Curriculum-+Writing

Writers' Workshop The purpose of writer’s workshop is to give students opportunities to write during the school day and to provide targeted and appropriate instruction. Writer’s workshop allows for classrooms to become a community of writers with set expectations. Teachers model and demonstrate for the students in every stage of the writing process. This format encompasses the writing process and meets individual needs and allows for differentiation. The goal is for students to become independent writers and use a variety of tools and strategies to express themselves on paper.

Writer’s Workshop Components:

Teachers model the strategy for the entire class at the beginning of the lesson. The Standard Course of Study is your guide or “roadmap” for teaching the objectives.
 * Focused Mini Lesson (approximately 10-15 minutes)

Students work independently at their seats writing the entire time. Most students will practice the objective from the mini-lesson and some will continue working on an earlier piece of writing. Different stages of the writing process are observed during this time frame. The teacher’s responsibilities are: monitoring and managing behavior; conferring with individual students or small groups of students; and making notations that will guide planning and future mini-lessons.
 * Independent Writing (approximately 30-40 minutes)

Students end the session by sharing with a partner, sharing within a small group, or sharing as an entire class (“Stand on a chair, everyone stare!”) Folders or binders (teacher preference) are used to “house” student work for safe keeping until the next day.
 * Closure (approximately 5-10 minutes)