Post on 06-May-2015
Writer’s WorkshopJennifer Evans
Assistant Director ELA
St.Clair County RESA
Evans.jennifer@sccresa.org
http://www.protopage.com/evans.jennifer#Untitled/Home
Current Research
70% of all students in grades 4-12 are low achieving writers.
9th grade students in the lowest
25% of their class are twenty
times more likely
to drop out.
50% of high
school graduates
are not ready for college level
composition courses.
Kelly Gallagher, Author and Teacherhttp://www.kellygallagher.org/index.html
“Assigning writing is
easy. Teaching writing is
really hard.”
“We need to teach our
students to read like writers and
write like readers.”
The most effective strategy to improve writing…
Increase the amount and quality of writing.
What is the WriteWell© Curriculum?
It is a carefully sequenced, coherent K-12 writing curriculum that follows a Writing Workshop format
designed to:
span the grade levels
meet the needs of all students
increase writing proficiency at every grade
use effective, researched based instructional practices
Why WriteWell©?
Increase writing proficiency for life endeavors
Increase test scores
Coordinate and refine writing
instruction
Create a unified writing program
K-12
Increase use of research-based
instructional practices during
writing instruction
WriteWell©
Philosophy of Writing
Only teach what writers
do.
Teach the writer not the
piece of writing.
Writing is telling what you see and
what you think about it.
It is both external and
internal.
We learn about writing
through describing
writing not by having
someone prescribing
writing.
Three Types of Units
Genre
Author Study
Skill
WriteWell© Follows Writer’s Workshop Format
Mini-Lesson(10-15 min.)
Independent Practice with Conferring
(30-40 min.)
Sharing( 5-10 min.)
Successful Implementation of Writer’s Workshop
How Often
• Everyday• Everyday• Everyday
How Long
• KDG – 45 minutes
• 1st Grade – 45 minutes extending to 60 minutes
• 2nd – 12th Grades – 60 minutes
When
• Beginning the first day of school
• A single block of time at the same time everyday
Management
• Same format used everyday
• Same rules and procedures used everyday
• Keep it simple
Why
• Consistency
• Consistency
• Consistency
Grades 1-5 K staple small unit booklets for their
notebook Specific directions for grades 2-5 in
WriteWell Write everyday
Start with Notebooking
What Should I Write? Notebooking
What Should I Write? Three…
◦ Times you laughed really hard◦ Times you were in physical pain◦ Memorable Moments◦ Topics that interest you
Circle the one that you could tell the best story about
Tell your story to a partner Write your story in the writing section of
your notebook Share
What Should I Write? Play the contrast game. Write five minutes on
one side and then five minutes on the other side:
I want… I don’t want…
I remember… I don’t remember…
I do… I don’t…
Last summer… This summer…
Last Saturday… Next Saturday…
A scary place… A safe place…
Body Mapping
What Should I Write?
6 + 1 Writing Traits
One Day in the Life of Bubble Gum The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups Nothing Ever Happens on 90th Street
Craft Minilesson Ba-Da-Bing – Gretchen Bernabei
Ba Da Bing
Example: As I stepped onto the red carpet of the darkened room, I noticed a wall lined with lit candles and an old woman hunched in the far corner at a round table and I thought maybe now I’ll get some answers.
Independent Practice with Conferring
30-40 Minutes
Students work independently while the teacher meets with small groups or individual students• Conferring Talking Cards
Possible mid-workshop teaching point
• Occur naturally when the teacher notices something that needs clarification or further explanation to help students as they write
ConferringResearch
• Ask “What are you working on as a writer?”
• Have the student read aloud his/her work
Decide
• Synthesize what is learned
• Decide what to compliment: “What has this child done that I can name and make a fuss over?”
• Decide what to teach: “What does this child use but misuse? or “What is nearly there in his or her writing that I can help them with right now?”
Compliment
• Point out writing strategies the child used well
• Say “I like how you…”(give specific example)
Teach
• Teach only one thing
• Teach to the compliment
• Teach to today’s teaching point
• Negotiate a strategy
When choosing your teaching point think: Of all the options I have, what can I teach that will make the biggest difference for this writer?
Conferring Look ForsWhat to look for when deciding what to confer
about…
• Structure– Focused– Beginning, middle, end– Moves across time or space
• Meaningful– Writer cares about it– Reader learns from it
• Narrative strategies• Conventions that enhance– All caps – WOW– Bold – Wow– End marks – Wow!!!– Italics – Wow!– Stacked Words - One!
Two! Three!
Commentary With One-on-One Reading/Writing Conference
http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/top-teaching/2011/04/reading-and-writing-workshop-virtual-tours-each-component
Typical Conference Video
Sharing5-10 Minutes Notice Question Personal Connection Compliment and Suggestion (glow & grow)
Partner
Small Group
Whole Group
◦ Teaching Kids About Revising (Writing Workshop Lesson)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBKqgOvmJ8w
Student Sharing Video
Language/Grammar Minilesson Key Points
Aligned to CCSS
Weekly concepts taught
approximately five minutes a day
Follows Jeff Anderson’s format
PowerPoint to match each weekly
lesson
New Language Minilessons
MEAP and WriteWell©
Moved below the line for those who would still like to use it
Test Prep Units of Study embedded in units (starting in grade 2)
Generate many seed ideas in writer’s notebook “What Should I Write About?”
section
Target! Aim! Score! (beginning, middle, end)
CD with Student Writing & MEAP Released Anchor Papers: http://tinyurl.com/cvraun
New Pre and Post Assessments
Same Assessment to be given at the
beginning of the year and the end of the
year
Use to show growthSee Sample
Rubrics
How Units of Study Tend to Go
Immerse in the genre
Identify distinguishing features of the
genre
Choose an idea to write
about
Choose a mentor text to help you write
Plan your draft
Draft long and fast
Revise Edit Publish/Celebrate
http://sccresa.org/toolsforschools/curriculumtools/writewell/introductiontowritewell/writewell3rdgrade/◦ Notebooking◦ Explanatory Unit◦ Grammar Units◦ Assessments
WriteWell Unit in Depth
Teachers Teaching WriteWell
Video Library ◦ All grade levels◦ Various lessons
Kindergarten2nd grade10th grade
Writing Look-Fors
Navigating the Website WriteWell©
◦ http://www.sccresa.org/toolsforschools/curriculumtools/writewell/
◦ Select logo
◦ Enter school log in and password:Temporary Log in:Temporary Password:
Online Exploration
Skim & Scan the Units
Review the Table of Contents
Log In and Select Your Grade
Questions?