Ashlee's Classroom 1/26/09

Ashlee,

This is going to be more of a working blog today. I just left your classroom and wanted to share some ideas with you about writers workshop. First I have to tell you that I was really impressed with your students and their writing. Once they really got down to the task of just working on their stories, most of the students went to work and were writing great stories. I am so glad that you are giving your students time every day for writing! The stories that the students write throughout the year are priceless - they are also a great way to assess how the students have grown as writer's throughout the year.

When we were doing the mini-lesson and getting the students started writing their hearts and wishes, I was feeling like it wasn't going very well and wondering if anyone was getting it. I think a few students did, but a few didn't. Setting up those kinds of routines in writer's workshop will take time and practice. Part of the problem is that I didn't have everything I would have like to have before starting a lesson like that. If I had a working story that I had been writing, the students could have read my story and practiced writing hearts and wishes about my story first before I sent them back to read and respond to each other's writing.

Here are a couple of ideas for upcoming mini-lessons that you could try with your students.

1) Do a mini-lesson on how to write good compliments and suggestions. On the orange poster, record prompts that students could use such as: I liked the part when....., You did a good job with...., It was exciting when....., .......was a good idea, Your story was...(organized, easy to understand, funny). Or for suggestions: Add more detail about......, I didn't understand......, Write more about......,

2) Do a mini-lesson on how conference corners work. Where are they located in the room? How do you act in the conference corner? Where are the materials (sticky notes/pens)? What do you do there? How do you choose a conference corner partner? (use your clothespins for this part) What are the rules?
Then have all of the students practice going to a conference corner and practice how to behave there.

3) Do a mini-lesson and model how a student can take the suggestions from the hearts and wishes and add more detail to their story. You might want to write a little story of your own on chart paper, have the students give you hearts and wishes on a sticky note and model in front of them how you would add more detail to the story or how you would cross out parts that don't make sense.

4) Do a mini-lesson and create a class chart that describes the rules for writer's workshop. Let the kids help you brainstorm. Here are some rules that my classes had: No talking when others are writing. Be respectful when other's are sharing their writing. Never erase or throw away stories (you might use them later!) Move your clips on the writer's workshop wall. Take care of the materials in writer's workshop.
The reason it is good to do this is that if any students start mis-using the materials (for example, wasting all the sticky notes) you can refer back to your rules, which have been clearly established.

5) You may want to consider getting an author's chair. Several teachers I know buy those cheap plastic chairs at Wal-Mart and every time a child shares a story in writer's workshop they get to sign their name with a Sharpie on the chair. At the end of the year, the class has a drawing and someone gets to take the author's chair home.
BUT - you don't have to do this, you can even just use one of the chairs in your classroom like I did today.
As a teacher, you can quietly encourage students who are normally too shy to share their writing to sit in the authors chair and share their story. You can decide if you want to let them read parts of their drafts or if the author's chair is only for published work.

I am going to look for more resources for writer's workshop and post those on Moodle. I will try to do that in the next couple of days.

Thanks for letting me come in...especially on a MONDAY MORNING! I know it was hectic and I appreciate your willingness to share your classroom with me. You are the best!

BLOG BACK AND LET ME KNOW WHAT OTHER RESOURCES YOU NEED OR WHAT QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ABOUT WRITER'S WORKSHOP!