Writer's Workshop

Writer's workshop emphasizes the importance of student engagement and the interaction between readers and text. It provides differentiated instruction in writing. Writer's Workshop focuses on the teaching of writing strategies. The purpose of Writer's Workshop is to foster a love of writing. Students develop an ability to write confidently in many forms for a variety of audiences and purposes. 

In the classroom this looks like a mini lesson devoted to one aspect of writing, followed by guided practice where the teacher works with groups of kids, and time for students to practice the skills independently.

Specific components of this grade level are described below.

Writing Mini-Lessons

The writing mini-lessons provide opportunities to demonstrate specific writing tools, concepts and techniques for the whole class. Examples of writing or modeling of writing may be used for the students to see how writer's make decisions and work towards specific goals or ideas. Different types of writing may be modeled, such as expository, narrative, poetry, etc. or a lesson on a skill such as adding supporting details, using editing marks, using quotation marks, or writing a paragraph. Mini-lessons are intended to be brief (5-10 minutes) and be applicable for all the writers in the classroom. Students then have the opportunity to use the information in their own writing during independent writing time.

Guided Writing

Guided writing goups can be used to help develop a specific area of writing for a small group or writers who are working on the same skill or strategy. Students who would benefit from some additional time working on some aspect of writing would be invited to join a teacher to practice the writing tool or technique they need. Guided writing groups are often short term and the groups are flexible and changing, forming with whatever individuals need the same specific support at a given time.

Independent Writing

Independent writing is the heart of the writing workhshop, and is a time when the students apply what they have learned in the mini-lesson or guided writing group. The students work on self-selected writing topics, or topics related to a specific project. During this time, some students may be working quietly on a draft with headphones to focus their thoughts on their writing, some students may be conferring with partners or a teacher, some may be meeting in a guided reading group, some may be revising an almost finished piece, and some may be preparing a piece for publication. This part of the writing workshop is the longest, as it is the time when the students are practicing their skills as writers.

Writer's Circles

Writer's circles vary in size and purpose. The whole class may meet together for a large writer's circle, or they may be made up of a few students. During these times, the students may be sharing a draft in progress to get feedback and ideas on where to go next with it. At other times, students may be sharing their published pieces with one another and share compliments and specific aspects of the writing they enjoyed.

Writing Conferences

Writing conferences happen during the independent writing time. A student and teacher will meet one-to-one to discuss a work in progress, or look over a piece that's ready to publish. This is an opportunity for the teacher to talk with the student about the writing process, ask questions, and provide feedback, not only about the conventions (spelling, punctuation, etc.) but the elements of writing taught in the mini-lesson such as developing and organizing ideas,story elements, etc. It is also a chance to assess the writer's strengths and develop goals for the next steps in developing as a writer.

Literacy Philosophy Statement

An effective literacy program offers a balance of challenge and support while building children’s confidence in their emerging abilities as readers and writers.  Our goal is to develop fluent, capable readers who enjoy the process and learn from it, drawing from a diverse array of literature.  Helping students become writers who can express their ideas cogently, clearly, and creatively is another important goal.  We view reading and writing as a developmental process and understand that a child’s progress is seldom even or linear. It is common, for example, that a student’s leap ahead in learning is followed by a consolidating phase or an apparent plateau. We also find that students cannot be easily placed in a single category along the learning continuum.  Rather, students often exhibit a range of skills and understandings.

While no two developmental journeys are identical, the following reading/writing continuum describes the basic path to literacy in the Beginning and Lower Schools.

Writing Workshop

Writing workshop emphasizes the importance of student engagement and the interaction between readers and text. It provides differentiated instruction in writing. Writing Workshop focuses on the teaching of writing strategies. The purpose of Writer's Workshop is to foster a love of writing. Students develop an ability to write confidently in many forms for a variety of audiences and purposes.  

In the classroom this looks like a mini lesson devoted to one aspect of writing, followed by guided practice where the teacher works with groups of kids, and time for students to practice the skills independently. 

Specific components of this grade level are described below.

Writer's Workshop

Writer's workshop emphasizes the importance of student engagement and the interaction between readers and text. It provides differentiated instruction in writing. Writer's Workshop focuses on the teaching of writing strategies. The purpose of Writer's Workshop is to foster a love of writing. Students develop an ability to write confidently in many forms for a variety of audiences and purposes. 

In the classroom this looks like a mini lesson devoted to one aspect of writing, followed by guided practice where the teacher works with groups of kids, and time for students to practice the skills independently.

Specific components of this grade level are described below.

Writing Mini-Lessons

During mini-lessons, the whole class meets and shares mentor texts written in a specific genre in order to tease out strategies and techniques specific to the genre, and work through the writing process to produce their own writing.  Through the study of these mentor texts, we are charting the writing techniques that we notice in the mentor author's work.  This documentation of our thinking guides our writing study.  

Shared Writing

Shared writing allows us to co-write a single peice as a small group or whole class.  It shares the responsibility for the pen between teacher and students alike.  We use this to practice specific writing strategies, revision techniques, and editing skills.  This shared responsibility allows us to live the idea that writing is never done, but an ongoing process of improving one's craft.  

Independent Writing

In second grade, we have placed an emphasis on students' ability to generate writing from within themselves and from their own experiences.  Students practice developing writing ideas, planning stories, creating drafts, revising, editing, and publishing. As we are encouraging students to concentrate on getting their ideas onto paper, we emphasize the use of “sound-stretching” where students try their best to sound out the spelling of words. Second graders are in the process of learning simple proofreading skills to help them spell unknown words accurately and use capitalization and punctuation correctly. Second graders are able to do specific work on editing such as punctuation, capitalization, spelling, looking at the content of their work and learning how to choose interesting and descriptive words.

Peer Conferencing

Peer conferencing is an integral part of the writing process.  Students meet with writing partners to share ideas and feedback on content.  The primary question asked of both the reader and writer in these confernces is, 'Does this peice of writing make sense?'  Students work with one another to practice how to give postive and constructive feedback.  Asking questions is an essential skill for both readers and writers and peer conferencing is a perfect venue in which to practice.  Feedback recieved during peer conferencing facilitates the author's revision.

Writing Conferences

Throughout the writing process, students meet one-on-one with a teacher multiple times.  This pracitce is meant to hone the writer's initial development of ideas, the writing craft, and the revision and editing processes.  Throughout the year we are engaged in publishing the work of student authors after students have gone through the entire wrting process.  Conferences in this form are always a final step before publication.

Reader's Workshop

Reader's workshop emphasizes the importance of student engagement and the interaction between readers and text. It provides differentiated instruction in reading. Reader's Workshop focuses on the teaching of reading strategies. The purpose of Reader's Workshop is to foster independence among readers.  

In the classroom this looks like a mini lesson devoted to one aspect of reading, followed by guided practice where the teacher works with groups of kids, and time for students to practice the skills independently.

Specific components of this grade level are described below.

Read Aloud

During read alouds in the classroom, a variety of books are chosen, such as chapter books, picture books, non-fiction texts, poetry, etc. One of the primary goals of the read alouds is to provide modeling of fluent and expressive reading while allowing the students to access texts that they are not able to read independently yet. The teacher is able to model thinking and comprehension strategies while the students are able to contribute their thinking about the text and practice reading comprehension strategies. Read aloud texts are selected for particular purposes and are often used to elicit responses and encourage discussions. Sometimes they are just to enjoy a good book.

Shared Reading

Shared reading in third grade is not used very often. When it is, it is used as a tool to practice reading fluency. Partners might share a poem for two voices, or a small group may share a text for a reader's theater activity in which the students take on character roles and practice reading with fluency and expression.

Guided Reading 

Independent Reading

Literature Circles

Reading Conferences

Literacy Philosophy Statement

An effective literacy program offers a balance of challenge and support while building children’s confidence in their emerging abilities as readers and writers.  Our goal is to develop fluent, capable readers who enjoy the process and learn from it, drawing from a diverse array of literature.  Helping students become writers who can express their ideas cogently, clearly, and creatively is another important goal.  We view reading and writing as a developmental process and understand that a child’s progress is seldom even or linear. It is common, for example, that a student’s leap ahead in learning is followed by a consolidating phase or an apparent plateau. We also find that students cannot be easily placed in a single category along the learning continuum.  Rather, students often exhibit a range of skills and understandings.

While no two developmental journeys are identical, the following reading/writing continuum describes the basic path to literacy in the Beginning and Lower Schools.