense it is easy to talk them into removing the part of the story that doesn't make sence anymore. The children often ask for the other stuff to be crossed off, because they understand it¹s really not part of their great story. By using the legs I don¹t get those sad faces after you tell them to go back and work on it some more.
Many times they just don¹t understand how to make it better or even what to add. I have found that once the students have added legs onto their paper fixing the parts that need more details, thier stories are much better and they are proud of their hard work. The results are now mid-year in second grade I am having to use ³legs², less and less, because they are now understanding how to write a story without jumping around from idea to idea. I Œm getting wonderful stories so I can spend more time on editing and less on keeping the story line going.
Try buying the book Let's Write Its a Scholastic book you can buy it at any teacher store or thought the professional catalog. It does a good job with the basic hands on how to's If you want to get into something more in the theory side try Lucy Calkins The Art of Writing .
I hope this helps,
Jeanne Morris @-->---
JMorris565@aol.com
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