Writers’ Workshop: Teaching Writing to English Learners

Increasing 1st and 2nd grade Student Interest in Reading and Writing by Supplementing the Open Court Curriculum with Reader’s Theater, Writer’s Workshop, and Video Production.

By Mathew Needleman

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Year One: Reader’s Theater

What Is It?

Engaging repeated reading with an

authentic purpose

Children prepare to make a movie by

reading and rehearsing a script

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The City Mouse and the Country Mouse

Classroom inquiry project goals: year one

• engage students in repeated reading with an authentic purpose

• increase reading fluency• increase students interest in

reading for pleasure

Results of Participating in Filmstudents at benchmark

Increased Enthusiasm for Reading

Year Two: Writing for Pleasure

Why?Students are normally

taught to write because the teacher says so

and not to:

reach audiences express feelings

communicateentertain

The research question:

Can student participation in writer’s workshop

positively impact writing on Open Court

unit topics? 

The writer’s workshop described in the Open Court Reading Manual

• Students write on  an assigned Open Court unit topic

• They move at the same pace (all students write a story one day, edit it the next, revise and publish the next, etc.).

• There is little room to change the focus of the essay, try new things, or explore different genres

Scaffolding for

teaching Open Court

Writing with ELLs

Disadvantages of Open Court workshop model

Students often have to learn three foreign languages at once

Some decreased student engagement

Many ELLs left behind

English Learners often had difficulty participating in the process.

Writer’s Workshopas it evolved over the year

Students chose their own topics

Students moved at their own pace within decided upon deadlines

Students could explore different genres and topics without commitment

Advantages

Students became more engaged in writing on

topics of their own choosing.

Students had familiarity with topic and only had

to learn the writing process

Prewriting

Drafting

Revising/Proofreading

Publishing

Jonathan

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Jonathan’s Film

Why Use Technology with ELLs?

• Audio and visuals assist ELLs with constructing meaning

• Provides real audience beyond the classroom

• Promotes higher level thinking• Teaches 21st Century skills to

close the Digital Divide

“Today’s graduates need to be critical thinkers, problem solvers, and effective

communicators who are proficient in both core subjects and new, 21st-century content

and skills.”

from “Results that Matter: 21st Century Skills and High School Reform” a report issued in March by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills

completed student video projectswww.videointheclassroom.com