Writers Workshop

Third Grade

Writingis graphic language communication (2002, 166).

Alexandra Russell Professor MacKenzie EDUC 346 27 March 2012

Why Is Writing Important?

I believe that the most important things children need to know and understand about writing are:
Writing is everywhere All writing is important and valued Everyone is a writer

It is important that the children are comfortable with their writing because it is a huge piece of everyones lives. There will never be a point in which writing becomes obsolete (2002, 167). Furthermore, writing is a way for the children to express themselves in a way in which speech may not be able to (169).

Theories About Writing

It is important that the children learn to provide positive, constructive feedback to one another, as my feedback will be. This way, no one feels like their writing is bad or not good enough (1991, 378). The children will be encouraged to question rather to correct in order to make the piece stronger by making it more detailed and easy to understand (2002, 201). After a child finishes a piece of writing, they will always have the opportunity to share their piece with the class and then to have it displayed in the class. This helps the children understand that their work is important and valued (186) and encourages them to write and revise (200).

Kinds of Writing

I think that it is extremely important to list out all of the types of writing and reading that children encounter in their every day lives. This might include:
Grocery lists Signs Stories Newspapers Comics Text messages Twitter Blogs Poetry I believe that it is very important for children to be given the chance to write freely which we will do every day for at least five minutes, so that the children can become used to the act of freely writing and expressing themselves, but it is also important to provide them with some structured assignments to be sure that each student is learning all the styles and forms so that they can become comfortable with each because all writing is important (2002, 204).

Major Topics
In the first writing workshop, the children brainstorm a list of all the ways in which they use or see writing in their every day lives The children will be taught to write the following in this rough order:

Autobiographies Fiction Stories Poetry Persuasive Essays Nonfiction Book Reviews Friendly Letters Newspaper/Magazine Articles Journals/Blogs Comics Biographies

However, these styles will be touched on throughout the year, poetry, for example, does not end after the main lesson is taught. There will be multiple lessons on each topic throughout the year. There will also be lessons based on what I observe that many of the children need to work on. Throughout each of these topics we will also be discussing topics such as vocabulary, summarizing, predicting, etc.

Schedule

5 mins Sharing
This would be a time in which a different student every day would be invited to share their favorite pieces of writing (books, songs, comics, etc.)

10 mins Poem/Read Aloud 15 mins Mini Lesson

This is either a lesson on one of various types of writing or a grammatical lesson based on difficulties that many children are encountering in their writing

Schedule

5 Min Free Write (Teacher and Students)

From this point on in the block, children are allowed to move wherever they wish in the room to write. The children are encouraged to write about any topic for five minutes straight based on Natalie Goldbergs rules:
1. Keep your hand moving 2. Lose control (Say what you want to say) 3. Be specific (Use detail) 4. Dont worry about spelling or grammar; the content is whats important 5. It does not matter how good or bad your writing seems to you or someone else, it is just important that you write 6. Go for the jugular write about what has energy; whatever emotions come to you or affect you (1990, 2-4)

After, I will share my writing with the students to provide a model and invite a couple to share theirs with the class as well (2002, 195).

Schedule

60 min Writing Block

Twice a week the children will be given open ended prompts to write from. Some will have assigned formats some will not. Twice a week the students will be given the option to write in any style from their writing chart (next slide) to be sure all styles and formats are learned Once a week the children will be given the whole block to write about whatever they choose in any format they choose. During this block the children are also given the opportunity for revision. The steps are as follows:
1. Self Revision 2. Peer Revision 3. Teacher Conference (These can also be held if a student needs some help). 4. Editing 5. Publishing 6. Sharing

Writing Chart
Poem Fiction Story Book Review Poem

Newspaper Article

Friendly Letter

Comic

Persuasive Essay

Poem

Book Review

Fiction Story

Journal

Newspaper Article

Journal

Fiction Story

Friendly Letter

Adaptations

Writing is important for all students, especially those who are of diverse language backgrounds. Even if these children cannot read or speak fluently, writing is a different way for students to express themselves through language in a way reading and speaking cannot.
Writing is different from reading in that writers have a meaning in mind when they write while readers are left to construct their own message which can be difficult for ELL students (2002, 166). Writing is different from speech in that even though both follow the same rules, written language is more complete than speech (166), which in turn makes the language more concrete.

Adaptations
Children learn by doing which is why we will practice writing every day, which will help children of all levels improve their skills (193). While the free writing is highly encouraged, I understand that some students may not be comfortable with it at first.

Before the first free write I will have the children brainstorm some topics they could write about to get everyone thinking. If a child is ever stuck on the free write, I will have open-ended prompts to provide them with in order to help them write.

Assessment
Children will always be given a chance to draft and revise before turning in a final product because, as Bertrand and Stice state, no published author writes this way, and children authors shouldnt either (183). Students work will be graded based more on content and ideas than aspects of writing such as grammar, spelling, and handwriting. Although these are important, writing would be nothing without the idea. I will use a variation on the 6+1 rubric to grade the students papers on a 1-5 scale. The elements I will be looking for in order of importance are:

Idea Voice Details Fluency Structure Word Choice Conventions

Ideas and voice are most important because without the idea one cannot have writing at all. Voice is important because it is important for childrens writing to be their own individual work that reflects themselves and their thoughts.

Assessment

To receive a 5, a student must exhibit the following characteristics in each of the categories:
Idea
The author presents an original idea Topic is focused One, clear main idea

Voice
Text elicits emotions Clear point of view Authors writes for intended audience

Details
Topic is supported by interesting and important details Author takes risks to say more than expected Piece is vivid and easy to imagine

Assessment
Fluency
The author uses transitions to connect their ideas Piece has a natural rhythm Piece avoids repetition Varied sentence structure

Structure
Piece has original title The opening of the piece grabs the readers attention Effective ending

Word Choice
Precise, fresh, accurate words used Words create images Language is specific Figurative language is used High frequency words are spelled correctly Basic punctuation is used correctly Correct capitalization is used Paragraphs are indented

Conventions

Works Cited
Goldberg, N. (1990). Wild Mind. New York: Bantam Books. Noddings, N. (1991). Teaching Children To Care. Turners Falls, MA: Northeast Foundation for Children. Bertrand, N. P. & Stice, C. F., (2002). Good Teaching. Portsmouth, New Jersey: Heinemann.