Teaching writing using a workshop model made my instruction so much more meaningful! You can read about my typical day of writing by clicking HERE. Getting the writing workshop started at the beginning of the school year can be so daunting! It doesn't have to be! Let me help you to get started! I have
These are my favorite, and most effective, ways of teaching writing to elementary students. You may decide that teaching writing is
105 creative writing exercises to get you writing again. Try these short, 10-minute creative writing exercises to beat writer's block.
Make the walls of your classroom work for you and your students! Ideas for planning a Writing Wall that will truly support your little writers.
Try these writing exercises for beginners and become a better writer by actually applying writing tips to your writing.
Do you hate to teach poetry? Do you want your students to learn and enjoy poetry? Try these simple ways to learn how to teach poetry...
In this blog post, read about my best teaching strategies to teach writing narrative endings. Grab all the freebies to help you teach.
Workshop about How to tell a real good story! gabriele-heinzel.com/
Twenty suggestions that just might make your job as a writer easier.
Need a simple way to visualise your character arc? Print this worksheet + learn about Kurt Vonnegut's hilarious story shapes.
In launching Writer's Workshop, students are writing from "JOTS" to "longs" on self-selected topics. Following mini lessons, students apply a modeled skill or strategy into the writing. We will initially discuss effective "hooks" that entice our reader. We will also work on "stretching" our sentences to add more detail.
The fantasy story you are writing comes with an equally fantastic world. That world should feel old and lived in, adding investment to the story. Let's look at how J.R.R. Tolkien built Middle Earth to see how we can write better too.
Write the Character-First Story
I’m a knitter. I really like the knitting part of knitting. But I’m much less enamoured of the finishing off stage. I currently have two cardigans needing their buttons sewn on. Mmmmm …I’ll d…
Each school year a unique mix of middle school students enter the doors of my classroom. Each with a story, each with different strengths...
Are you looking for a concrete way you can map out your reading/writing/language mini-lessons so that your students can be successful during their independent time? WATCH MY LIVE VIDEO AND DISCOVER HOW I SCAFFOLD LEARNING DURING A 10-15 MINUTE MINI-LESSON. How to Scaffold Learning in a Mini Lesson Check out all my reading and writing
This one-pager works perfectly in a reading response or writing station.
Want some fun and engaging writing games that get the creative juices flowing? Check out my four creative writing games here that do just that.
The activities below are available for free download, and are to be used in educational and/or private settings. They may not be used elsewhere or for other purposes (such as for profit) unless exp…
1. Attach an image (photo, magazine, etc.) to a notebook page and write about it. 2. What things will people in the future say about how we live now? (Examples: They ate that? They believed that?) 3. Pick one from each list to make a creature and animal combination. Now write a short story or scene in which this creature appears. List 1 List 2 Vampire porcupine Ninja armadillo Zombie pig Pirate goat Mummy lobster Clown possum Banshee shark Wraith moray eel 4. Imagine a future in which we each have a personalized robot servant. What would yours be like? What would it do? What features would it have? 5. What does your name mean? Free write about names: names you like, names you don’t, how a name can affect a person’s life, how you feel about your own name, why your parents chose your name, etc. 6. Create a brand new holiday with its own traditions, rituals, foods, and activities. 7. What road-trip would you take if you suddenly could? Write about it. 8. List six true sentences that begin with the words “I'll never forget…” 9. Imagine that we lost all electricity, water, and gas for a month without any time to prepare. Write about how your life would change and how you would survive. 10. Make your bucket list for the next 5 years, the next 10 years, and for life. 11. Tell this story: “Well, I thought it was going to be a regular summer doing all our regular things…” 12. List 10 places in the world that you would most like to visit, 10 places you’ve been, and 10 places you would never want to go. 13. Think about hospitality in your family. What’s it like to have guests in your house? Do you prefer to have friends to your house or to go to a friend’s house? 14. Pick a family member of two and write about his or her reputation in your family, or tell a family legend. 15. A guitar pick, a red balloon, and a wicker basket. Write a scene or a poem that includes these three objects. 16. What animal would judge us the most? Write a scene (based on truth or fiction) where two or more people are doing something silly, and they're being observed and criticized by animals. 17. Write about your own worst family vacation memory. 18. Write about your best family vacation memory. 19. Imagine that someone says to you, “Because that's how we've always done it!” Write this out as a scene. (Think: Who said it, what were the circumstances, how did you respond, etc.) 20. What do you think about when you can't sleep? Turn it into a piece of writing. 21. What traditions does your family have? List all of them or just pick one and write about it. 22. Think about your strongest emotion right now (irritation, boredom, happiness, contentment, etc.) and find five quotes about this emotion. 23. What do you struggle with the most? Write about it. 24. Write a self-portrait. 25. What can we learn from contrast? Write a description of something very dark (like a crow) in a very light place (like a field of snow). Make the dark thing seem innocent and the light thing seem ominous. 26. Write about someone who has no enemies. Is it even possible? 27. Think of a person from your past who really deserved a good scolding but never got one. Write a fictional piece where you tell that person off intelligently. 28. Can honesty honestly be bad? Write about someone, fact or fiction, who gets in trouble for being too truthful. 29. The word “fat” carries a negative connotation. Write a story or observation where something fat is celebrated. 30. What animal lives beneath your human skin? A mouse? A cougar? Or what? Explain with writing. 31. Write about the best piece of advice you ever received. 32. Remember a favorite book from your childhood. Write a scene that includes you and an old copy of that book you find somewhere. --> 33. “I was so mortified, I wanted to crawl in a hole!” Write a short narrative (fiction or nonfiction) where this is your first sentence. Illustrate it if you want. 34. Should books ever be banned? Discuss. If no, explain why. You might want to look at a least of commonly banned books. If yes, explain under what circumstances. 35. Ernest Hemingway said to “write hard and clear about what hurts.” Write about something that hurts, whether it’s an emotional, physical, or phantom pain. 36. What if everyone had to wear a shirt with his or her Myers-Briggs personality type on it? What would this change? How would this affect the way people interact with each other? Would you like this or hate it? (If you don’t know your “type,” try this site. 37. William Shakespeare wrote that: “Conversation should be pleasant without scurrility, witty without affectation, free without indecency, learned without conceitedness, novel without falsehood.” Write your thoughts about conversation, or make up dialogue between two characters who are meeting each other for the first time in an unexpected place. 38. Tell this story: “There it was, finally. Our island. Our very own island. It looked beautiful above the waves of fog, but there was still one question to be answered: why had they sold it to us for only five dollars?” 39. Maya Angelou said “I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way s/he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.” Tell a story in which a character has to deal with one, two, or all three of these scenarios. How does your character respond? 40. You have a chance to go back and completely re-do an event in your life. What is it, and how to you change it? What is the outcome? This can be a real or fictional event. 41. Pick two characters from different books you’ve read this year and have them get in an argument about something (e.g., who has suffered more, who has had a happier life, etc.). 42. The one shoe in the road: why is it there? Write a story about the circumstances that led to one shoe in the middle of the road. 43. You get to guest star on a TV show. What show is it? What happens in this particular episode? 44. What would you pack in your suitcase if you could not go home again? 45. You can only use 20 words for the rest of your life. You can repeat them as often as you wish, but you can only use these words. What are they? 46. What current fashion in clothing do you particularly like or dislike? Why? 47. Choose five symbols or objects that represent you. Why did you choose these things? 48. "When I stepped outside, the whole world smelled like…" Write a scene that starts with that line. 49. Write a poem entitled "Hitchhiking on a Saturday Afternoon." 50. Use these two lines of dialogue in a story: "What's in your hand?" "It's mine. I found it." 51. Write a scene that happens in a parking lot between a teenager and a man in a convertible. 52. If you only had one window to look out of for the next six months, what would you want to see on the other side? Describe the view. How would it change? 53. Write a story for children. Start with “Once upon a time” or “Long ago in a land far away.” Include a dragon, a deadly flower, and a mask. 54. "Did she actually just say that?" Write a scene that includes this line. 55. “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” — Jane Howard. Write what comes to mind when you read this quote. 56. List five things you want in a relationship. 57. List ten favorite lines from movies. 58. Write about the biggest mistake you made this week. Now write about the best thing you did this week. 59. What is the very first memory that you have? Write about it. 60. What if your pet could only talk to you at midnight for an hour? 61. Write an acrostic poem using your full name and three words that describe you—good and bad— for each letter. For example, S: sensitive, stubborn, smiling. A: artistic, argumentative, agoraphobic M: melodramatic, moody, magical 62. What if you could create your own TV show with all your friends and loved ones as the cast? What kind of show would it be and who would play which parts? 63. Take a photo or draw a picture of every place you go in a day. Put the pictures or drawings in your journal. 64. A to Z: Make an alphabetical list of advice for someone who is about to become a teenager. For example: A: ask forgiveness, not permission. B.: bake cookies. C.: cook something delicious once a month. D: don't compare yourself to others. 65. Find 10 quotes about happiness. 66. Write about 5 things you'd rather be doing right now. 67. Write out the lyrics to your favorite song. Find some pictures to illustrate the song. 68. Who do you spend the most time talking to? Siblings, parents, friends? Make a list of who you actually talk to during the day and estimate the amount of time invested in each individual. Does the list reveal your priorities? Is it proportional to what is important to you? Make notes of what you talk about in your daily conversations. 69. Find a quote for each month of the year. 70. Animals can sometimes seem remarkably human. Describe an experience with an animal that acted in a very human way. 71. Imagine you opted to have yourself frozen for 50 years. Describe your first days unfrozen, 50 years in the future. 72. Imagine that you are an astronaut who has been doing research on the moon for three years. You are do to go back to earth in a week when nuclear war breaks out on earth. You watch the earth explode. Then what? 73. Create a menu from a fictitious restaurant. Make sure the restaurant has a theme, such as Classic Books, and the food should all be given appropriate names (e.g., “Mockingbird Pie”). 74. Preconceived notions are often false. Describe a time when you discovered that a preconceived notion of yours (about a person, place, or thing) turned out to be wrong. 75. Create a story using words of one-syllable only, beginning with a phrase such as: “The last time I saw her, she...” “From the back of the truck...” “On the night of the full moon...” “The one thing I know for sure…” 76. Describe a significant person (teacher, neighbor, mentor, coach, parent, sibling, sweetheart) with as many physical details as possible and as many similes as possible. (E.g., “Her hair was as golden as straw.”) 77. Write about your first name—why you were given it, what associations or stories are attached to it, what you think or know it means. Do the same for your last name. What name would you give yourself other than the one you actually have? 78. Parents are our first and most important teachers. Describe a valuable lesson you learned from one of your parents. 79. Imagine a moral dilemma (for example, you see someone shoplift or a friend tells a blatant lie to her parents about where she was last night) and explain what you would do and why you would do it. 80. Review an obituary, birth, or a section from the police record or classified ads section of a local newspaper. Choose one and tell the story behind it. 81. List the most attractive things about your current hometown. Now list the most unattractive things. 82. Come up with a list of nouns and a second list of verbs, all of one syllable each. Describe a scene or situation, using a minimum of ten words from each list. 83. Where is your happy place? Write about it and include a picture or drawing. 84. Create a how-to manual for something you can do well (make a craft, bake cookies, restring a guitar, apply make up, etc.). Describe the process so that someone else could complete the task based on your directions. Use present tense verbs. 85. Free write on this quote by Samuel Johnson: “Ignorance, when voluntary, is criminal.” 86. Find a favorite quote and work it into an illustration. (Inspiration here.) 87. Make a soundtrack for your life so far. List songs that describe you or different times of your life. (Make the actual soundtrack on Spotify, etc. too!) 88. Sometimes we find ourselves in situations that force us to face our deepest fears. Tell about a time when you had to face one of your greatest fears—or make up the story. 89. You’re a talk show host. Pick two guests. Why did you choose them? Are they people who get along, or people with vastly different viewpoints? Write about the episode. 90. What three books do you think should be required reading for everyone? Why? 91. “What you don’t know what hurt you.” Write a story that begins with this statement. 92. Free write on this quote by Woodrow Wilson: “Friendship is the only cement that will hold the world together.” 93. According to a Czechoslovakian proverb, “Better a lie that soothes than a truth that hurts.” Agree or disagree? Explain. 94. Rewrite “The Tale of the Three Little Pigs” by using people that you know as the pigs and the wolf. 95. There is a saying that you should be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. Describe a time when you wished for something and got it—and then wished you hadn’t—or make up a story in which this happens to the character. 96. As the saying goes, “rules are meant to be broken.” Tell about a time when you broke the rules and what happened as a result. 97. "That's not what I meant!" Write a story that has this line in it somewhere. 98. A blue trash can, a red picture frame, a teddy bear with the stuffing falling out, and a padlock. Put these four items somewhere in a story, scene, or poem. 99. Write your name in outline letters on a whole sheet of paper. Now fill in each letter with words you like that begin with that letter. For example: 100. Make a word collage of who YOU are. Use pictures too, if desired. **HURRAH! You can now purchase this as a digital PDF ($2) at Teachers Pay Teachers. For more creative writing ideas, check out my free WordSmithery creative writing lessons and my popular Ultimate Guide to Creative Writing Resources! Check out 100 other 100 Things posts from the bloggers at iHomeschool Network! Do you have it yet? The Big Book of Homeschooling Ideas—a collaboration of over 50 authors with 103 chapters— is now available! Don't miss this amazing resource!
Use the ARMS and CUPS strategy to teach your students the difference between revising and editing. The graphics and mnemonics will help your students remember all the important steps to revise and edit effectively. This download includes one color copy of the chart, a black line master, a smaller ve...
Keeping a writing journal is an essential practice for any aspiring writer. What should you write in it? Take a peek in my journal & start your own today!
Do you hate to teach poetry? Do you want your students to learn and enjoy poetry? Try these simple ways to learn how to teach poetry...
Ideas to launch Writing Workshop in the classroom! Writing workshop printables, organization and activities to teach the Writing Process.
Do you need help with ideas for teaching students how to develop characters in their narrative essays? This post will share an effective way to teach character traits and focus on developing characters in a narrative essay. These ideas are ideal for any writing curriculum and are part of
Love podcasts? Listen to this post in the form of a podcast on The Classroom Commute Podcast !
Introducing Writer's Workshop - tips and tricks for engaging young writers with resources and activities - and a free guide!
These are my favorite, and most effective, ways of teaching writing to elementary students. You may decide that teaching writing is
Discover how to structure a successful writing workshop in Secondary ELA, what a workshop mini-lesson is, and how to troubleshoot common issues that come up. By the end of the show, you should be ready to give this stellar strategy a spin in your classroom.
I have always loved writing. I know that isn’t the case for a lot of the kids in our classrooms so each year I make it a goal to help kids feel confident in writing so that someday they might find that love for it…or at least confidence. There are a lot of things that go into a supportive learning environment and effective writing workshop. Before I can effectively teach writing, I need to make sure I have all the right tools and supports in place for ALL my young authors! I will tell you 5 Essential Elements of a Successful Writing Workshop. 1. Writing Utensils that Accommodate all Learners First, a variety of writing utensils. I always make sure I have a large array of writing tools for my students to choose from. I know how picky I am with what I write with, so I’m sure my students have preferences too. My goal in using the variety of writing tools in the classroom is to inspire kids to write and to assure that their little hands are comfortable while building that writing endurance. Now, before you hesitate and think of the arguing over materials, just establish expectations and a simple sharing plan. If you have fancy pens, they will be popular at first, but that novelty will wear off and kids will use what they need in the end. What does this look like in the classroom? Flare pens Short and tall pencils Gel pens Other fun pens (in colors I can read ha!) Highlighters Technology (keyboarding) Fine motor support tools (grips, etc.) I use gel pens to inspire those reluctant writers. They love using your special materials. If it works, goal met, they are writing. Highlighters are a great tool to help your low buddies who need a lot of help forming letters and or sentences. I will often write out a student created sentence in highlighter for them to trace over. It’s good practice for letter formation and they have something on the paper. Win Win. Technology if you have it, gives confidence to that kiddo that looks at the paper and automatically gets anxiety. We were fortunate enough to have talk to text and predictive text programs, but sometimes just typing can get those students creating. How do I incorporate this? It took me a while to build up a supply of materials. I have asked parents for donations, put them on the supply list, Donor’s Choose, Dollar Tree scores and you guessed it out of pocket purchasing. Also, Amazon and Target have everything you could dream of when creating a writing tool selection for your classroom. 2. Graphic Organizers that Accommodate all Learners One size does not fit all. I always have a handful of graphic organizers in use in my classroom. There is such a wide range in writing ability within our classrooms, so kids will need different supports. My goal is that they create a writing piece that they feel confident in and it hits the targets specific to the genre. If I focus on that as my goal, what the process looks like to get there doesn’t matter. Don’t get stuck on what kids SHOULD be able to do, if they can’t yet, how will you get them there? Let’s hope they won’t need the additional supports for long, but we have to build that confidence. These materials are always on hand and organized in my classroom writing workshop area. I also send a copy of all of these materials to parents so they can support their kids at home. What does this look like in the classroom? Multiple line styles including colored for my fine motor kids Graphic organizers with sentence starters or transitions included Picture options to help kids generate those ideas Graphic organizers with question prompts Digital graphic organizers How do I incorporate this? Over the years I have fine-tuned many different templates through trial and error, research and collaboration with fellow educators. I am always updating my materials to meet the needs of students. You can get my ready to go graphic organizers in my store. I have genre specific and generic templates that support all leveled learners that you can print and use same day in your classroom writing workshop. 3. Mentor Posters, Anchor Papers, Checklists… Oh My! Checklists I don’t know about you, but I am a list girl. I cannot function without a checklist of what I need to accomplish for the day, event, whatever. Again, we should assume that some kids also have these same needs. It can be overwhelming to look at a large task and not know where to start. Also, kids can lose momentum looking and what’s left, but with a checklist they can lessen anxiety or worry seeing what they have already accomplished. Anchor Papers & Materials I love providing kids with samples of what they should be shooting for. Having an anchor paper of what I am expecting from them in a final piece is so important. I used to worry that kids would copy my anchor paper but then I reflected that they must need that support and I can then meet with that kiddo and have a quick mini lesson on putting thing things in their own words or I proved them with a different graphic organizer that provides some of the steps so they can focus on generating their own ideas. Another strategy is having your anchor paper on a different topic but genre specific or generate ideas that you keep on a chart up front for kids to borrow or modify. Another great resource is a student dictionary. My kids always have theirs out on their desk during writing workshop. It has grade level words, “juicy” adjectives, common vocabulary, word banks, sentence starters, space to write their own words they want to remember and more. Mentor Posters This is a lot like having anchor papers showing our students what our goals are. Mentor posters with genre specific rules, components and suggestions are great for kids to access. I have these up on my writing workshop wall all year long. I rotate out during genres and also for fun themed writing topics. I also have mentor lists I keep in my students writing workshop journals that are specific to the genre, such as genre specific transition lists. Another great resource for your writing workshop is themed adjective lists that kids might like to use in their writing. What does this look like in the classroom? Mentor posters & anchor papers up on the walls or document camera Dictionaries out on desks Checklists on desk or attached to privacy screens Brainstorm lists up where kids can access them or easily see How do I incorporate this? There are so many great resources out there to help support your students with writing workshop expectations and goals. Hop on Pinterest and instantly inspire that creativity or brainstorm with students to create collaborative and personal anchor charts. I have also created a plethora of resources that my students use on a daily basis during writing time. I have linked a few below. 4. Flexible Space that Accommodates all Learners We all have heard of flexible seating. Writing workshop is the perfect time to allow for student choice of seating. As I said earlier, I love to write, but I can only write well in certain environments. I need small distractions; white noise is ok, and I have to write at a desk our countertop. No on the lap writing for this girl, but I am fully aware that is not true for all people. You don’t need to have fancy flexible seating furniture for this. Something you MUST have is flexible expectations of what writing workshop looks like. What does this look like in the classroom? Kids writing on clipboards spread around the room Kids laying on the floor writing Kids standing at desks writing Kids wiggling or rocking as they write Kids sitting at desks or tables writing Kids maybe outside the classroom in a quiet space A kiddo or two at my horseshoe table or desk that need a little more support How do I incorporate this? You simply have to be open to a flexible space. You have to think outside of the environment you personally need to be a productive writer. Keep expectations clear. “If you are on task writing, you can choose your writing space. If you aren’t, I will support you in choosing a just right space to be productive.” 5. Support Tools First of all, I want you to know I have most of these materials out throughout the entire school day. I want kids to be able to access what they need to be in the write zone for learning. Establishing clear expectations on use of materials is a must. What I love about having support tools out for all students all day is that they become used to seeing them, anyone can use them, no one feels different and best of all it helps kids access the academics. Now, I have a lot of tools I use in my classroom that I have built up over the years, but the ones I couldn’t live without are headphones, privacy screens, and timers. Headphones My all-time favorite tool is headphones. At first kids feel funny grabbing them, but by a few weeks into school all my headphones are in use. They can still hear me when I need them to, and we have a symbol for removing them. It drowns out the loud noises and also alerts neighbors that they are trying to concentrate so don’t chat with me. Privacy Screens I used to have home-made privacy screens and those work great, I recently upgraded to Lakeshores, and man they are durable. I have kids put these up every time during writing. It blocks off distractions and lends as a space to post support materials. Some simple paper clips can help to move important support materials out of their physical writing space and place them at eye level for continual check in. Timers I have always had a couple kids that love competition or have no idea how long things take them and a visual timer is so helpful. PLEASE note that I do not decide on how much time the kids get by myself. I talk with the student and we come up with a set time on how long we think they should need for a set task. If they beat it hooray! If not, we reflect and give more time. This is not for everyone. It does help a good handful of kids in my classroom. I have used sand timers, kitchen timers and visual timers where the red disappears as time goes on. What does this look like in the classroom? A cubby full of privacy screens that kids can access at any time I have a bin of noise cancelling headphones that kids can access at any time I have a tub of timers at my teaching station. Kids come and check them out from me, this helps me to have a quick conversation about the goal and timer expectations ** Kids you know could benefit aren’t utilizing the materials. I walk around with them and hand them out. I ask kids to give them a try. Most end up loving them. Some kids simply forget to grab them. How do I incorporate this? Asking for donations is the biggest support of these materials. I sent out a list of some things I would love to have in our classroom to support kids. What’s the worst that could happen? They don’t send them in. I found many parents would like to help out in a room, but maybe can’t volunteer time, but maybe they can donate a material or two. I also have written many Donor’s Choose grants. Once you build up a support tool library make sure that you go over expectations to keep those materials in tip top shape and lasting you for years to come. Overall, the most import things you can do to ensure you will have a successful writing workshop are to be flexible, reflective and encouraging. Supporting and inspiring young writers is a lot of work and I know you can do it!
Are you ready to start using a writing workshop in your class? Here are some tips to getting started, organizing lessons, and managing a workshop effectively.
Planning your Writing Workshop is no easy feat. With a limited amount of time and a wide range of moving parts, having a great game plan is essential to teach writing well. In the past two weeks of the Summer Writing Workshop Series, we have covered how to keep your students engaged and tackled the …
These are my favorite, and most effective, ways of teaching writing to elementary students. You may decide that teaching writing is
Writing instruction can and should begin in kindergarten. Starting a writers' workshop in kindergarten can be scary if you're not sure where to begin! Before
Have you experienced students who see writing as a task or chore that must be completed for school purposes? Are you dreading another year where students don’t “buy in” to writers workshop? Another year where your students STRUGGLE to become independent writers who trust themselves to come up with i
Today I’m sharing my fourth tip for differentiation during Writing Workshop. The Writing Workshop model is set-up as such – mini-lesson, time to write and confer, mid-workshop interruption, and sharing. The mid-workshop interruption provides another opportunity for differentiation for your class. Mid-workshop interruption is where you interrupt your writers about halfway through their writing time to make a suggestion or share a tip/reminder. If you have the Units of Studies book, Lucy provides ideas for the mid-workshop interruption. If you don’t have it, you can create your own. Often I will reiterate the point of that days lesson, but I also will differentiate and share a tip or suggestion based on something I notice when I’m conferring that day. Again this is one more quick way to differentiate Writing Workshop to meet the needs of your class. I might use the interruption to remind students to re-read their writing for clarity, add details, or make sure they are staying focused on their topic or small moment. Today’s tip was super quick. Check back on Thursday for a tip about differentiating with a word wall. If you missed my past tips from the Differentiation in Writing Workshop series, click […]
Writing at the beginning of the year in kindergarten is all about building confidence. The kids have to see themselves as writers - even when that just means drawing pictures or writing squiggles. It can feel like a slow start, but it's so important that as we develop these tiny writers, we take our time to build them up step by step. I start early in the year by introducing the structure and purpose of our writer's workshop. Kids learn what and why writers write with an emphasis on the fact that THEY ARE WRITERS! They learn the structure of our writer's workshop. Each day, writer's workshop consists of a minilesson, writing time, and sharing time. During the minilesson, we look closely at a mentor text or writing example to learn a particular strategy. The teacher models and guides students through practice, then releases them for writing time. The number one rule of writing time is that students are working the entire time. The teacher can take this time to do individual or small group writing conferences. Finally, comes share time, where students share their work with one another and the teacher can highlight some things that went well. My writers use writing binders to store their work and to hold reference materials. They can decorate their own cover, then slip it inside the front of the binder. Inside the binder, we have charts, posters, and checklists that students can use to aid their writing. They are placed in plastic sheet protectors to keep them in good shape for the whole year. In the left pocket of the binder, students will keep works in progress. When they have finished a piece, it moves over to the right pocket of their binder. Students can always access these "finished" pieces and add more to them! To kick off our writer's workshop, the kids learn the process they will follow for writing in Kindergarten. I emphasize four steps - think, draw, label, and write. I leave this anchor chart or a smaller poster up in the room all year long. Also, toward the end of the year, we start working on revising by adding detail to their pictures and words. We start the writing process with thinking. Students brainstorm a list of topics that are of interest to them - things they love and things they know a lot about. These will serve as inspiration for their stories! Students learn that before they can write, they have to think of a story. We practice this with oral storytelling. Students practice sharing opinions, facts, and narratives out loud to their peers. They learn the importance of including details in their stories AND learn some crucial speaking and listening skills which are so important to emphasize at the beginning of the year. The motto we take on for oral storytelling is LOUD AND PROUD! This teaches students that their stories matter! After learning to think of and tell a story, students get their first practice of putting their story down on paper - through pictures! Before I ever ask students to write a story, I teach them to tell their story through drawings. They learn to draw the who, what, when, and where of their stories. They learn to convey emotion through faces and colors in their drawings. They learn that their drawings represent their thoughts and are just as important as words. Here's a chart we make to teach students to put their best effort forward in their drawings. They learn to color using appropriate colors, in the lines, and to fill up all the white space. We leave the poster up all year long and remind students often to make three star pictures. After students have practiced thinking, telling, and drawing their stories, we start to dabble in writing. A good place to start is with one word labels. Students learn that labels help tell their story by telling what something is. It's a great way to ease into inventive spelling and letter-sound correspondence without overwhelming. We learn how to stretch out words by saying them slow like a turtle, listening for the sounds, then writing the letters that represent those sounds. We practice labeling many ways before asking students to label their own drawings. Remember, students will be at a different place in their writing journey! Many of your students will be able to point and tell you what their label says, despite it being a squiggle or a random string of letters. Other students will produce the letter that represents the beginning sound of their word, some will get the beginning and ending sounds. What's important is that their writing is validated and that you are CONSTANTLY modeling phonemic spelling and asking for students to engage in phonemic spelling with you! We do a LOT of shared writing outside of workshop time, too. Finally, it's time for students to practice crafting sentences. It is still very early in the year and these beginning writing experiences are introductory - allowing students to view themselves as writers and get their toes wet. All of these strategies and rules they have learned in these five weeks will be elaborated on throughout the year in their genre writing and reinforced through shared writing experiences and independent practice. As students are learning about writing sentences in writing, they are also learning to read sentences in reading! They are learning the difference between letters, words, and sentences among other important concepts of print. ALWAYS do your best to connect across the curriculum. When my students are learning to write a sentence, they learn that if they can think it, they can say it, and if they can say it, they can write it. Writing is NOT a silent time in my classroom. Students are whispering words, stretching sounds, repeating, and rereading! This is what writing in action looks and sounds like! We go through introductory lessons on using the word wall, spacing words with finger spaces, starting with capital letters, ending with punctuation, and there is SO SO SO much modeling. In the end, students are crafting simple sentences which THEY can read and that match their labeled pictures! I cannot emphasize this enough... the most important thing for students to learn at the beginning of the year is that they ARE writers and they have stories worth sharing. Ignite that fire and you will see tremendous growth throughout the year. And there is absolutely nothing better, nothing that makes this kindergarten heart smile bigger, than the pride on my little writers' faces when they are sharing their work! Everything I talked about in this post is available in my Beginning Writing unit. It can all be adapted for first grade just by digging a little deeper and stretching a little further. It's also available in my Writers' Workshop Bundle (which also includes units on opinion, informational, personal narrative, and how-to writing!) Click the images below to check them out! Grab the alphabet chart from this set for FREE! Color or b/w! Print it as is and put in kids' writing binders. And you can even blow it up using print settings and create a large anchor chart to hang in the room. Just click the image below to download!
Writer’s workshop is the best way I have found to offer choice, increase engagement, and build stamina. This post shares writer’s workshop procedures.
Ideas to launch Writing Workshop in the classroom! Writing workshop printables, organization and activities to teach the Writing Process.