Teacher ediTion - Niagara Falls City School District

Writers Workshop

FoundationsStudy

Grade 1

TeacherediTion

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Online ResOuRces: cOmmunity Of leaRningFoundations Study Materials: download before you begin the study.Each foundations study includes an Online Resources packet, which is posted on the America’s Choice Community of Learning. In the packet, which varies by grade level, you will find assessments, scoring guides, and other important lesson materials.

You should download and print the packet as you prepare to teach these lessons. Because we revise these resources periodically, we suggest that you visit the Community of Learning each time you teach the study.

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Foundations Study: Grade 1

Foundations Study: Grade 1 i

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intROductiOnAmerica’s Choice Foundations Studies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1Support for English Language Learners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

PRe-assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

lessOnsWeek 1Overview: How these Lessons Address ELLs’ Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1Lesson 1 : What Is Writers Workshop? Finding Our Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Lesson 2: Thinking of Ourselves as Writers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37Lesson 3: Generating Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1Lesson 4: Turning Small Moments into Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43Lesson 5: Getting Help during the Writers Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Week 2Overview: How these Lessons Address ELLs’ Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Lesson 6: Partner Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Lesson 7: Working with Words . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57Lesson 8: Accessing Materials for Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1Lesson 9: Developing Good Writing Habits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Lesson 10: Rules for Drafting a Writing Piece . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Week 3Overview: How these Lessons Address ELLs’ Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73Lesson 1 1: Establishing Expectations for the Author’s Chair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Lesson 12: Using a Word Wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Lesson 13: Planning Our Drawing and Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83Lesson 14: Learning How Stories Are Organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87Lesson 15: Using Details: People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1

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Week 4Overview: How these Lessons Address ELLs’ Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97Lesson 16: Using Details: Places . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99Lesson 17: Generating Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103Lesson 18: Using Details: Objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107Lesson 19: The Structure of a Writing Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 1Lesson 20: How to Self-Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 13

Week 5Overview: How these Lessons Address ELLs’ Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119Lesson 21: Taking Risks in Drawing and Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121Lesson 22: Writing for a Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125Lesson 23: Rereading for Clarity and Completeness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127Lesson 24: Setting Up a Response Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129Lesson 25: Appropriate Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Week 6Overview: How these Lessons Address ELLs’ Needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139Lesson 26: Teacher Reading of Student Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 1Lesson 27: Introducing Revision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143Lesson 28: Adding Information within Writing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147Lesson 29: Developing a Rubric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149Lesson 30: Sharing Students’ Published Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153

POst-assessment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Writers Workshop






























introduction


Foundations Study: Grade 1 1

america’s choice Foundations Studies

overview

The America’s Choice Writers Workshop foundations studies are part of the America’s Choice® School Design and the America’s Choice Writing Aviator® program. They are designed to help teachers establish the rituals, routines, and artifacts of the Writers Workshop in their classrooms. Reflecting the most current research on effective writing instruction, these studies:

■■ Introduce students to authors and their works and help students emulate models of good writing

■■ Establish the rituals and routines of the Writers Workshop

■■ Use multiple instructional groupings and a variety of instructional methods

■■ Set the foundation for writing instruction and the work students will be expected to do during the rest of the year

■■ Help students understand they will become writers by studying professional writers’ style and craft

■■ Engage students in the process of writing by teaching them strategies for planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing

■■ Allow students to work collaboratively to plan, draft, revise, and edit

■■ Prepare students for the on-demand writing often required by standardized tests

■■ Address the needs of English language learners (ELLs) during the Writers Workshop by supporting their oral language development, vocabulary, and language skills

Because writing and reading are closely connected, the foundations studies also help students improve their reading comprehension. Students become better writers and better readers when they consider: (1) how texts are put together, (2) how writers develop characters or ideas, and (3) how a writer’s word choices, literary devices, and style combine to shape meaning.

description

A foundations study is a series of lessons to help you set up the rituals and routines of the Writers Workshop. By working through the lessons sequentially, you lead students through a series of learning experiences, from simple to more complex. The lessons use a variety of modeling and think-aloud demonstrations to teach appropriate writing behaviors and strategies. As the lessons

progress, students realize that they are becoming “real writers,” and they begin to learn and develop the writing habits and processes they need for the work ahead. As the process of writing, reading, reflecting, and revising continues, students work together to identify areas of strength in each other’s writing and to collaborate to solve problems. Finally, students “publish” and celebrate their work.

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introduction • America’s Choice Foundations Studies


As you teach the foundations study lessons, you will develop a greater awareness of your students as writers. While you will teach these lessons to launch the Writers Workshop, you can review, revisit, or repeat many of them throughout the year. As you become familiar with the instructional process in the lesson continuum, you will be able to continue the workshop after you teach this study, creating additional lessons tailored to your students’ needs.

supporting english

language learners

The foundations study lessons and the Writers Workshop support all young writers, including those for whom English is a second language.

English language learners (ELLs) can succeed in grade-level curriculum when the instruction matches their linguistic and academic needs. Teaching ELLs to write can be challenging if you lack the required knowledge, experience, or tools—as many teachers do. The America’s Choice “Five Essential Practices for Teaching English Language Learners” are embedded in the foundations study lessons at each grade level to help you scaffold learning for ELLs as they acquire academic language and composition skills. (See the “Support for English Language Learners” section to learn how these practices are integrated into the lessons.)

resources

Schools that implement the America’s Choice® School Design or the America’s Choice Writing Aviator® program receive resource materials that will be used during training and implementation. The grade-level foundations study and the grade-level genre study are the curriculum pieces for classroom implementation. The Teacher Handbook1 and the Writing Monograph series are support materials

that will also be used during training. The monographs provide in-depth explanations of the stages of the writing process and more information about rituals and routines. The titles in this series are:

■■ Rituals, Routines and Artifacts: Classroom Management and the Writers Workshop

■■ Mini-Lessons for the Writers Workshop

■■ Planning: A Rehearsal for Writing

■■ Drafting: Getting Words on Paper

■■ Response Groups: Providing Feedback to Writers

■■ Writing Conferences

1 When the foundations studies reference the “Teacher Handbook,” please consult whichever handbook you are using to implement your writing program, either the America’s Choice Literacy Handbook—Getting Started or the America’s Choice Writing Aviator Teacher Handbook.

Writers Workshop Foundations Study: Grade 1 3


■■ Revising Writing

■■ Editing for Clarity and Conventions

■■ Author’s Chair: Bringing Closure to the Writers Workshop

The monographs are posted on the Community of Learning along with other valuable resources, including:

■■ Assessment materials: Pre-and post-assessment writing prompts and scoring guides.

■■ Lesson materials: Transparency masters, handouts, and graphic organizers

Instructions for accessing the Community of Learning are provided at the beginning of this Teacher Edition.

features

The foundations study lessons include many features to support teaching and to promote learning by all students. The K–3 lessons are aligned with the New Standards® performance standards, and the lessons for grades 4 and 5 are aligned with the New Standards® performance standards and the American Diploma Project benchmarks.2

Pre- and Post-assessmentsThe foundations studies include pre- and post-assessments to measure students’ progress and growth. The assessment results help you identify students’ needs, prepare for challenges, and plan future instruction. These assessments, which take one class period to administer, help prepare students for the on-demand writing required by many standardized tests.

Learning objectivesEach foundations study lesson articulates specific objectives for student learning. These objectives build on previous lessons so students develop background knowledge and apply new learning. The learning objectives are supported by the students’ language objectives.

Language objectivesThe language objectives describe the language skills that students need to learn, and they explicitly describe the work students will do with vocabulary during the lesson. Many of these objectives call for the use of sentence frames to encourage frequent, appropriate use of the language of the workshop.

2 Resnick, Lauren B., and Sally Hampton. 2008. Reading and Writing Grade by Grade. (Revised edition). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Hampton, Sally, and Lauren B. Resnick. 2009. Reading and Writing with Understanding: Comprehension in Fourth and Fifth Grades. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

American Diploma Project Benchmarks: Achieve, Inc. 2004. English and Communications Benchmarks. www.achieve.org.

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Target Words: Language of the Writers WorkshopMost foundations study lessons identify “target words” or the “language of the workshop” words that are used within the context of the workshop throughout the year. You will write these words on sentence strips (or index cards), introduce them during the opening lesson, and use and reinforce them throughout the workshop. These words should be placed on the word wall (or in another place in the room used just for posting the workshop words). You should refer to and use these words regularly to help students develop the language skills they need to participate successfully in the Writers Workshop.

assessment and Grading opportunitiesMany lessons include tasks where students can demonstrate progress and their understanding of specific strategies and skills. These tasks result in a product you can assess and grade. All of the lessons provide opportunities for formative assessment by allowing you to observe and conference with students during the work period.

supports

The foundations study lessons support and facilitate teaching in a variety of ways. The “Note to Teacher” sidebars provide criteria for selecting alternative texts, background information to supplement the lesson, and tips about how to take the lesson deeper. The “Language Connection” sidebars identify Spanish-English cognates so if you have Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can help them make

connections between their native language and English. The SaY icon highlights suggested language for sharing and explaining the lesson’s content. The chart graphics give you an idea of what your class charts might look like and provide sample student responses.

teaching the study

The foundations studies are designed to be used during the first 30 days of the Writers Workshop. The lessons are grouped by the significant work to be accomplished during each week. If your students have experience with the Writers Workshop, you may not need to teach each of the lessons. Preview the study to determine if you can combine some lessons or treat them as a review.

rituals and routinesDuring the foundations study lessons, you will work with students to establish the Writers Workshop rituals (the way something is done, where materials are kept and accessed, what to do after each activity, etc.) and routines (what we do, predictable structures). In this way, procedures become habits and students can rely on the structure necessary to learn, study, read, and write. When your class understands what must be done, how it must be done, and when it happens, the flow of teaching and learning is smooth, and interruptions are rare.

The foundations study lessons will help ensure that rituals and routines are firmly established early in the year. You will need to review expectations frequently and may even have to revisit specific lessons. Your success in setting up the rituals and



routines will determine the level of success for both you and for students throughout the year. Rituals and routines give all students, including ELLs, predictability in their learning environment, allowing them to focus on learning new content.

Writers WorkshopThe Writers Workshop structure provides time for instruction, independent work, and—most importantly—conferring with students. The typical Writers Workshop has three parts:

■■ An opening meeting, which is whole-class instruction focused on rituals and routines, skills and strategies, or writer’s craft

■■ A work period when students work individually or in small groups and you circulate to confer with individual writers or to work on short, focused lessons with small groups

■■ A closing meeting that may focus on students’ progress and is usually linked to the success of the instruction during the opening lesson

Within each of these routines, you will establish rituals to help students understand what needs to happen and how it happens, maximizing both the teaching and the learning that occurs throughout each day and throughout the year.

Many teachers find it challenging to allocate the right amount of time to each part of the Writers Workshop. How you allocate time communicates the value you place on instruction, student work, and reflection. It is important to remain aware of how much time you use for each part of the workshop, so that students can write every day.

Opening

• Lessons on writing process, craft, and conventions

• Introduction of genre-specific words

• Development of charts and rubrics

• Read-alouds of touchstone texts

Work Period

Teacher• Conducts one-on-one

and small-group conferences

• Monitors and supports students' as they work

Students• Maintain Writer’s Notebooks• Borrow, imitate, and emulate

writers’ strategies• Prewrite, draft, revise, edit,

evaluate, and polish

• Work with partners and response groups

• Write independently and collaborate on pieces

Closing

• Author’s chair• Reflection• Celebration

The Writers Workshop Model

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opening In the opening meeting (10 minutes), you teach short, focused lessons on the workshop routine (procedures), author’s craft, or skills. This is the routine that helps students move into independent, partner, or group work in the work period in order to apply what was taught in the lesson. In the opening, you can set the focus of the workshop’s writing tasks by the content of the lesson. The opening should take no more than 15 minutes.

Every lesson has both a goal related to developing genre knowledge and writing skills (learning objective) and a goal for language development (language objective). If the language objective includes a sentence frame, write it on a sentence strip, model using it during the opening lesson, and post it so students can see it as they speak and write. During the opening lesson, you will introduce the “language of the workshop” words in much the same way.

The lesson will typically include explicit modeling and provide a scaffold for students to use during the work period. The degree of scaffolding is reduced as the study and the year progress, and students grow in competence and confidence.

Some opening lessons will take longer than the recommended time while you are establishing rituals and routines and teaching content. Students need to learn the expectations for the various workshop components while they are learning writing strategies.

Work Period During the work period, students apply what you taught and modeled in the opening lesson. As students build their writing stamina and can work independently for longer periods, the work period will naturally expand from 15–20 minutes. As your students learn more about how to work in Writers Workshop, they will be able to engage in a broader range of activities.

During most work periods, students are expected to accomplish three tasks: independent writing, conferring with you about their writing, and responding to their peers’ work by participating in response groups. Specific lessons will help you set up response groups and establish the types of questions, comments, and suggestions that will become models for appropriate feedback. Students’ responses (both oral and written) will vary based on their English proficiency levels. The earlier the level of English proficiency, the more support ELLs will need.

If an opening lesson requires students to use a writing strategy (or even practice a ritual), the first thing they should do in the work period is a “try-it” so the lesson can be applied while the learning experience is fresh. During the work period, students may also:

■■ Write independently and practice the new strategy in their current drafts

■■ Add entries to their Writer’s Notebook

■■ Reread entries in their Writer’s Notebook to plan for topics and appropriate genres

■■ Participate in response groups with one or more partners



■■ Finish a draft

■■ Edit their work

■■ Confer with you

■■ Participate in small-group instruction

The amount of time needed for activities varies from student to student and from task to task. Differentiation includes shared writing and guided writing for students who need scaffolding beyond what is provided by the opening lesson. This is especially important for supporting ELLs.

The most important factor in the success of the Writers Workshop is the accountability you and your students share for what happens during the work period. You need to hold students accountable for what they know must be done, and eventually, they will begin to hold each other accountable.

closing The Writers Workshop ends with the whole class refocused on what was accomplished through the lesson and its immediate application. The closing (10 minutes) typically includes students sharing their writing and discussing their writing experiences. This discussion focuses on the lesson’s goals. Effective closing activities include:

■■ Author’s chair—students share their work and ask for specific responses

■■ Sharing a try-it—students share their attempts at using a writing strategy and describe the difference it made in their writing

■■ Read-around—students share a favorite sentence (interesting language or details) they used in their writing

■■ Teacher sharing—a time to address an important issue raised during a conference

■■ Small-group sharing—students share accomplishments

■■ Partner sharing—students share a strategy for reading each other’s work

■■ Evaluating problems and solving them—a discussion of what worked for a writer, what did not, and what may be appropriate next steps

The closing is a time to reflect on the work accomplished during the workshop. It reinforces students’ sense that that they are part of a writing and learning community that values and celebrates each other’s work. ELLs benefit from repeated modeling, practice, and application of the various rituals in the closing routine.

author introductionsWhen you introduce an author to students before you read a book to or with them, it builds students’ knowledge about the author’s work, writing life, and writing process. It also helps students understand that “real” people write books. When students can connect with an author, they start to see possibilities for their own writing—from writing about similar topics to trying similar writing strategies. For ELLs, building prior knowledge about authors, and about writing in general, helps them comprehend text, understand new concepts, and internalize word knowledge.

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To find information about an author (or illustrator), you can check the book’s back cover, inside cover preface, and dust jacket. You can also find information about authors on websites (hosted by publishers or by the author) and from author interviews in online magazines or newspapers. Using the work of authors who represent the student population culturally can motivate students to become writers and validate their cultural experiences.

setting up the

classroom

It is important to arrange your classroom to accommodate the variety of learning and work the workshop model demands. Classrooms may have desks or tables. If there are desks, they can be grouped according to the work that is to be done. See the Teacher Handbook for details on setting up your classroom.

Whole-Group MeetingsThere should be an area that is large enough for the whole class to meet together. Usually, the front, the center, or a corner of a room works best, with a space for the author’s chair. It is helpful to have a place for a chart stand and paper to record class discussions and model strategies and skills.

Small-Group MeetingsYou will want to designate places for students to work in small groups, such as response groups. Sometimes these groups meet according to task (students who need to proofread for spelling) or to read and get feedback to their writing.

independent WorkStudents need independent space for reading and writing. During individual writing time, the classroom noise level needs to be low so students can concentrate. While maintaining this atmosphere, you can confer with individuals or small groups, and students can move and work together quietly.

Writing centerUnlike traditional centers, the Writing Center is a place in the room where writing supplies are stored. It should be easily accessible by students. As the year progresses and procedural lessons are taught about how to access and use materials, students will gain more and more independence for maintaining all writing supplies.

Writing Center supplies should include:

■■ Crates or boxes for Writer’s Notebooks and Writing Folders

■■ A variety of paper (in a range of sizes and colors for drafting, publishing, etc.)



■■ Containers of crayons, pencils, pens, markers, and highlighters

■■ Staplers and tape

■■ Scissors

■■ Date stamps (optional)

artifacts of the Writers Workshop

Writers Workshop has certain artifacts—objects that are central to the learning. Each artifact is part of the classroom routine and has rituals associated with it. You will introduce these artifacts during the foundations study lessons and expand their use as the year progresses.

Writer’s notebooksLearning how to use a Writer’s Notebook is essential to students’ writing success. They will learn how authors use notebooks to collect writing ideas. Becoming a writer requires working like a writer. Writers look all around them to find and record ideas for writing both fiction and nonfiction. They also capture favorite words, compelling sentences, and descriptive passages. They may make notes about chapters or pages in books that they really want to remember.

Students in grades 2–5 will use their notebooks to emulate the “writerly” habits of professional writers by recording their own ideas for writing, by observing and recording the world around them, and by trying out different writing strategies. Kindergarten and first-grade writers do not work in Writer’s Notebooks, but you can create a class notebook that students can refer to and use for writing ideas.

You will keep and use your own Writer’s Notebook to demonstrate writing strategies, share work, and model the expectations you want to see during the work period. This is a very important step in scaffolding students’ learning. The foundations study lessons provide instructions for how to use your notebook.

No matter what goes into the Writer’s Notebook, writers write in it every day. Entries could consist of:

■■ A record of things a writer finds engaging

■■ Ideas for a story or report

■■ Descriptions of people (real or fictional), places, sounds, smells, moods, or feelings

■■ Phrases that sound appealing

■■ Lines from a poem

■■ Outlines for pieces of writing or other tools for planning

■■ Dialogue for two or more characters

■■ Reflections

■■ Notes of responses from partners or peers

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Writers try out new strategies in their Writer’s Notebooks. These are sometimes referred to as “try-its.” Students may:

■■ Mimic the way a book opens or ends

■■ Emulate a certain way of describing a character or setting

■■ Test various graphics or illustrations to support or enrich a piece of writing

If ELLs are not ready to write in English, allow and encourage them to draw in their Writer’s Notebooks and write in them using in their primary language, if they can.

Writer’s Notebooks can be anything from spiral notebooks to composition notebooks to folders. Each foundations study (grades 2–5) includes a lesson on setting up the notebook. See the Teacher Handbook for more details on the Writer’s Notebook.

Writing FoldersAll students need three folders: a work-in-progress folder for their daily writing, a finished-work (cumulative) folder for all the writing they do, and a portfolio for their best efforts for writing throughout the year. Portfolios will show students’ growth in a variety of genres, understanding of the writing process, and control of language use and conventions.

It is important that students learn to put their names and a date on each piece of writing. Early in year, date stamps work well, particularly for younger writers. As the year progresses, young students can begin to put the date on their work themselves by putting just the first letter and the day of the month (for example, S-8 for September 8). Have students circle the date because it often gets lost in the writing as students are learning about random letters and squiggles.

Writing Folders are used regularly and should be stored in a place (such as a crate or box) close at hand for students. You will need to determine and explain your expectations for these folders and how they will be managed. See the Teacher Handbook for details on Writing Folders.

attribute and reference chartsMany lessons call for you and your students to co-create attribute and reference charts to record and support students’ thinking about writing features and procedures. These charts not only guide students as they write, but they also record the classroom language about writing and support students’ thinking about what they are learning. These charts support student learning and are a resource for developing rubrics. Color-coding and using small visuals on classroom charts provides the extra support that some students may need. In some cases, you may want students to replicate the charts in their Writer’s Notebooks.



Touchstone TextsTouchstone texts are an integral part of the Writers Workshop. You will use this collection of texts repeatedly to model the craft of writing and help students become more proficient, skilled writers. Touchstone texts can be used in multiple ways to teach multiple strategies.

You need to collect and review the touchstone texts before teaching the lessons. It is important to read them aloud to students before the lessons so they are familiar with the content and can focus on particular strategies. Most lessons suggest specific texts, but a lesson’s success does not rely on a specific text (or a particular product). You can substitute a different book as long as it supports the lesson’s focus. The lessons are specific regarding goals and purposes. Most lessons guide you in selecting appropriate resources.

If you are choosing additional touchstone texts for your students’ needs and interests, choose them carefully before launching the Writers Workshop. Your selection should include:

■■ Books from multiple genres that inspire you with well-crafted writing

■■ Books that you and your students will want to discuss and analyze repeatedly

■■ Books that, although more sophisticated than student writing, are models of good writing

■■ Books that can be used to target and explicitly address the language challenges ELLs face, such as:

■– Style and syntax

■– Word order

■– Prepositions

■– Dialogue

■– Description

■– Details

■– Transitional words

■– Idiomatic expressions

Touchstone texts serve as models to teach author’s craft because students become familiar with the content and then can go beyond it to consider how the text is put together—the way an author develops or uses character, setting, punctuation, sequence, detail, ending, dialogue, etc. You can help students learn from these texts through multiple readings and modeling that illuminates author’s craft or highlights appropriate skills (for example, punctuation, syntax, and diction). These texts become the “touchstones” that you can return to repeatedly throughout the year.

You will find that writing instruction founded on reading great writing and analyzing writer’s technique is a powerful way to help young writers learn about the craft of writing and how to apply it to their own written work. By studying published authors, students learn how to gather ideas for writing, develop topics of interest, craft writing into something purposeful, and become more confident in their abilities as writers.

Writers Workshop12



While the foundations study lessons are built around touchstone texts, do not restrict reading aloud or teaching to these texts only. You will want to add to this list of books over time, so you have many touchstone texts to use to teach a variety of author’s craft strategies. Published resources can help you find more touchstone texts. In Craft Lessons (1998), Ralph Fletcher cites Paper Boy as a terrific touchstone text because it can be used to teach nine different writing strategies. In Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom (1999), Katie Wood Ray offers lists of books with various features for teaching.3 You can also find sets of touchstone texts on the websites of various publishers and booksellers. Your state or district may have book lists to help you pick texts for your classroom. Sharing books among colleagues and using texts you currently have in your school or local public library can increase your resources for teaching writing.

When you choose a touchstone text, you should ask yourself the following questions. If you answer “yes” to most of them, then you may have found a touchstone text.

■■ Do you, as the teacher, love the book?

■■ Have you read the book more than once and talked about it with your students?

■■ Do your students read the book or want to read the book without you?

■■ Do all your students have access to the book (at least over time)?

■■ Do parts of the book provide good examples of more than one writing strategy?

■■ Is the book a genre that you are exploring or going to explore?

Mentor TextsA mentor text can be a touchstone text, but it can also be another text that is a student’s favorite. While a touchstone text is something all students in the class share and is a teaching tool, a mentor text can be something that inspires an individual student. Students may find a particular author worthy of being their “mentor.” Students use mentor texts the same way you use touchstone texts to teach the whole class. Students read and reread until the content is familiar and they can then concentrate on “how” the author writes rather than “what happens” in the text. Students can use a mentor text to get ideas for descriptions of settings; characters or their development; ways to begin or end a story or informational piece; and how to use illustration effectively.

Encourage students to find authors and favorite books that they can turn to repeatedly to learn craft, observe word choice, and evaluate sentence structure.

Having as many books as possible in the classroom and available for students to read and explore is vital to helping students find mentor texts or authors.

3 Fletcher, Ralph, and JoAnn Portalupi. 1998. Craft Lessons. York, MA: Stenhouse Publishers. Ray, Katie Wood. 1999. Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.



rubricsThe rubrics developed in the foundations study lessons are based on the standards you identify and the attribute charts co-created in the lessons. These charts vary by grade level but include: “Ways Good Writers Write,” “Habits of Good Writers,” and “Strategies of Good Writers.” These rubrics define the explicit writing behaviors and strategies that will lead to success in writing. The goal is that by creating and using the rubrics, students will revise their writing and learn to craft better writing.

Word Walls and Word BanksWord walls are a place in the classroom where new vocabulary words are posted and studied. For the foundations study lessons, these words will be the “target words” that feature the “language of the workshop.” Word walls provide support for students to study and learn new vocabulary within a meaningful context. The words are introduced and studied during the opening lesson and then posted on the word wall so students have easy access while learning about writing. Word banks can be individual copies of the new words that students keep in a reference folder or in their Writer’s Notebook or Writing Folder. See the Teacher Handbook for details on word walls and word banks.

what’s it look like?

What should a Writers Workshop look like after the first 30 days? Life in a workshop classroom is a social experience, where students follow predictable structures and have a predictable time for writing daily. After teaching the foundations study lessons, you should see evidence that students understand the rituals and routines and are beginning to take responsibility for knowing the workshop structure.

They should be able to explain what they do in the opening, work period, and closing.

During the workshop, you should hear students discussing their writing with each other and talking about their writing topics. Students should understand what the workshop artifacts are and how these artifacts help them grow as writers.

Envision a classroom where:

■■ Instruction is based on performance and state content standards

■■ Students have daily opportunities to develop writerly habits, analyze touchstone texts, and practice writing strategies

■■ The teacher confers with students about their work as writers

■■ Students work excitedly on writing projects, soliciting peer feedback and sharing their work with others

■■ Instruction is informed by assessment of student work in conjunction with a deep understanding of grade-level expectations

■■ Classroom walls are a rich resource for learning complete with attribute charts, rubrics, and student work

Writers Workshop14



■■ Students understand writerly habits and know that they are essential for writing success

■■ Rubrics guide student improvement

The foundations study lessons will help students learn to use the writing process, move about the classroom purposefully, use classroom resources efficiently, and work independently. After teaching these lessons, you will see and hear a literate community of students who are ready for a yearlong journey toward becoming proficient writers.



Writers Workshop Foundations Lessons: Grade 1

Week 1

Lesson 1

What Is Writers Workshop? Finding Our Stories

Lesson 2

Thinking of Ourselves as Writers

Lesson 3

Generating Topics

Lesson 4

Turning Small Moments into Stories

Lesson 5

Getting Help during the Writers Workshop

Week 2

Lesson 6

Partner Talk

Lesson 7

Working with Words

Lesson 8

Accessing Materials for Writing

Lesson 9

Developing Good Writing Habits

Lesson 10

Rules for Drafting a Writing Piece

Week 3

Lesson 11

Establishing Expectations for the Author’s Chair

Lesson 12

Using a Word Wall

Lesson 13

Planning Our Drawing and Writing

Lesson 14

Learning How Stories Are Organized

Lesson 15

Using Details: People

Week 4

Lesson 16

Using Details: Places

Lesson 17

Generating Topics

Lesson 18

Using Details: Objects

Lesson 19

The Structure of a Writing Conference

Lesson 20

How to Self-Conference

Week 5

Lesson 21

Taking Risks in Drawing and Writing

Lesson 22

Writing for a Purpose

Lesson 23

Rereading for Clarity and Completeness

Lesson 24

Setting Up a Response Group

Lesson 25

Appropriate Responses

Week 6

Lesson 26

Teacher Reading of Student Work

Lesson 27

Introducing Revision

Lesson 28

Adding Information within Writing

Lesson 29

Developing a Rubric

Lesson 30

Sharing Students’ Published Work

Writers Workshop16



charts and Touchstone Texts Used in this Foundations Study

Lesson chart Touchstone Text

1 Writers Workshop Routines

Habits of Good Writers

2 Writers Workshop Routines

Thinking of Ourselves as Writers

3 What Writers Write About

The Five Describing Senses (Optional)

4 Ways Good Writers Write

Guide for Response

Night Noises (Mem Fox)

Alternate:

Hattie and the Fox (Mem Fox)

5 Getting Help during Writers Workshop

6

7 Sketch of a Moment (Your own story)

8 Guide for Response

9 Good Writing Habits

10 Rules for Drafting

11 The Author’s Chair

12 How to Use the Word Wall during Writers Workshop

13 Little Nino’s Pizzeria (Karen Barbour)

14 Habits of Good Writers

How Stories are Organized

Ways Good Writers Write

Shortcut (Donald Crews)

15 Ways Good Writers Write Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge (Mem Fox)

16 Ways Good Writers Write Where the Wild Things Are (Maurice Sendak)

17 Things We Can Write About

18 Ways Good Writers Write Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse (Kevin Henkes)

19

20 Questions for My Self-Conference

21 Ways Good Writers Write

22 Writing/Author’s Purpose/Audience



charts and Touchstone Texts Used in this Foundations Study

Lesson chart Touchstone Text

23 Seven Blind Mice (Ed Young)

24 Response Groups

25 How to Respond to Writing

26

27 What We Do When We Revise Optional:

Koala Blue (Mem Fox)

28

29 Habits of Good Writers


Rubric for Stories

30



Support for english Language Learners

overview

English language learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing population of public school students in the United States. Most, if not all, teachers will teach ELLs sometime during their careers, so schools and teachers must be prepared to include them in meaningful ways in grade-level courses. ELLs are not a homogeneous group. They enter school with a variety of experiences and skills, including:

■■ A wide range of language proficiencies in their home languages

■■ Varied reading and writing skills in their home languages

■■ Varied formal or perhaps no formal schooling experiences, depending on the availability of schooling in their countries of origin

■■ Varied language proficiency levels

The America’s Choice foundations studies address the needs of students who are at the Expanding (L4) and Bridging (L5) levels according to the Pre-K–12 English Proficiency Levels (TESOL 2006.) Students need strong conversational English abilities to participate fully in these studies. (You can find valuable information about language proficiency levels and teaching ELLs at www.tesol.org.)

the five essential practices

The foundations studies begin the process of teaching all students to be writers, including English language learners (ELLs). The Writers Workshop is an ideal structure for responding to ELLs’ academic and linguistic needs. The foundations studies reflect the “Five Essential Practices for Teaching English Language Learners” developed by America’s Choice based on a wide body of research

on second language acquisition, literacy, and effective instruction. These practices support the most appropriate and effective instruction for helping ELLs (and all students) build comprehension, fluency, understanding, and vocabulary.

In the foundations studies, examples of the essential practices are identified before each set of weekly lessons. The essential practices are:

essential Practice #1: develop oral language through meaningful conversation and context.Oral language is the foundation of literacy and a main tool for learning and interacting in both academic and social settings. Natural exposure to, and planned experiences with, oral language facilitates increased expression and understanding of the second language. Oral language also supports vocabulary development in context, paving the way for better comprehension and language production. Exposure to rich oral and written language environments is vital for developing literacy and language skills.

Writers Workshop20

introduction • Support for English Language Learners


essential Practice #2: Teach targeted skills through contextualized and explicit instruction.Contextualized instruction provides students with extra linguistic clues that support understanding not only the content but also the language being used. Combining contextualized practices with the knowledge of phonemic awareness, phonics skills, language structures and functions, text patterns, and literary devices help students develop stronger literacy skills. Explicit skills give students the tools they need to comprehend increasingly complex literacy demands.

essential Practice #3: Build vocabulary through authentic and meaningful experiences with words.Developing and deepening a student’s understanding of new words is essential for English language learners. Building vocabulary in the context of literature, experiences, modeled writing, and think-alouds ensures that students will own the new words they encounter. Vocabulary building is a lifelong process, and students must learn ways to integrate and approach new and challenging words. Discussing, playing with, and using new words allow students to gain new vocabulary through meaningful and, therefore, memorable experiences.

essential Practice #4: Build and activate background knowledge.Learning is based on establishing neural connections in the brain by drawing on previous experience, background knowledge, and prior and current environments. It is the job of both the teacher and the students to facilitate these connections in order to construct meaning and understand new ideas and concepts while expanding on their own world knowledge. Actively fostering these connections enables students to more easily interpret their surroundings and assign meaning to new concepts while expanding on their own experiences.

essential Practice #5: Teach and use meaning-making strategies.Intentional teaching of meaning-making strategies provides students with a toolbox to approach future learning challenges. Meaning-making strategies range from helping students comprehend text to teaching strategies students can use to understand English-dependent lessons. Teacher modeling of appropriate behaviors gives students the tools they need to be autonomous learners while simultaneously supplying them with options they can use to interpret both the academic and social environmental input they encounter.



for Spanish-speaking

eLLs

Many of the foundations study lessons include “Language Connection” sidebars. These sidebars identify Spanish-English cognates, and highlight places where the teacher can help Spanish-speaking ELLs make connections between their native language and English. For more intensive support for Spanish-speaking ELLs, America’s Choice offers a bilingual version of the foundations studies. The bilingual lessons scaffold instruction and foster a supportive environment to help students become literate in Spanish. Like the English version, these studies are used in the Writers Workshop setting and provide a strong foundation for language development and writing across the grade levels.



























































Pre-assessment



pre-assessment

purpose

■■ To help students recall what they already know about writing narrative

■■ To help you identify and prepare for the specific challenges students will face during these lessons

prep

■■ Think about ways to help students recall what they know about telling, drawing, and writing narratives. A brief explanation of narrative may be helpful to them. Explain that a narrative is a story. You want to help students successfully demonstrate what they know about effective narrative writing and telling stories.

■■ Make copies of the scoring guide.

administer

■■ Have a conversation with students about what they already know about stories and writing stories. If your district or state has specific criteria, a rubric, or a scoring guide that you expect students to master for narrative, use the specific language they might be familiar with, such as:

– Has a beginning, middle, and ending

– Has events told in order (sequencing)

– Has characters and a setting

■■ Ask questions like:

– What do you already know about a good narrative/story?

– Do you remember hearing, telling, or writing stories in the past?

■■ You may want to chart students’ responses for reference during writing. Use labels and pictures to help students identify parts of a story.

■■ Provide instructions:

SaY “ Now, I want you to do some writing like the narrative/story we just talked about. I am going to pass out paper for you to use. If you need more paper, just raise your hand and I will give you some more.

“ Put your name at the top, on the right side of the paper. Put today’s date underneath your name. (You may want to have paper with names and dates already supplied.) Listen to these instructions for telling, drawing, and writing your story.

MaTeriaLS

■❑ Chart paper and markers

■❑ Paper and pencils

■❑ Online Resources packet:

– Writing a Narrative prompt

– Scoring guide (one for each student paper)

noTe To Teacher

read the prompt. You will want to read the prompt to all of your students, especially your ELLs, and encourage them to draw and tell their stories.

Writers Workshop26

Pre-assessment

administer

“ You will take on the role of storyteller to create a story about a special object that is meaningful to you. It could be an object that was a gift or something that came into your life long ago or just recently.

“ You will think of a story you would like to tell about this object and why it is important. It might be an object such as a special box or container, a bike, a photograph, an arrowhead, or a baseball card.

“ Think about any special people who might have been involved or any significant details that let the reader know just how important the object is or was to you.

“ You can tell, draw, or write your story. Remember you are drawing or writing a narrative about a really important object that has special meaning to you.

“ You will have about 15–20 minutes to create your story. I will tell you when about half of the time is up.” (First graders will typically not take the full 20 minutes. Use this time to take dictation from your students.)

■■ Encourage students to turn and talk to a partner about their stories. When they finish, answer any questions. Then get them started by saying:

SaY “ Now, take your pencils and draw or write your story.”

■■ Allow students to draw or write for the remainder of the class period. For students who have drawn their stories, you (or an aide) will need to meet individually with them to take their dictation.

■■ Collect and read their stories.

■■ Use the scoring guide to assess each student’s performance level.

■■ Note class and individual strengths and weaknesses in order to plan future instruction.

noTe To Teacher

assessing first-grade students. In first grade, students may need to tell their story orally, dictating their thoughts, while you write them down. As students tell and draw and write their stories, they will typically take 15–20 minutes. You will need more time to actually take their dictation during this time, which may take up to an hour. Allow as much time as you need to take dictation from all students who are still in the oral and drawing modality. They can then add a drawing to their story. First-grade students usually need to get the physical structure of story in their heads to capture their thinking. This is usually then shown through drawing and oral story rehearsal.

developmental stages. You may need to refer to the developmental stages of writing (in the Teacher Handbook) to determine the particular stage of writing for each student, especially for those students who are still in the scribbling stage of writing. It will be helpful to note the student’s developmental stage of writing in the “Additional Comments” section of the pre-assessment scoring guide.

Writers Workshop 27

Foundations Study: Grade 1 © 2010 America’s Choice

Pre-Assessment • Writing a Narrative

PromptWe all have special objects in our lives that make us think of a special memory and a story about the object. The object might be something like a box or container, a ribbon, a photograph, an arrowhead, a watch, or a baseball card.

Think of something you own that is very important to you and has special meaning. Tell the story of how you got it, including the people and the situation involved in your getting the object.

Remember to tell what the object is. Describe what it looks like and why it is so important to you.

Grade 1 27

Pre-assessment

Online Resources packet



Date:

Student’s Name: Student ID:

Read each of the statements below, and circle the number on the scale that most accurately reflects your assessment of the paper.

3 = moderately strong 2 = somewhat weak 1 = weak

1 . The story (oral, drawing, or text) contains a sequence of events. 3 2 1

2. The story contains a clear beginning, middle, and ending. 3 2 1

3. The story includes details about the characters and setting. 3 2 1

Additional comments:

Pre-Assessment • Scoring Guide






























Week 1






























1




overview: how These Lessons address eLLs’ needs

essential practice

#1

develop oral language through meaningful conversation and context.

■■ Students turn and talk to a partner, an established workshop routine that allows students to stop and think about what they are learning and put this learning into their own words.

■■ Students use sentence frames to help them talk about strategies they are learning in preparation for writing.

■■ Students discuss with a partner what they are going to write about, before they work independently.

essential practice

#2

Teach targeted skills through contextualized and explicit instruction.

■■ Students generate their own writing topics.

■■ Students practice strategies listed for working independently by using the co-constructed “Getting Help during the Writers Workshop” chart.

■■ Students use sentence frames to support their English fluency and to structure the language they use to talk about writing. (Examples: One good thing a good writer does is _______. My favorite place is _______. A moment is _______. When I need help, I could _______.)

essential practice

#3

Build vocabulary through authentic and meaningful experiences with words.

■■ Students practice using the language of the workshop and the workshop routines.

■■ Teacher and students co-construct charts to develop the language of writing and writers. (Examples: Habits of Good Writers, Thinking of Ourselves as Writers, What Writers Write About, Ways Good Writers Write)

essential practice

#4

Build and activate background knowledge.■■ Students write stories that come from all aspects of their lives.

(Examples: school, home, friends, holidays)

■■ Teachers build on former lessons, charts, and discussions, emphasizing connections to prior knowledge.

Week 1 • The Five Essential Practices for Teaching English Language Learners

Writers Workshop32



essential practice

#5

Teach and use meaning-making strategies.■■ Teacher models telling a story, demonstrating the connection

between telling an oral story and writing a story.

■■ Teacher models how writers borrow ideas from other writers.

■■ Teacher uses pictures or photographs to model for students how to describe a favorite place.



1lesson

MaTeriaLS


■❑ Sentence strips for the sentence frame and workshop words

■❑ Paper for drawing and writing

■❑ Charts:

– Writers Workshop Routines

– Habits of Good Writers

■❑ Paper for writing

■❑ Your own drawing for modeling

noTe To Teacher

Monograph. For more information on establishing Writers Workshop, see the America’s Choice Rituals, Routines and Artifacts: Classroom Management and the Writers Workshop monograph posted on the Community of Learning.

attribute charts. You and your students co-create two ongoing attribute charts in this study. “Habits of Good Writers” focuses on what students notice about the behavior of good writers through your modeling and discussions about professional writers. “Ways Good Writers Write” captures the strategies good writers use to develop their pieces.

students’ learning

objectives

■■ Know what to expect from the daily Writers Workshop

■■ Discover the stories from their own experiences

students’ language objective

■■ Discuss and state ideas for stories from their own lives using the sentence frame:

– I have an idea for a story! It is about _______.

target words

■■ workshop

■■ opening/work period/closing

■■ sentence frame

purpose

■■ Our lives are full of activities that lead to stories. Discovering these stories, finding a focus, choosing a topic, and developing text around this topic are parts of the writing process. Throughout this study, students will be asked to lead a “writerly” life—thinking, writing, talking, reading, and working through processes similar to those of professional writers. Students will begin to understand these processes as they develop an attribute chart titled “Habits of Good Writers.”

■■ Students need to make the connection between telling stories orally and writing stories. As young writers, they are developing an understanding of narrative structure. Oral language activities are one way for them to explore structure and to discover their stories. After drawing, and then telling their stories to a partner, they will begin to write.

prep

■■ Use an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper, and draw a picture to represent a story from a personal experience that you will tell students about. (You do not need an elaborate drawing. A simple picture that you can talk about is sufficient.)

■■ Make a “Writers Workshop Routines” chart that defines the three parts of the workshop and the timeframes: opening (10 minutes), work period (30–40 minutes), and the closing (10 minutes).

■■ Identify a place in your classroom where you will post and celebrate each student’s writing.

What is Writers Workshop? Finding our Stories

Writers Workshop34

Lesson 1 • What Is Writers Workshop? Finding Our Stories


noTe To Teacher

Turn and talk. “Turn and talk” is a classroom ritual that you will want to teach and practice with students as you begin Writers Workshop. Assign each student a “talking partner” or let the partnerships be informal—depending on your teaching style and your students’ needs.

Be sure to set clear rules, so this ritual can be effective and efficient. You can use “turn and talk” in many situations, including your morning class meeting and during reading or math instruction.

opening

■■ Tell students that every day at this same time they are going to participate in a Writers Workshop. Explain that they will learn about writing from authors they know; explore poetry, fiction, and nonfiction books; and have many, many opportunities to write and to share their work with others.

■■ Ask students to join you in the whole-class meeting area. Be specific about appropriate student behavior while moving to this space. Students need to sit in rows or in a half-circle facing you with their legs crossed.

■■ Post the “Writers Workshop Routines” chart and explain the structure of the 60-minute workshop. Add visuals (drawings or pictures) to this chart to help students get comfortable with the workshop’s structure. You might want to color-code each section and organize your charts or other classroom artifacts for easy reference during the workshop.

Writers Workshop routines

opening: 10 minutes

- Listen

- Turn and talk

Work Period: 30–40 minutes

- Work quietly

- Talk with a partner

- Talk in small groups

closing: 10 minutes

- Listen to your classmates

- Offer suggestions or make comments about their writing

■■ Tell students that during the opening lesson, you will:

– Talk to them about their work and how it is progressing

– Discuss how other writers and published authors make their writing successful

– Share your own writing and your ideas about writing

– Expect them to listen and learn

– Ask them to turn and talk with a partner

■■ Explain that talking with a partner is an important step, because it lets them stop and think about what they are learning and put it into their own words.



opening

continued

■■ Introduce the sentence frames. Tell students that you will use sentence frames during the opening lesson to help them think about how to talk about what they are learning.

■■ Hold up the sentence frame for this lesson and say:

SaY “ In the beginning, I will ask you to use the whole sentence just to practice, but as we learn and get better at talking about our writing, you can choose to use the sentence frame in different ways!

“ I am going to show you how to use this sentence frame. It says: I have an idea for a story! It is about _______. I can use it to say: I have an idea for a story! It is a story from my childhood about playing with my cat!”

■■ Display your picture and share your story. Keep in mind that your enthusiasm and commitment to the joy of storytelling and writing can be contagious. Here is an example of the kind of story you will want to share with students:

Telling a Story from real Life (Teacher example)

When I was six years old, we had a cat named Charlie. Charlie was a big cat, but he did not have claws.

One day, our neighbor’s huge dog, Izzy, started growling and barking, and ran right up to Charlie. I was afraid that Izzy was going to bite Charlie.

But Charlie puffed his fur all up and hissed at Izzy. Izzy got scared and started running away. Charlie, our pet cat, then chased the dog all the way back to his house!

We all laughed because we had never seen a cat, that is much smaller than a dog, actually chase a dog all the way home.

■■ After telling your story, begin to draft it on a blank sheet of paper to demonstrate the connection between telling an oral story and writing the story. Make sure you write the date on the draft. You do not need to write the whole story now. Start with two or three sentences. But complete this story later, so you can use it to model more writing strategies.

■■ Invite students to share similar stories, or even different stories, of their own. Tell them that some of the best stories come from everyday life. Ask students to think about story ideas. Give them some time to think.

Writers Workshop36



opening

continued

■■ Ask students to turn and talk to a partner about their ideas. Remind and encourage them to use the sentence frame as they talk.

■■ As students share, discuss how writers borrow ideas from each other. Tell students that you are going to begin a chart about what good writers do.

■■ Create a chart titled “Habits of Good Writers,” and add a few ideas about the writing process from this lesson. This chart will continue to grow as you work through the foundations study lessons. Consider adding a visual or small picture to each idea for your students who are beginning ELLs. Your chart might look similar to this:

habits of Good Writers

• They find ideas for writing from something that happened in their lives.

• They write about something they know a lot about.

• They may borrow an idea from another writer.

• They may tell the story about the topic.

• They may draw a picture that matches their story/writing.

work period

■■ Tell students to draw pictures of their story ideas and then tell their stories to a partner. Explain that after they have told their stories, they should begin to draw or write drafts of them on a sheet of writing paper.

■■ As students are working, circulate to observe their interactions, offer suggestions, and provide encouragement. Remind students to use the sentence frame when they talk about their stories. You want to hear the bustle of students talking about their stories with each other. Listen and observe students’ interactions and help them as they begin their drafts.

closing

■■ Ask students to gather in the whole-class meeting area. Tell them to work in groups of three to share their illustrations and writings. Leave enough time for a few students to “read” their stories to the whole group.

■■ Close the session by posting each student’s drawing somewhere in the classroom under the heading “What We Can Write About.” A bulletin board will work well for this display.

noTe To Teacher

allocating time for the work period. At the beginning of the year, the work period may only be 10–15 minutes. As the year progresses, students will naturally be able to sustain their independent writing and the work period will expand gradually.


Thinking of ourselves as Writers 2lesson

MaTeriaLS




■❑ Charts:

– Writers Workshop Routines

– Thinking of Ourselves as Writers

■❑ Writing Folders

LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word reflect to its cognate in Spanish, reflejar.

students’ learning objective

■■ Reflect upon and articulate how they can become better writers


■■ Discuss and define what good writers do using the sentence frame:

– One thing a good writer does is _______.

target words

■■ reflect

■■ writer

purpose

■■ When students reflect upon their learning, it helps them develop a sense of ownership and responsibility for their own learning and growth as writers. As they develop insight into their own learning, they see how to extend their understanding of learning.

prep

■■ No special preparation is required for this lesson; just be sure to review the materials list carefully. You may need to prepare sentence strips, gather touchstone texts, or prepare charts.

opening

■■ Call students to the whole-class meeting area and use the “Writers Workshop Routines” chart to briefly review the workshop’s structure and your expectations. Remind students that the goal of Writers Workshop is for them to learn a lot and write every day. You might say something like:

SaY “ I know that we all write at different levels, and that is fine! Some of us write sentences, some of us write words, and some of us draw pictures to communicate our stories. We are going to grow a lot over the year as writers. One thing that we have in common, no matter how we are writing, is that we are writers. Today we are going to think of some things that writers do to become good writers.”

■■ Share something you have learned as a writer. Use the sentence frame and say:

SaY “ I have learned that one thing a good writer does is write every day.”

Writers Workshop38

Lesson 2 •


opening

continued

■■ Ask students to think about what they do as writers or what they did in kindergarten. Ask them to turn and talk and use the sentence frame to share what they know about what good writers do. Chart the discussion. Consider color coding the chart and adding a small visual (drawing or picture) next to each statement. This will help young readers and writers internalize the concepts even if they have not mastered their reading yet. Your chart might look similar to this:

Thinking of ourselves as Writers

• We write every day.

• We read a lot.

• We borrow ideas and words from other books.

• We study the craft of other writers.

• We reread our work.

• We share our work in class.

• We ask for help.

■■ Reread the chart, and remind students that they will use the information from this chart as they work today and every day to learn about becoming good writers during the Writers Workshop.

■■ Tell students that today you would like them to return to their seats during the work period and draw, write, or plan another story. Tell them that this story can be from their own experiences at home or at school. Remind them to think about what a good writer would do while working and be prepared to share why they did, using the sentence frame during the closing meeting.

■■ Send students off to draw or write using an established ritual.

work period

■■ Allow students to draw or write another story at their developmental level.

■■ Circulate and support students as they write. This is an excellent opportunity for informal assessment of student writing skills and knowledge about how language works.

■■ Encourage students to use the sentence frame about what good writers do as you confer with them.

noTe To Teacher

Making the most of transitions. Transition times are an excellent opportunity to assess young writers’ understanding of the opening lesson. You can establish this ritual during the opening. Some teachers send student leaders to get folders while they check the other students’ plans for the work period. Some teachers hand out folders individually and ask students to state their plans for the work period so that they go to their seats with a plan of action.


Lesson 2 • Thinking of Ourselves as Writers

closing

■■ Review the “Thinking of Ourselves as Writers” chart and ask students to think about what they did today during the work period.

■■ Ask students to share something they did today from the chart that made them think of themselves as writers. Prompt students to use the sentence frame while sharing.

■■ Remind students that these are the expectations for each of them during the Writers Workshop work period and that learning to do these things will help them grow as writers.



Generating Topics 3lesson

MaTeriaLS



■❑ Writing paper

■❑ Charts:

– What Writers Write About

– The Five Describing Senses (Optional)

■❑ Drawing or photograph of your favorite place



■■ Use strategies for generating their own writing topics


■■ Discuss and write about their favorite places using describing words

■■ Discuss their favorite place using the sentence frame:

– My favorite place is _______.

target words

■■ topic

■■ sense

purpose

■■ Create an environment where student writers can make productive use of writing time by learning to generate topics easily.

prep

■■ Draw a simple picture or find a photograph of your favorite place to share during the opening.

opening

■■ Tell students that one thing all writers must do is figure out what to write about. Remind them that stories come from all parts of their lives, including school, home, friends, vacations, and holidays.

■■ Explain that one way to find stories is to think of a favorite place. Talk about how we all have favorite places that are special to us, a place where we can go that feels like it belongs to just us, a place that is quiet, where we feel alone and that nobody else knows about.

■■ Show a picture (either a photograph or a drawing) of your favorite place to the class. Use the sentence frame to state your favorite place: “My favorite place is _______.”

■■ Describe your special place and tell why it is special to just you. In this way, you are modeling telling a story and also incorporating descriptive language.

Writers Workshop42

Lesson 3 • Generating Topics


noTe To Teacher

Sources for ideas. The “What We Can Write About” work you posted in Lesson 1 celebrates students’ ideas for stories. You will want to add to, replace, and extend both that display and the “What Writers Write About” chart throughout the study.

opening

continued

■■ Point out that you used describing words to tell about your favorite place. Explain that this makes it easier to fully explain the place.

■■ Tell students that you focus on what you feel when you are there—or the senses. Describe the five senses: taste, touch, sight, hearing, and smell. You might want to draw visuals for the senses on a chart titled “The Five Describing Senses.” Describe your favorite place again, clearly telling students about each sense description.

■■ Ask students to think of their favorite place. Give them a minute to close their eyes and find their favorite place in their mind’s eye. Ask them to state their favorite place with a partner using the sentence frame: “My favorite place is _______.”

■■ Then guide them to think about their five senses and use them to describe their favorite place. Give students enough time to think. Ask them to turn to their partner and share their description.

work period

■■ Ask students to return to their seats to draw their favorite place.

■■ Encourage them to start with the drawing and then move onto describing the place with words, sentence fragments, or sentences.

■■ Circulate and support students as they do this work.

closing

■■ Ask students to bring their writing and share their favorite places.

■■ Begin a “What Writers Write About” chart. This list will grow over the next few weeks and will support students when they are struggling to decide what to write about. Your chart might look similar to this:

What Writers Write about

• An experience from the past

• A funny story about our family

• A favorite place


Turning Small Moments into Stories 4lesson


■■ Use strategies for generating their own writing topics

students’ language objectives

■■ List related words, vocabulary, and experiences related to the concept of a moment

■■ Discuss the concept of moment using the sentence frame:

– A moment is _______.

target word

■■ moment

purpose

■■ When students begin choosing their own topics, they can pick a topic so broad that it is difficult for them to handle and shape it into a piece of writing. Often, they write “bed-to-bed” stories—they start writing about the moment they get up and record every detail that happens until they go to bed. Or they may pick a topic and go to the heart of it: “I have a cat. He is soft.” Then they declare their work done. When you ask students to focus on a moment and then to fill the moment by drawing what they experienced, felt, heard, saw, and did, you give them a focus or a frame so that their topics do not become too broad. The goal of this lesson is to guide students through a process of looking closely at moments in their lives in order to discover stories to illustrate.

■■ You will start an ongoing attribute chart to support students’ learning and observations throughout this study. The “Ways Good Writers Write” chart will help you capture the strategies good writers use to develop their pieces.

prep

■■ Prepare a story about a moment to share orally with students. Think of a story that begins with an incident and is centered on a moment. Plan the story to include answers to these questions: “Who?” “What?” “Where?”

■■ Read the touchstone text before the lesson to familiarize yourself with the story and how the author writes about moments in her life.

MaTeriaLS


■❑ Sentence strips for the sentence frame and workshop word


■❑ Charts:

– Ways Good Writers Write

– Guide for Response

■❑ Night Noises (Fox) or a similar text


noTe To Teacher

developing charts. Throughout this study, you will guide the development of charts with your lessons and with the writing standards, but it is critical that the actual language you record on the chart comes from your students.

LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word moment to its cognate in Spanish, momento.

Writers Workshop44

Lesson 4 • Turning Small Moments into Stories


opening

■■ Use your own writing (or an appropriate text) to demonstrate that when a person writes, he or she can take a moment and stretch it out by describing details and actions to make the moment last across many pages. This makes the moment seem interesting and important.

■■ Congratulate students on their progress this week. Ask for volunteers to tell what they have learned the past few days about the Writers Workshop. Tell students that today you are going to help them begin to think about stories that they can write.

■■ Guide students through a brief brainstorming session about the word moment. Start them off by defining a moment as a small portion of time, an instant, not very long, or a flash of time. Give an example using the word in a sentence: “We are going to take a moment to talk about stories.” Write students’ ideas about the idea of moment on chart paper. It is fine to give prompts, such as “moment of happiness,” “moment of love,” or “moment of hunger.”

■■ Read aloud portions of Night Noises by Mem Fox. Explain that Fox took a moment and stretched it out over several pages. For example, the grandma falls asleep and then her children and grandchildren wake her up. This activity, which in all likelihood took place in a matter of minutes, was stretched into an entire book. Fox used a lot of details to make this moment important and memorable.

■■ Use one of your own stories to illustrate how something that took only a minute or two to occur can become very important, you can stretch out everything that happened in that moment. For example, you might want to describe getting your coffee in the morning. How does it smell? How does it taste? Is there a special mug you use? Use the sentence frame as you illustrate this point.

■■ Pair students and ask them to turn and talk about one of their moments. While the partners are sharing, help students who cannot think of a moment in their lives. Encourage them to use the sentence frame as they discuss different types of moments.

■■ Regroup students and review their process. Tell them that now that they have an image of their moments in their mind’s eye and told their stories to each other, it is time to write.



noTe To Teacher

early observations. Within a few weeks, you will notice students’ planning patterns. Use your observational and conferring notes to plan lessons for small groups and to nudge students along. At this time of the year, conduct roving conferences with students, checking in with some, stopping to observe and take notes, and having brief one- to three-minute conferences on specific points.

opening

continued

■■ Discuss how the ways they told their stories are also good ways to write. Explain that these are some of the same “ways” or “strategies” that all good writers use. Tell students that they will begin to develop a chart about some of the ways writers create a piece that readers will enjoy and understand. Explain that these ways of creating, or strategies, can be seen in the writing. List the strategies students noticed on the chart. Your chart might look similar to this:


• Writers focus on a moment of time.

• Writers stretch the moment.

• Writers include details such as what they see, hear, taste, smell, and touch.

■■ Tell students that you expect them to use these strategies as they draw or write during the work period. Suggest that they take the first 10 minutes of the work period to briefly draw pictures about possible moments that they can develop. Then they will pick one to expand.

work period

■■ Ask students to return to their seats to draw and write about their moment.

■■ Invite students who may be having trouble getting started and need a conference to remain with you.

■■ Circulate and support students, as needed. Encourage them to use the sentence frame when discussing their writing.

■■ Be sure students have time to write. If necessary, postpone developing the “Guide for Response” reference chart.

closing

■■ Begin a “Guide for Response” reference chart. Explain to students that they will be responding to each other’s illustrations and stories and that they need guidelines to know what to look for.

Writers Workshop46



closing

continued

■■ Ask students to limit their ideas to general guidelines for response. This chart can also be used by response groups and with the author’s chair. Your chart might look similar to this:

Guide for response

• What did the writer do well?

• What did you learn from the writing?

• What questions do you have for the writer?

■■ Tell students that the writer may also ask listeners for help or to listen for a specific strategy in his or her writing.

■■ Invite students to the author’s chair. After students read, prompt them to talk about the experience of writing. In the first week, you want to give all students a chance to share some of their writing with the class or with a writing partner to develop an immediate sense of audience as they launch forth into a writer’s life.

■■ You will also want to quickly look at everyone’s drawing for the first few weeks to plan short individual conferences or small-group conferences in response to students’ work. Remember that effective learning occurs when students receive positive feedback and can get help.

assessment and Grading opportunity

■■ You could assign a grade after this lesson. The rank of the grade could depend on how well students are:

– Choosing and telling stories that reflect their own experiences

– Orally telling those stories and adding details

noTe To Teacher

Selecting author chair participants. Whenever you select students to share, find work that reflects an attempt to include the strategies presented in the lesson. Select a range from good writing to less-developed writing in order to celebrate successes and invite response. Select work that models the type of writing you would like students to produce.

introducing author’s chair. Author’s chair is not formally introduced until later in the workshop; however, you can certainly begin to expose students to this concept before the formal lesson.


Getting help during Writers Workshop 5

lesson

MaTeriaLS



■❑ Writing paper

■❑ Chart:

– Getting Help during the Writers Workshop


LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word independence to its cognate in Spanish, independencia.


■■ Experience and practice self-management skills to gain independence in the Writers Workshop


■■ Discuss and define independent work using the sentence frame:

– When I need help, I could _______.

target words

■■ independence

■■ self-management

■■ skills

purpose

■■ To support individual writers during the Writers Workshop while other writers are working. The Writers Workshop will continue to run smoothly and effectively, allowing learning to continue.

prep

■■ Independent work can be challenging for young students, but the classroom environment can support this goal. Make sure that before this lesson you have set up the classroom so students can find help easily. You will want to have:

– Word walls and word banks that are easy for students to reference

– Writing materials that are well-organized and easy to retrieve

opening

■■ Gather students in the whole-class meeting area and review what they have learned so far about Writers Workshop. Say something like:

SaY “ As first graders, you are learning a lot of new things. One of the most important things you can learn as a young writer is how to manage your time by yourself. I am here to help you learn and write, but sometimes I am going to be busy working with other students and you will need to learn how to work independently for short periods of time. This is called ‘self-management’ and it is a really important skill! Today we are going to think about what you can do to manage your time and learn to work independently during the work period.”

Writers Workshop48

Lesson 5 • Getting Help during Writers Workshop


opening

continued

■■ Ask the whole group:

SaY “ How have some writers in our class solved the problem of getting help when I am not available? Think about some of the things that you could do to keep working without interrupting others during the work period. Then turn and talk with a partner about your ideas.”

■■ Introduce the sentence frame and encourage students to use it to rephrase their ideas. Ask students to share their ideas and create a chart. Make sure to include a small visual with each of the ideas on the chart so that students can access the ideas no matter what their reading levels. Taking pictures of these artifacts from your classroom works very well. Students recognize the visuals easily. Your chart might look similar to this:

Getting help during the Writers Workshop

• Use materials or books in the classroom

• Look at the writing charts

• Ask a peer

• Use the word wall

• Use print from the environment

• Use literature books to see how another writer has written a word

• Use a pre-arranged signal (bright card on the desk or name on the board) to get the teacher’s attention

• Sign up for a conference

• Ask a classmate to listen to your writing and give you feedback

a b c d e f g

h i j k l m n o

p q r s t u v

w x y z


Lesson 5 • Getting Help during Writers Workshop

opening

continued

■■ You may want to take a moment to walk students around the classroom to identify where they can find the resources they need to access help.

■■ Tell students that today during the work period, you would like them to draw or write another story and try out a new way of finding help during the Writers Workshop.

work period

■■ Circulate and support students as they write. Encourage them to practice finding help.

closing

■■ Ask a few students to share their writing and discuss the process of getting help during the Writers Workshop. Encourage them to use the sentence frame: “When I need help, I could _______.”

noTe To Teacher

explicit instruction and practice. You might need to be very explicit with young writers. You can use the work period to practice each of the strategies for helping them work independently. For example, you can have students go up to the word wall and find a word that is hard to spell. Or you can have the whole group practice asking a classmate to listen to their story. Young writers often benefit from such explicit practice.






























Week 2






























2



introduction • Support for English Language LearnersWeek 2 • The Five Essential Practices for Teaching English Language Learners


essential practice

#1




■■ Students discuss with a partner what they are going to write about, before they work independently.

■■ Students use the partner talk strategy to discuss an aspect of writing.

essential practice

#2


■■ Students apply the process of putting letters and sounds together.

■■ Students use their knowledge of letter-sound correspondence to spell and write words using a sentence frame.

■■ Students use sentence frames to support their English fluency and to structure the language they use to talk about writing and writing skills. (Examples: I have an idea for a story _______. One thing a good writer does _______. My favorite place is _______. When I need help, I could _______.)

essential practice

#3


■■ Students learn the vocabulary for materials and tools used in Writers Workshop.

■■ Students generate ideas about how materials and resources will be used during Writers Workshop.

■■ Teacher and students co-construct charts to develop the language and vocabulary of writing and writers. (Examples: Sketch of a Moment, Guide for Response, Good Writing Habits, Rules for Drafting)

essential practice

#4

Build and activate background knowledge.■■ Students share what they have done as good writers and co-

construct a “Good Writing Habits” chart with the teacher.


Writers Workshop54



essential practice

#5

Teach and use meaning-making strategies.■■ Teacher models how to say a word slowly and to write down the

sounds students hear.

■■ Teacher demonstrates how to stretch the sound of words, and students practice.



Partner Talk 6lesson

MaTeriaLS




LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word dialogue to its cognate in Spanish, diálogo.


■■ Engage in brief dialogue with another student about an aspect of writing


■■ Rehearse the expectations for partner talk

■■ Reflect on the process of partner talk using the sentence frame:

– Today I shared with my partner _______.

target words

■■ partner talk

■■ dialogue

purpose

■■ Students gain so much from talking with each other. Turn and talk, partner talk, and group talk will be key learning opportunities/rituals for students to share their ideas, express their thinking, and deepen their understanding. Establishing clear expectations for this process in the beginning of the Writers Workshop will allow all students to feel comfortable talking with a partner.

prep


opening

■■ Ask students to come to the whole-class meeting area and tell them that today they will practice a way to engage in partner talk (having a conversation with someone about their work and what they are learning). Tell them this is similar to the turn and talk they have been doing for the last few days, but it is a more focused conversation.

■■ Ask for two volunteers to model how to sit with a partner. Tell them to face each other and sit close enough to be able to talk quietly. Point out that, when partners sit this way, they can see and listen to each other easily.

■■ Direct students to pair up with a classmate and sit for partner talk. Take time to assist students sitting with their partners. This will establish the expectation that students engage in partner talk to study and learn.

Writers Workshop56

Lesson 6 • Partner Talk


opening

continued

■■ Discuss with students possible signals to indicate that partner talk is over, and decide what signal you will use. (Some teachers use a timer, a clapping pattern, or simply announce that it is time to work as a class.)

■■ Tell students that when partner talk is over, it is time to work as a whole class and they should turn and face the front. Practice the “end signal” and the transition so that the expectations are very clear.

■■ Rehearse partner talk. Give students specific directions for sharing such as:

SaY “ Talk to your partner about your favorite book to read and why that is your favorite book.”

or

“ Talk to your partner about your favorite game at recess. Try to describe the game to your partner.”

■■ After partner talk, ask for volunteers to share with the class. Help students think about their responsibilities as listeners and contributors by asking partners to comment on the process. To prompt this discussion, you might ask questions such as:

– How did you know your partner was listening?

– What did you do to move the conversation along?

– Did you have any thoughts, ideas, or experiences that were similar?

■■ Close the lesson by reviewing the steps for partner talk and commenting on the success you observed. Consider writing these steps on a chart so you can refer to them in the future. Remind students that partner talk can be a good way to generate topics or to share a great piece of writing with a friend.

work period

■■ Ask students to take out their Writing Folders and go back to a piece of writing in progress to continue writing or start a new piece. Circulate and support students as they make this decision.

closing

■■ Invite a few students to share their writing, and let them solicit questions and comments from their peers.

■■ Ask students to talk about the partner talk process using the sentence frame: “Today, I shared with my partner _______.”


Working with Words 7lesson

MaTeriaLS




■❑ Chart:

– Sketch of a Moment

■❑ Your own story


LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word letter to its cognate in Spanish, letra.


■■ Listen for and separate the different sounds they hear in words and write down the letters that go with the sounds


■■ Use auditory and oral language skills to identify alphabetic sounds and connect them to the alphabetic principal

■■ Reflect on the process using the sentence frame:

– I thought this process was _______ because _______.

target words

■■ stretch

■■ sound

■■ letter

purpose

■■ Younger writers tend to get frustrated that they cannot write words that they would like to use. In this lesson, you will teach students how to say a word slowly and to write down the sounds they hear. You will model this strategy for them as you write your own story.

prep

■■ Select a moment from your life to share with your students. The one you choose should have several words that will lend themselves to being stretched out so students can practice writing sounds that they hear. The lesson includes a story you can use.

opening

■■ Review and connect the lessons learned last week to today’s lesson. Solicit information from students about what they have learned or provide a recap yourself by saying something like:

SaY “ Writers, we started our workshop last week learning abut the structure of the workshop, learning to think of ourselves as writers, and learning to turn small moments into stories. Today’s lesson will focus on a specific strategy that will help you add sounds and words to your stories.”

■■ Explain that writers sometimes do not know how to write all of the words they want to use. When this happens, they use a strategy of saying the word slowly and writing down all of the sounds so that people can read their writing. Tell students that you will show them how to do this so they can write down words and others can read their stories.

Writers Workshop58

Lesson 7 • Working with Words


opening

continued

■■ On a piece of chart paper, sketch a moment that you would like to share. One teacher’s example is provided here. For the sketch, you could draw a “stick figure” dog or a line drawing of a person in bed.

■■ Relate a moment to students. You might say something like:

SaY “ This morning, I heard a dog bark. The bark woke me up.

■■ Demonstrate the strategy of stretching out words so one can write them down. Slowly say the word you want to write, exaggerating the sounds. Demonstrate listening and then writing the letter for the sound. Using our example, you would say:

SaY “ I want to write the word ‘bark.’ I am going to say the word slowly and listen for the sound at the beginning of the word. Bark. B-bark. /b/. Now, I am going to say it slowly again and write a letter that makes the sound I hear. B-ar-k. I think I hear a /b/ at the beginning.”

■■ Write the letter “b” on your chart paper under your drawing. Point to the “b” and reread it. Say the rest of the word, listening to the other sounds. Repeat the process.

■■ After you have written the letters that match the sound in “bark,” you can tell students:

SaY “ Now I wrote the word ‘bark.’ Let’s reread it together slowly.”

■■ Ask students to help you write another word from your story slowly, and repeat the process.

work period

■■ Pair students to sound out words slowly and write them down. Assign two words from your story. It is fine to re-use words.

■■ Circulate as students work, and note how well they are able to sound out words by stretching them out.

■■ If time allows, ask students to take out one of the stories they wrote last week, and retell their story to a partner. Ask them to choose a word of a simple sentence (depending on their writing level) to sound out and add to their story.

noTe To Teacher

Sound-letter recognition. You will need to decide, based on your student’s abilities, whether to include sounds that you do not think your children will hear. For example, in the word “bark,” you may decide to write only “brk.” In making this decision, you should also consider your school’s philosophy with respect to sound-letter recognition.


Lesson 7 • Working with Words

closing

■■ Ask one or two pairs to say their word, explain to the class how they stretched it out, and tell what letters they used to write for the word.

■■ Ask students to think about the process of sounding out words. Tell them that you know that they have experience doing this but that it can still be challenging.

■■ Introduce the sentence frame: “I thought this process was _______ because _______.” Ask students to reflect on what they did. You will probably have to model this for them. You might point to the sentence frame and say something like:

SaY “ I thought this process was hard/challenging because I have a hard time hearing all the sounds.”

■■ Ask students to think about their personal reflection for a few moments. Then ask them to turn and talk with a partner using the sentence frame.

noTe To Teacher

extension. Students will need more practice with this skill. Encourage them to use this strategy in their writing every day. You can keep the students in pairs for longer periods and give them more words to practice stretching out. Students should also practice writing a sound, rereading what they have written, and saying the remainder of the word, listening for the next sound.



accessing Materials for Writing 8lesson

MaTeriaLS



■❑ Chart:

– Guide for Response


■❑ Writing Center supplies, including paper, pencils, markers, tape, scissors, and crayons

noTe To Teacher

about the Writing center. You can find a description of the Writing Center and a list of supplies in the introduction to this study.

LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word materials to its cognate in Spanish, materiales.


■■ Know where materials are kept, how to access those materials, and how to use those materials during the Writers Workshop


■■ Identify, label, and describe the function of the materials for the Writers Workshop

■■ Discuss the materials using the sentence frame:

– Some of the materials we use in the Writers Workshop are _______.

target words

■■ materials

■■ supplies

purpose

■■ Establishing the Writing Center will help support students during the Writers Workshop while you are conferring with other writers. This allows the class to run smoothly and effectively, so learning continues.

prep

■■ No special preparation is required for this lesson; just be sure to review the materials list carefully and stock the Writing Center.

opening

■■ Gather the various materials you have put in the Writing Center for the class to use. Discuss with students that at the end of each day’s lesson, you will ask them to go to the Writing Center to get their Writing Folders and any supplies they need to begin their work. Explain that once they begin writing, there may be times when they need additional materials. For example, they may need:

– Staplers for stapling multiple pages together

– Paper for new drafts or to expand current drafts

– Supplies for special projects

■■ Hold up some of the materials and ask students to name them and discuss how they might be used in the Writers Workshop. Use the sentence frame: “Some of the materials we use in the Writers Workshop are _______.”

Writers Workshop62

Lesson 8 • Accessing Materials for Writing


opening

continued

■■ Ask students to turn and talk about a few of the items to generate ideas about how they will be used. Encourage them to use the sentence frame while they generate ideas.

■■ Take students to the Writing Center and show them where all the materials go. If your class needs explicit behavioral instructions, you might want to chart expectations for how to retrieve and replace materials. Explain that students should retrieve materials quickly and quietly. Tell them that they should use the materials as quickly as possible, either at the Writing Center or at their desks, then promptly return them to the appropriate place. Remind students that all writers share the materials.

■■ Tell students that today during the work period, they can continue to work on a draft they started already or they can choose a new topic.

work period

■■ Circulate and support students as they continue to draw and write. You might need to help students as they decide what to write about. Remind them of all the ways they have learned to generate topics so far.

■■ Pay attention to students who use the Writing Center during the work period.

closing

■■ Let a few students share their writing and invite questions and comments from their peers using the “Guide for Response” chart.

■■ Ask whether any of students used the Writing Center. What did they think of the process?

■■ Praise students that you saw following the Writing Center rules, and remind students of the purpose and function of the materials in the center.


developing Good Writing habits 9lesson

MaTeriaLS

■❑ Chart paper and marker


■❑ Chart:

– Good Writing Habits


LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word habit to its cognate in Spanish, hábito.


■■ Develop a standard for writing behaviors


■■ Discuss and define good writing behaviors habits using the sentence frame:

– A good writing habit is _______.

target words

■■ habit

■■ behavior

purpose

■■ To create an environment in which writing is productive

prep


opening

■■ Tell students that good writers develop and sustain writing behaviors that help them improve their writing. Tell students that a “behavior” is something that when done repeatedly develops a “habit.”

■■ Ask students to think about the last few days of Writers Workshop and the other writing they have done in the past. You might say something like:

SaY “ I’m sure that you have done a lot of writing already in your life. Maybe you wrote with your parents or maybe you wrote a lot in kindergarten. You already know a lot of habits that good writers have. I want you to think about something that you have done in the past that a good writer does. I will give you a few moments to think about it.”

■■ Give students a few moments to think about a habit. If they are struggling, you might have to share a few of your ideas. Ask them to turn and talk with a partner and share the habit that they have thought about using the sentence frame: “A good writing habit is _______.”

Writers Workshop64

Lesson 9 • Developing Good Writing Habits


opening

continued

■■ Ask students to share out their ideas with the group using the sentence frame and develop a chart of good writing habits. It is a good idea to use a different color for each habit and provide a small picture or symbol for each habit. This way students who are still learning to read can connect the content of the writing with the concept by identifying a symbol or a color. Your chart might look similar to this:

Good Writing habits

• Stay focused on our own work.

• Talk with others in a quiet voice.

• Find a place, settle in, and focus on our writing.

• Take care of our materials: sharpen pencils, get paper, ask for help.

• Keep all pages of a writing piece together

• Do not erase.

• Skip lines when writing for future revision and editing.

• Use only one side of the paper when writing.

work period

■■ Ask students to take out their writing and begin to write a new story or add to an old story. Tell them that you are going to be looking for students who are practicing good writing habits.

■■ As you circulate, notice students who are practicing a good writing habit and tell the class what they are doing. In this way, students will explicitly understand what you want them to do and how you want them to behave during the Writers Workshop. Young writers benefit from such explicit instruction.


Lesson 9 • Developing Good Writing Habits

closing

■■ Ask a few students to share their writing with the class.

■■ Tell students that tomorrow they are going to learn the expectations (or rules) for drafting a piece of writing.


■■ You could assign a grade after this lesson. The rank of the grade could depend on how well students are developing good writing habits.

– Are they exhibiting some or most of the habits?

– Are they able to:

■■ Stay focused on their work?

■■ Talk with others in a quiet voice?

■■ Find a place, settle in, and focus on their writing?

■■ Take care of their materials: sharpen pencils, get paper, ask for help?

■■ Keep all pages of a writing piece together?



rules for drafting a Writing Piece 10lesson

MaTeriaLS



■❑ Drafting paper

■❑ Chart:

– Rules for Drafting



■■ Understand drafting as part of the process of writing


■■ Restate the expectations for drafting using the sentence frame:

– For my draft, I need to _______.

target words

■■ draft

■■ expectation

purpose

■■ The opening of the Writers Workshop is an essential time for you and your students. It is a time to establish the community of writers that will grow together as a class throughout the year. It is also a time to discuss and model the procedures students will use throughout their studies of a variety of genres. This lesson will establish the expectations for drafting that students will follow throughout the year.

prep

■■ Discuss with your grade-level colleagues the expectations that you will set for students about drafting. Because first grade is a time of transitions in writing and reading, it is important that there is flexibility in how drafts are created and crafted throughout the year. But there are still expectations that can be established in the beginning of the year, whether students are fluent writers yet. You may decide that drafting paper will be a special color or lay out. Make sure that you have enough of this paper for this lesson.

opening

■■ Call students to the whole-class meeting area, and tell them that today they will learn what is expected of them when they write their first drafts. Tell students that a draft is the first try of a writing piece. Remind students that writers work on a piece of writing for more than one day and often need space and procedures to be able to add or delete parts of their writing.

Writers Workshop68

Lesson 10 • Rules for Drafting a Writing Piece


opening

continued

■■ Ask students to think about the drafts they have written before. Ask them if there was anything that they did when they laid out their drafts in kindergarten. They might share that they always used a new sheet of paper, always put as many ideas down on the paper as they could, or always added words or letters to their writing. Encourage students to think for a moment before they share and ask them to turn and talk with a partner about what they remember about drafting.

■■ Tell students that you will show them how to create a draft. Ask them to pay close attention to what you do while you write because they will help you make up a list of rules for drafting when you are done.

■■ On a piece of chart paper, write a simple, short narrative about something that students can relate to. While you are writing, make sure you model how you:

– Skip lines

– Keep writing even if you are not sure how to spell a word

– Leave the back of the paper blank

– Follow the grammar rules that you already know

– Use the word wall to spell common words

– Add a picture to your drawing

■■ After you finish writing your draft, ask students to think about what they saw you do while you wrote. Introduce the sentence frame: “For my draft, I need to _______.”

■■ Ask students to turn and talk and tell a partner about something they saw you do while you drafted your short narrative. Ask students to share with the whole group in order to create an attribute chart that they can refer to later. Your chart might look similar to this:



opening

continued

rules for drafting

• Start with a new sheet of paper.

• Write as much as possible about the story.

• Skip lines.

• Leave the back of the paper blank.

• Get another sheet of paper if the story is longer than one page.

• Keep writing even if you are not sure how to spell a word.

• Leave the back of the paper blank.

• Follow the grammar rules that you already know.

• Use the word wall to spell common words.

• Add a picture to your drawing.

• Reread and add letters, words, or sentences that are missing.

■■ Tell students that today they are going to practice using the new drafting rules by writing a new story. Ask them to think about something that they would like to write about. You may need to help them think of a few ideas for writing before sending them to the work period.

work period

■■ Circulate and support students as they begin their drafts. You may need to help students who are struggling to think about a story to write. You also may want to recognize students who are following the drafting rules while you circulate. You can stop the class briefly and say things like:

SaY “I notice that Kevin skipped lines in his draft.”

or

“ I see that Maria is writing and writing all her ideas down on her draft.”

closing

■■ Ask a few students to share their writing with the group. Debrief what the students did that followed the new class drafting rules.

■■ As writers share, invite students to ask a question or share a comment.

Writers Workshop70
































■■ You could assign a grade after this lesson. The rank of the grade could depend on how well students are incorporating these rules into their writing habits:

– Start with a new sheet of paper.

– Write as much as possible about the story.

– Skip lines.

– Leave the back of the paper blank.

– Get another sheet of paper if the story is longer than one page.

– Keep writing even if you are not sure how to spell a word.

– Leave the back of the paper blank.

– Follow the grammar rules that you already know.

– Use the word wall to spell common words.

– Add a picture to your drawing.

– Reread and add letters, words or sentences that are missing.

Writers Workshop

Week 3






























3







essential practice

#1




■■ Students talk with classmates about what they are going to write about before they work independently.

■■ Students share how they use the word wall when they are writing.

essential practice

#2


■■ Students demonstrate their understanding of the rituals of author’s chair.

■■ Students use the word wall to support their spelling.

■■ Students apply the strategy of developing a narrative by organizing a series of events or moments.

■■ Students and teacher discuss texts that develop a story through a series of events.

■■ Students apply the strategy of incorporating details about people into their stories.

essential practice

#3


■■ Teacher and students co-construct charts to build the language and vocabulary of writing and writers. (Examples: Author’s Chair, How to Use the Word Wall during Writers Workshop, Habits of Good Writers, How Stories Are Organized, Ways Good Writers Write)

■■ Students read and discuss the literary language used in the book Shortcut by Donald Crew.

essential practice

#4

Build and activate background knowledge.■■ Students apply rules for creating a draft learned in previous

lessons.

■■ Teacher uses an experience familiar to all students to demonstrate how to put an idea on paper.

■■ Teacher builds on former lessons, charts and discussions, emphasizing connections to prior knowledge.

Writers Workshop74



essential practice

#5

Teach and use meaning-making strategies.■■ Teacher uses his or her own writing to model how to use the word

wall.

■■ Teacher models how to add details to an illustration as way of showing how to put the whole story into a picture.

■■ Students practice strategies found in the story Shortcut, to use sound words in their own writing.

■■ Teacher demonstrates how to add details for people included in a piece of writing by using the sentence frame, “The details I added were _______.”



establishing expectations for the author’s chair 11

lesson

MaTeriaLS


■❑ Sentence strips for the workshop words

■❑ Chart:

– The Author’s Chair

■❑ Special chair: rocking chair, stool, bench, or director’s chair


noTe To Teacher

Monograph. For more information on author’s chair, see the America’s Choice Author’s Chair: Bringing Closure to the Writers Workshop monograph posted on the Community of Learning.

LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word comment to its cognate in Spanish, comentario.


■■ Practice skills for listening and responding during the author’s chair


■■ Generate comments and questions to use during the closing author’s chair

target words

■■ author’s chair

■■ comment

■■ question

purpose

■■ This lesson introduces the author’s chair. Student writers will become comfortable sharing their writing and eliciting responses to their work on a routine basis. The author’s chair can be a place where students share specific passages from their work, or the whole work, or ask for specific help.

prep

■■ Set up a special chair, place, or symbol for the author’s chair. Some teachers have a special rocking chair, a sign, or a pillow on his or her chair that indicates to students that it is the author’s chair.

■■ Decide how you want students to sign up for the author’s chair. You may decide to:

– Invite certain students each day to share (this can become burdensome as the year goes by)

– Create a sign-up procedure and a list with two slots per closing

– Have an informal sign up/sharing process as long as all students get a change to share

■■ Create a system of tracking who has shared—all students should have a chance to share many times throughout the Writers Workshop.

opening

■■ Tell students that today the Writers Workshop will have a very short opening and that most of the lesson will take place during the closing. Ask students to think about the drafts they created yesterday. Tell them that today you want them to either keep working on those drafts or to begin new ones.

Writers Workshop76

Lesson 11 • Establishing Expectations for the Author’s Chair


opening

continued

■■ Before you let students return to their seats for the work period, you may need to help them quickly generate some new ideas for writing.

work period

■■ Circulate and support students as they write.

■■ Remind them of the drafting rules established in the previous lesson.

closing

■■ Call students to the whole-class meeting area and introduce the author’s chair (physical place) that you have provided for your class. Tell students that this is a special chair that all students will get to sit in and share their writing. You might say something like:

SaY “ I chose such a special chair because the work that will be shared from this seat is yours, and it is important for all of us to hear it.”

■■ Explain how students will get a chance to share in the author’s chair. If you established a sign-up system, describe how to use it. Tell students that you know some of them will want to share all the time and some of them will feel shy and not want to share as often. Explain that every student needs to have a turn to share. Reassure them that you will be there to help anyone who feels shy or is afraid to share their work.

■■ Show students how the “sharing” writer will sit in the chair, introduce his or her writing, show it to the class, and then read or talk about it. Tell students it is important that the author reads loudly and clearly so that everyone can hear. Remind students that as listeners, they have to keep their eyes on the speaker, and listen carefully to the writing.

■■ Tell students that after the author shares his or her writing, the class will have a chance to respond. Usually the author chooses who can make comments from the classmates who have raised their hands. Tell students that each of them can make a comment or ask a question. Explain that they will get much better at making comments and asking questions as the year goes by. Tell the class that today they will come up with a few simple responses that they can use during the author’s chair.


Lesson 11 • Establishing Expectations for the Author’s Chair

closing

continued

■■ Use students’ input to co-create a chart about author’s chair expectations. Make sure that you use color-coding (or visuals) for this chart to help students use the information. Your chart may look similar to this:

The author’s chair

While the author shares the writing

The author:

• Speaks loudly and clearly

• Shows his or her writing to the class

• Sits in the author’s chair

The class:

• Keeps their eyes on the author

• Listens carefully to the story

• Pays close attention to the author

• Claps at the end of the story

When the class responds to the writing

The author:

• Asks “Does anyone have any feedback for me?”

• Chooses who can speak from classmates who have raised their hands

• Says thank you after receiving feedback

The class:

• Raises their hands if they have a question of comment

• Shares a constructive comment like:

– I liked the part when _______.

– I thought that _______.

• Asks questions of the writer like:

– Why did you write this story?

– What happened when _______?

– How did you feel when _______?

■■ Now that you have established the expectations for author’s chair, practice with a few students who are willing to share. Help the author and the class explore the author’s chair following the expectations that you established in the lesson. If possible, add visuals or icons to the chart to help students remember what the text says, such as a raised arm and hand, an ear, eyes, or hands clapping.



Using a Word Wall 12lesson

MaTeriaLS



■❑ Chart:

– How to Use the Word Wall during Writers Workshop



■■ Use a word wall to access the spelling of words to support their writing


■■ Discuss how to use the word wall using the sentence frame:

– I found this word by _______.

target words

■■ word wall

■■ spelling

purpose

■■ The word wall provides spelling assistance to young writers by displaying initial sounds, and patterns that students can reference to discover a word’s spelling. The word wall provides support for writers and they begin learning about letters, words and word families.

prep

■■ Make sure that you have established the word wall before this lesson. Most first-grade teachers will use the word wall extensively during the Skills Block, phonics instruction, and the Readers and Writers Workshops. You will want to organize your word wall alphabetically, especially for sight words that you introduce. You should also create a space on your word wall where you highlight word families, schematic word webs, and word banks can be accessed.

opening

■■ Call students to the whole-class meeting area and tell them that today they are going to explore a very important tool in the classroom. You might say something like:

SaY “ We are all growing tremendously as writers and will continue to grow over the year. One of the things young writers worry about is spelling. Often they think: I can’t keep writing because I don’t know how to spell this word. Or they think: Oh well, I will just spell everything the best I can. Let me show you what I mean.”

Writers Workshop80

Lesson 12 • Using a Word Wall


opening

continued

■■ On chart paper, show students how you begin to write a simple sentence and get stuck on every word. You might say your sentence aloud, for example, “I went to the park.” Show students how with every word you hesitate, look for help, get distracted, and forget what you wanted to write. You might say something like:

SaY “ This is not good for a writer! When I write, I need to focus on creating my story and not get distracted by how to spell every word.”

■■ Now show students the other extreme about spelling: not spelling anything correctly. Model on the chart paper what the same sentence, “I went to the park,” would look like. Show them how you write really quickly and don’t stop to make sure that you are using the rules you know. Then say to students:

SaY “ See, I wrote my sentence so quickly and didn’t think about what I knew about spelling and now when I go back to read the sentence, I don’t even know what it says! This is also not good for a writer!”

■■ Tell students:

SaY “ We need to have a balance as we learn new and more words and rules for spelling. We need to spell the words that we know or the words we can find written in the room correctly. And then we need to spell harder words that we don’t know and are not written anywhere in our classroom using the rules we know, even if we spell the words wrong.

“ The word wall will be a huge help for us as we learn new words and start to use them in our writing. The word wall is like an extra place to store what we know. Instead of having to memorize how to spell certain words, I can look them up quickly on the word wall. As long as I know what letter the word starts with, I can quickly look at the wall, spell the word correctly, and move on with my writing.”

■■ Explore the word wall with students. Show them where it is located and how it is organized alphabetically. Because it is the beginning of the year, there are probably not too many words on the word wall, but show students how it will grow. Connect the word wall to the work you have done in the Skills Block and in Readers Workshop.



opening

continued

■■ Consider playing a quick game where you challenge students to find a word on the word wall. You can say:

SaY “ All right, who can find the word ‘the’? If you see it and can find it, put your hand on your shoulder until everyone has a chance to find it.”

■■ Ask a student to go and point to the word. Play this game a few times until students are used to using the word wall to find a word.

■■ Debrief the process with students. Ask them to think about how they found the words during the game. Introduce the sentence frame and ask them to rephrase their thinking using the sentence frame: “I found this word by _______.”

■■ Ask students to think about what they did and then ask them to turn and tell a partner. Remind them to use the sentence frame. Then share out as a class and create a chart that establishes the expectations for the word wall. You may want to add a small visual next to each step for your students who are emergent readers. Your chart might look similar to this:

how to Use the Word Wall during Writers Workshop

1. Identify the word you want to spell.

2. Say it aloud, softly, to yourself.

3. Identify the letter it starts with.

4. Find that letter on the word wall.

5. Scan down the words listed under this letter.

6. Is your word there?

– YES! Copy it

– NO! Try to sound out and spell the word as best you can.

7. Move on and keep writing!

me

me

me

a b c d e f g

h i j k l m n o

p q r s t u v

w x y z

Writers Workshop82



opening

continued

■■ Go back and show students how you go through this process of using the word wall with the same sentence you used in your earlier example: “I went to the park.” Rewrite the sentence using the rules you have established for the word wall.

■■ Get students ready to write by telling them that today they are going to start a new story or revisit an older story. Ask them to think about what they want to write today. You may need to help them come up with some ideas. Ask them to hold onto their idea and dismiss them to the work period.

work period

■■ Circulate and support students as they write their drafts. Remind them to use the word wall as they write. If you see any students practicing with the word wall, comment on it to the class. You might say something like: “Great Jashon! I saw you use the word wall to find the word ‘the.’”

closing

■■ Invite a few students to share their writing. Follow the established procedure for signing up the author’s chair and sharing. After students have shared and the class has responded, ask the author to say whether he or she used the word wall and how that process worked.


■■ You could assign a grade after this lesson. The rank of the grade could depend on how well students are using these spelling strategies during the Writers Workshop:

– Identify the word you want to spell.

– Say it out loud, softly, to yourself.

– Identify the letter it starts with.

– Find that letter on the word wall.

– Scan down the words listed under this letter.

– Is your word there?

• YES! Copy it

• NO! Try to sound out and spell the word as best you can

– Move on and keep writing!


Planning our drawing and Writing 13lesson

MaTeriaLS



■❑ Transparency

– An illustration from a text Little Nino’s Pizzeria (Barbour) or similar text (see prep)


LanGUaGe connecTion

cognates. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word to its cognate in Spanish.

plan plan

organize organizar


■■ Plan a story, visualize it, and record the story on paper


■■ Articulate their writing plan using the sentence frame:

– My plan is to write about _______.

target words

■■ plan

■■ organize

purpose

■■ Younger students often begin a Writers Workshop piece by drawing first and then creating a story around the picture. While it is fine for students to let their imagination and their art determine a story, tell them that they need to be able to plan what they want to write first, so they can communicate important meanings. Today, you will ask students to close their eyes and think of something that happened to them or that they saw that they want to put onto their papers. Then, after they have an idea in mind, they will make drawings to go with the story.

prep

■■ Decide on a brief story or experience that the whole class has shared.

■■ Make a transparency of a book page that has an illustration, such as Little Nino’s Pizzeria (Barbour), page 3 (“I help knead the pizza dough.”).

opening

■■ Tell students that today they will learn a way to write by starting with an idea first and then putting that idea on paper. Explain that you will demonstrate this technique to them by telling a story that the whole class experienced.

■■ Close your eyes and behave as if you are thinking of an event. (It is fine to be a bit dramatic as you think of, and eventually settle on, an idea.)

Writers Workshop84

Lesson 13 • Planning Our Drawing and Writing


opening

continued

■■ Tell students that you have an idea now and that you are going to write about it. For example, it could be about a field trip, a visitor to the school, or a class pet. One teacher talked about the time the class found a “roly poly” bug on a field trip: “Last week we went on a field trip to the Botanical Gardens. We found a roly poly bug by the fountain. Everyone wanted to hold the bug but he rolled up into a ball.”

■■ Tell the class that now you want to get the whole story in your illustration. If you were telling the “roly poly” story, you might start with the bug. Then you could add a fountain. You would want to add students around the bug. Talk to students as you decide to add elements to your illustration. Let them know that you are putting the whole story into your picture.

■■ Ask students to help you with details for your illustration. So that this portion of the lesson does not extend longer than it should, select two or three items to add to the illustration, noting that as a class, you can return to the illustration to add to it later.

■■ Tell students that today, they will close their eyes and get a mental picture of a story. Explain that this is one way to develop a plan. Tell them that when they have a plan, they will return to their seats to draw their ideas and put the details of the story in the illustration before they write. Emphasize that all authors have a plan before they start to write a story.

■■ Ask students to think about what story they would like to write today. Remind them that writers find stories from their own lives or sometimes from their imaginations. You might say something like:

SaY “ Now, close your eyes and picture, or visualize, all the details of your story. When you can ‘see’ your story, put your hand on your shoulder so I know you are ready.”

■■ Use this signal or something similar to help maintain the quiet as all students think. Then continue:

SaY “ Hold that idea in your mind and open your eyes.”

■■ Introduce the sentence frame: “My plan is to write about _______.” Ask students to turn and talk with a partner about their writing plans.

■■ Ask students to return to their seats and begin writing their stories.



work period

■■ Circulate as students begin to work, observing and offering help as needed. Some students may need help picturing an event to draw. Others may need help with adding details.

■■ After students have had time to draw their pictures, display a transparency of an illustration from a book, such as Little Nino’s Pizzeria (Barbour), page 3 (“I help knead the pizza dough.”).

■■ Ask student to study the picture and see whether they can figure out all the different things that are happening in it. Ask for volunteers to talk about what they see what they think is happening in this picture.

■■ If you use Little Nino’s Pizzeria, you might say something like:

SaY “ The author of this book is Karen Barbour. She wrote the story that goes with the pictures she drew. She planned what she wanted to write, just like you are doing. She put her story into pictures, and then into words—just like you are doing.”

■■ Tell students that they are going to study each other’s pictures just like they studied the picture by Karen Barbour, and say:

SaY “ Show the picture you drew to the person next to you. Take time to look at each other’s pictures. Tell the story of your pictures just like we told the story of Karen Barbour’s picture.”

closing

■■ Ask for one or two volunteers to tell about the story they drew. Make sure they explain all the details in the illustration.

■■ Tell students that soon they will begin to write words along with drawing to tell their stories.

Writers Workshop86




■■ You could assign a grade after this lesson. The rank of the grade could depend on how well students are:

– Articulating what they will write about

– Writing about their everyday experiences

– Putting that idea on paper

– Including details in both their oral story and drawing or written story

– Including an illustration that matches their story


Learning how Stories are organized 14lesson

MaTeriaLS


■❑ Sentence strips for the sentence frame and workshop word

■❑ Charts:


– How Stories Are Organized


■❑ Shortcut (Crews)


noTe To Teacher

Book selection. This lesson is developed around Shortcut by Donald Crews. Use it as a model if you want to select an alternative text.

LanGUaGe connecTion


plan plan

organize organizar


■■ Develop a narrative by organizing events as a series


■■ Articulate their plan for organizing their stories using the sentence frame:

– I will organize my story using _______.

target words

■■ organize

■■ plan

purpose

■■ Beginning as early as kindergarten and first grade, students understand the concept of a beginning, middle, and end in writing. This lesson focuses on organizing strategies. Students study how an author developed a story. The class adds to the “Habits of Good Writers” attribute chart.

prep

■■ Read aloud and discuss the book Shortcut by Donald Crews (or a similar text that develops the story through a series of events) before the lesson.

■■ Find one or two favorite, familiar texts structured with a series of events that you could use later as reinforcement.

opening

■■ Before starting this discussion of organization, review the previous lessons by adding to the “Habits of Good Writers” chart.

■■ Discuss how good writers have behaviors or habits that help them think about writing, help them write, and help them lead a “writerly” life. Remind students of the habits they noticed and practiced in the previous lessons and record them on the attribute chart. Remember to use the students’ language. By now, your “Habits of Good Writers” chart may have many of these entries:

Writers Workshop88

Lesson 14 • Learning How Stories Are Organized

Foundations Study: Grade 1narrative: Telling our Stories88

opening

continued

habits of Good Writers

• They find ideas for writing from something that happened in their lives.

• They write about something they know a lot about.

• They may borrow an idea from another writer.

• They may tell the story about their topic.

• They may draw a picture that matches their story/writing.

• They ask questions about what they have written to further their stories/writing.

• They plan and draft their stories.

• They write every day.

• They know writing is important.

■■ After you have spent some time discussing and reviewing the chart, hold up Shortcut. Tell students that the author, Donald Crews, is an example of a writer who taps his personal experiences for his writing, just like they do. Explain that this story actually happened when Donald Crews was with his grandparents one summer.

■■ Tell students something like:

SaY “ We can learn how writers behave, and we can learn the writing strategies they use to make their pieces more interesting for readers. One strategy writers need to think about is how to organize their stories. You have already learned the basics to organizing a story—it has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Let’s look at the way Donald Crews organized his story to see whether it has these three elements.”

■■ Review the book and discuss how Crews puts together several little moments that tell a big story. The book starts with three sentences that all start with the word, “We.” The illustration lets us know we are on a railroad track. The words do not tell us that.

■■ Tell students you are going to revisit the book and make a chart to record what we notice about the book. You will need to take the lead on guiding students to notice the obvious elements. Your chart might look similar to this:



how Stories are organized Shortcut by Donald Crews

What the author does examples from the Text

• Starts off by telling us what they are going to do.

We decided to take the shortcut home.

• Repeats phrases. We should have taken the road.

KLaKiTY-KLaKiTY KLaK KLaK

WHOO - WHOO

• Tells us that this might not have been a good idea to take a shortcut.

We all hear the train whistle.

• Makes us feel scared. Pictures are dark

“The Train! The Train!”

“GeT oFF! GeT oFF!”

“GeT oFF The TracKS!” • Sometimes there are no

words on the page but we know what is happening.

■■ Focus this lesson on how Crews’ story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Ask students to think of other books that tell their stories this way. Discuss how stories are held together by going from start to finish.

■■ Add to the “Ways Good Writers Write” chart:





• Writers use a beginning, a middle, and an end to stories.

• Writers plan and organize their writing.

• Writers might organize with a series of events or with people or with places.

Writers Workshop90



work period

■■ Tell students that now it is time for them to try this strategy. They can try to visualize an event and start to draw what they see. A favorite is to draw about birthdays or “firsts.” Students may discover that this structure, drawing a series, sparks their memories and feelings, leading them to be able to add more detail.

■■ Ask students to get ready to share their writing plans. Introduce the sentence frame: “I will organize my story using _______.” Ask them to use it to reframe their thinking. Then ask them to share their stories with a partner.

■■ Ask students to quickly sketch or write their story plans down before finishing the work period.

■■ Circulate and support students as they write their plans.

closing

■■ Direct students to share with partners and explain their plans for developing a story.

■■ Ask one or two volunteers to share with the class. Discuss how students thought about stories and created a beginning, a middle, and an end.


■■ You could assign a grade after this lesson. The rank of the grade could depend on how well students are developing their own “habits of good writers.” Use the chart you have been creating and adding to as your guide. Students should be incorporating most of the habits into their daily writing habits. Understanding and using these habits will help them become independent writers sooner.

noTe To Teacher

extension. You may decide to spend another day or two exploring how authors structure texts with a sequenced series so students acquire a deeper understanding of this basic structure. Ask students to work in small groups to look through a book to determine the beginning, middle, and end. Alternately, they may discover what series of events holds the story together. Then hold a whole-class discussion about the strategies and create a reference chart listing ways that authors use a series of objects, places, people, etc., to tell a story with this information.


Using details: People 15lesson

MaTeriaLS


■❑ Sentence strips for sentence frame and workshop words

■❑ Chart:


■❑ Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge (Fox) or a similar text


noTe To Teacher

Book selection. This lesson is developed around Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox. Use it as a model if you want to select an alternative text. Choose a book that uses details about the main character either through illustration or text.

LanGUaGe connecTion


detail detalle

person persona


■■ Use the strategy of incorporating details into their stories and drawings


■■ Identify the details of their story revision using the sentence frame:

– The details I added were _______.

target words

■■ focus

■■ detail

■■ person

purpose

■■ Today begins the first of a three-part cluster lesson in which students will focus on a specific strategy with respect to adding and using details in their work. In this lesson, students will focus on adding details of people (or animals, if they are the main characters in their story). In upcoming lessons, they will focus on details of place and object.

prep

■■ Before this lesson, read and discuss Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge by Mem Fox.

opening

■■ Review Wilfrid Gordon McDonald Partridge. Ask students to make observations about what Mem Fox does as a writer to give us details about the characters. Guide them to notice how she includes details about each of the residents. (Miss Mitchell uses a wooden stick, Mr. Drysdale had a voice like a giant, etc.)

■■ Ask students to also notice the illustrations and consider what details Fox included in the drawings of the people to help us understand what these people are like. Ask students if the book would be as entertaining without the details about the people in both words and illustration?

■■ Ask students if they can think of other books they have read that add details of people.

Writers Workshop92

Lesson 15 • Using Details: People


opening

continued

■■ Use chart paper and record any details students remember from these books—either through the illustrations or descriptive words. You may need to help students select descriptive words from the text.

■■ Show students how you look back over the writing you have modeled over the last few weeks. Flip through your stories and show them how you think aloud about how to add details about the people in the story. Choose one of your stories and tell students how you think you could add details about the people by adding to the illustration or words.

■■ Model using the sentence frame. After you have finished, tell students that today they are going to do the same thing you just did: choose a story and add details about the people using illustrations or words.

work period

■■ Ask student to read through their current drafts or past stories. Ask them to consider including more details about the people, either by adding to their illustrations or by including descriptive words.

■■ Circulate and support students as they sort through their writing and choose a piece to add to.

■■ Encourage students to use the sentence frame when conferring with you.

closing

■■ Invite students to come to the whole-class meeting area, and bring the piece they added details to. Review the sentence frame: “The details I added were _______.”

■■ Ask students to share their writing with a partner and talk about what details they added using the sentence frame. If time allows, ask one or two students to share as a class in the author’s chair.


Lesson 15 • Using Details: People

closing

continued









• Writers may choose to add details about the people in the story.






























Week 4






























4







essential practice

#1




essential practice

#2


■■ Students incorporate details of places into their stories.

■■ Students use the sentence frame, “One topic I can write about is _______.”

■■ Students practice a writing conference with teacher and show their understanding by using the sentence frame, “During the writing conference, I learned _______.”

■■ As a strategy for self-conferencing, students use the sentence frame, “I think I should change or add _______.”

essential practice

#3


■■ Teacher and students co-construct charts to support development of students’ vocabulary and the language needed to participate in Writers Workshop. (Examples: Ways Good Writers Write, Things We Can Write About, Questions for My Self-Conference)

essential practice

#4

Build and activate background knowledge.■■ Students use books they have read to discuss details of place

and details of object; students then use these books as models for their own writing.

■■ Teacher builds on former lessons, charts, and discussions, emphasizing connections to prior knowledge.

Writers Workshop98


Foundations Study: Grade 1Writers Workshop98


essential practice

#5

Teach and use meaning-making strategies.■■ Teacher demonstrates how to add details of place and details of

object, to a piece of writing using the sentence frame, “The details I added were _______.”

■■ Teacher uses a think aloud to model, going back through his or her own writing in order to add details about place.

■■ Teacher creates a chart and models for students some things they can write about.


Using details: Places 16lesson

MaTeriaLS



■❑ Chart:


■❑ Where the Wild Things Are (Sendak) or a similar text


noTe To Teacher

Book selection. This lesson is developed around Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. Use it as a model if you want to select an alternative text. Choose a book that uses details of place either through illustration or text.

LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word detail to its cognate in Spanish, detalle.


■■ Use the strategy of including details of place in their drawing and writing




target words

■■ focus

■■ detail

■■ place

purpose

■■ This is the second of the three-part cluster lesson on details. Today, students will focus on using details of place in their drawing and writing.

prep

■■ Before this lesson, read and discuss Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak.

opening

■■ Review the book Where the Wild Things Are. Ask students to make observations about what he does as a writer and illustrator to give us details about place. Guide them to notice how he includes not only words to describe the changing scenery (“That very night in Max’s room a forest grew”), but he also adds details in his illustration (refer to this same page in which trees are seen growing in Max’s room). Emphasize how the words and illustrations work together to give the reader a clear picture of place.

■■ Ask students what details have been included in the drawings to help us understand what the place “Where the Wild Things Are” is like? Ask them if the book would be as entertaining without the details about the place in both words and illustration?

■■ Ask students if they can think of other books they have read that add details of place.

Writers Workshop100

Lesson 16 • Using Details: Places


opening

continued

■■ Use chart paper and record any details students remember from these books—either through the illustrations or descriptive words. You may need to help students select descriptive words from the text.

■■ Show students how you look back over the writing you have modeled over the last few weeks. Flip through your stories and show them how you think aloud about how to add details about the place in the story. Choose one of your stories and tell students how you think you could add details about the place by adding to the illustration or words. After you have finished, tell students that today they are going to do the same thing you just did: choose a story and add details about the place using illustrations or words.

work period

■■ Ask student to read through their current drafts or past stories and consider including more details about the place, either by adding to their illustrations or by including descriptive words.



closing




Lesson 16 • Using Details: Places

closing

continued










• Writers may choose to add details about the place in the story.



Generating Topics 17lesson

MaTeriaLS



■❑ Chart:

– Things We Can Write About


LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word generate to its cognate in Spanish, generar.


■■ Generate writing topics from their own experiences


■■ Generate and discuss a list of possible writing topics using the sentence frame:

– One topic I can write about is _______.

target words

■■ generate

■■ topic

■■ suggestion

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to help you create an environment where student writers can make productive use of writing time by learning to generate topics easily.

prep

■■ Prepare a chart (or large piece of butcher paper) to record students’ ideas for writing. Title the chart: “Things We Can Write About.” Divide it into 5” by 5” squares. Make sure that the squares have enough space in them to write the idea and add a visual reminder of the idea.

opening

■■ Gather students in the whole-class meeting area, and tell them that today they are going to work together to generate a list of topics to write about. Talk to them about the struggles that all writers go through when deciding what to write about. You might say something like:

SaY “ I know that we are always excited to write in this class. You see how much I love to write. But I wonder whether you have noticed that sometimes I have a hard time deciding what to write about. This is a common struggle for all writers, not just me or you.”

■■ Tell students that today they are going to make a chart of writing topics that they can always refer to when they are struggling to come up with new writing topics.

Writers Workshop104



opening

continued

■■ Model for students how to think through possible topics for writing. As you think aloud, show them how you tap your own experiences, thoughts, and feelings for possible topics. Demonstrate how you move from a general notion, such as family, to a more specific focus, such as playing hide-and-seek with cousins. Record one or two possible topics on the “Things We Can Write About” chart along with an illustration and one or two words or a phrase that represents the topic.

■■ Tell students that you know they have a lot of ideas from their lives that would be great writing topics. Tell them that you want them to think quietly about different ideas that they can share with the class. Give them some time to think.

■■ Introduce the sentence frame. Then ask students to turn to a partner and share a few of their ideas rephrasing their topics by using the sentence frame.

■■ Ask students to share their topics with the class. Record their ideas on the chart and add a small picture to accompany the idea. You may choose to organize your chart with big ideas. Your chart might look similar to this:

Things We can Write about

My Family SchoolThe

outsidePlaces to Visit

Friends

Playing with my cousins

Lunchtime The park Ice cream store

Sleep over party

My grandma

Playing at recess

The beach McDonald’s Playing with bikes

Baby brother crying

The river



opening

continued

■■ Ask students to think about what they would like to write about today during the work period. Give them some time to think and decide on writing topics.

■■ Direct students to turn to a partner, share their topics, and tell their stories.

work period

■■ Circulate and support students as they write. Remind them of the drafting rules and how to access the word wall. You might need to provide extra help if students are struggling to decide what to write about.

■■ Encourage students to use the sentence frame.

closing

■■ Ask a few students to share according to the procedures you established for the author’s chair. Encourage students to use the sentence frame.

■■ Ask for comments and questions from the class.



Using details: objects 18lesson

MaTeriaLS



■❑ Chart:


■❑ Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse (Henkes) or a similar text


noTe To Teacher

Book selection. This lesson is developed around Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes. Use it as a model if you want to select an alternative text. Choose a book that uses details of object either through illustration or text.

LanGUaGe connecTion


detail detalle

object objeto


■■ Use the strategy of including details of objects in their drawing and writing




target words

■■ focus

■■ detail

■■ object

purpose

■■ This is the third of the three-part cluster lesson on details. Today, students will focus on using details of objects in their drawing and writing.

prep

■■ Before this lesson, read and discuss Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes.

opening

■■ Remind students that in earlier lessons (Lessons 15 and 16) you explored the ways that details can enhance a story or drawing. Ask for volunteers to tell what specific details you have learned about.

■■ Direct students’ attention to an object in the classroom. It can be a simple object like a book or a more complex object like a picture. Ask students what details they notice about the object. List their responses on chart paper. Discuss with students that when they start really looking at an object, they can notice things about it that they might not have noticed before.

■■ Ask students if the object would be as interesting without all the details?

■■ Repeat this process with another object in the room.

■■ Show students how you look back over the writing you have modeled over the last few weeks. Flip through your stories and show them how you think aloud about how to add details about an object.

Writers Workshop108

Lesson 18 • Using Details: Objects


opening

continued

■■ Choose one of your stories and tell students how you think you could add details about an object by adding to the illustration or words. Model using the sentence frame.

■■ After you have finished, tell students that today they are going to do the same thing you just did: choose a story and add details about an object using illustrations or words.

work period

■■ Ask student to read through their current drafts or past stories. Ask them to consider including more details about an object, either by adding to their illustrations or by including descriptive words.



closing













• Writers may choose to add details about objects in the story.


Lesson 18 • Using Details: Objects


■■ You could assign a grade after this lesson. The rank of the grade could depend on how well students are incorporating details into their drawings and writing. The details could be about the people in their stories, objects or events in their stories, or adding details around the place or setting.



The Structure of a Writing conference 19

lesson

MaTeriaLS




noTe To Teacher

Monograph. For more information on writing conferences, see the America’s Choice Writing Conferences monograph posted on the Community of Learning.

LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word conference to its cognate in Spanish, conferencia.


■■ Participate in a teacher-led writing conference


■■ Listen to the conference structure and restate the expectations

■■ Reflect on the conferencing process using the sentence frame:

– During the writing conference, I learned _______.

target words

■■ conference

■■ record

purpose

■■ This lesson will help students learn to independently and efficiently prepare for sharing their work in a teacher-initiated conference. They will learn to participate in the conference and understand the expectations for what will happen before, during, and after the conference.

prep

■■ Designate a place in the room to conduct the writing conferences.

■■ Invite a student to model a conference with you. Work together to choose a piece of writing to discuss during the conference.

opening

■■ Gather students in the whole-class meeting area, and tell them that today they will be learning about the structure of the writing conference. Tell them that a conference is a chance to talk with you about their writing. Show them the classroom area you have designated for conferences or let students know that you will be conferencing with them at their desks.

■■ Explain that the conversation that occurs during the conference will follow a predictable schedule. Tell students that as you conference with them you will ask them to tell you about their writing or to talk with you about what is going well or what is difficult. During the conference, you will give them feedback to help them learn what they can do to become better writers.

Writers Workshop112

Lesson 19 • The Structure of a Writing Conference


opening

continued

■■ Tell students that they are responsible for:

– Discussing their writing

– Listening carefully to your feedback

– Asking questions when necessary

– Following through on what is discussed during the conference

■■ Ask a student to model a conference with you. Have the student bring a piece of writing and join you at the conference table. Sit at the conference area and model the conference. Show students how you discuss the writing and listen and support the efforts of the student.

■■ Show students how you will give them a written response to their writing that they can take with them back to their desk after the conference. This can be as small as a sticky-note or as big as a full-page form you design with students’ input.

■■ Reinforce that the next time you conference with them, they will be expected to demonstrate and discuss the work they have done on their writing piece, based on their previous conference.

work period

■■ Confer with several students during the work period. You may want to meet with two or three students at the designated location, then have two or three roving conferences with students as they work.

closing

■■ Ask the students you conferred with to share with the class the process of the conference.

■■ Ask them to share what you talked about and the feedback that you gave them about their writing using the sentence frame: “During the writing conference, I learned _______.”


how to Self-conference 2 0lesson

MaTeriaLS



■❑ Chart:

– Questions for My Self-Conference

■❑ Transparency:

– Your own writing, either a draft or a finished product


LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word reflection to its cognate in Spanish, reflección.


■■ Become familiar with self-conferencing before sharing their writing


■■ Discuss and state how they can revise or change their own writing pieces using the sentence frame:

– I think I should change or add _______.

target words

■■ self-conference

■■ reflection

purpose

■■ This lesson will help students learn to independently and efficiently prepare for sharing their work with a response group or in a conference.

prep

■■ Prepare a transparency of your own writing. It should be the writing piece that you have been using as a model so that students are familiar with it.

opening

■■ Read your writing aloud. Tell students that a good writer always rereads his or her writing and reflects on how to change it or make it better. Remind students of the teacher conference procedures.

■■ You could say something like:

SaY “ I know you are all just starting to get comfortable with the teacher conference. You know that when I conference with you, we read your work together and talk about how we can improve your writing. A self-conference is the same kind of thinking except you do it by yourself!

“ Today we are going to generate some questions that you can ask yourself before you can say that your piece is done.”

Writers Workshop114

Lesson 20 • How to Self-Conference


opening

continued

■■ Show students how you go back and reread your piece. You will want to record some general questions that students can use when they self-conference. As you read through your piece, chart some of the questions. Your chart might look similar to this:

Questions for My Self-conference

• What have I written so far?

• What am I trying to say?

• Have I stayed on topic?

• Do I like what I have written?

• What should I keep and build upon?

• What needs to be fixed or thrown out?

• How does it sound? How does it look?

• What will the readers think as they read this?

• What questions will they ask?

• What will they feel, think, notice?

• What is my next move?

■■ As you read your piece and chart possible questions, come to some specific decisions about what you will change. Introduce the sentence frame: “I think I should change or add _______.” And use it to tell students what you will change or add.

■■ Tell students that you want them to choose one piece from their Writing Folders to reread. Tell them that you will give them a few minutes to “self-conference” and then you will ask them to use the sentence frame and share with a partner about what they will change.

work period

■■ Direct students choose a piece of writing to reflect on and use the self-conference questioning strategy.

■■ Give them a few minutes to practice self-conferencing. Circulate and support students who are struggling with this concept.

■■ Ask students to turn to a partner and share what they will change or add. Encourage them to use the sentence frame as they discuss the revisions they will include after self-conferencing.


Lesson 20 • How to Self-Conference

closing

■■ Ask a few students to share their work and the process of self-conferencing. Invite the other students to comment or question the student authors.

■■ Model using the sentence frame and encourage students to use it as they discuss their work.






























Week 5






























5







essential practice

#1




■■ Students use positive and constructive comments to respond to classmates’ work.

■■ Students respond to other students’ writing by listening and responding with a comment or question.

essential practice

#2


■■ Students use the sentence frame, “The author wrote this text for the purpose of _______,” to understand the importance of purpose.

■■ Students use the sentence frame, “One thing I saw in the response group was _______,” to understand the purpose of response groups.

essential practice

#3


■■ Teachers and students co-construct charts and add to existing charts to support development of students’ vocabulary and the language needed to participate in Writers Workshop. (Examples: Ways Good Writers Write, Writing / Author’s Purpose / Audience, Response Groups, How to Respond to Writing)

essential practice

#4

Build and activate background knowledge.■■ Students write for a purpose and connect the word purpose to

their own lives.


Writers Workshop120



essential practice

#5

Teach and use meaning-making strategies.■■ Teacher models how to resolve frustration when drawing

becomes challenging and this frustration keeps writer from writing on their preferred topic.

■■ Teacher uses an incomplete picture to show what happens when important information is left out.

■■ Teacher models going back to revisit and reread a piece of writing as an important part of completing a piece of writing.

■■ Teacher models a response group with a group of students to build independence so that students can then lead their own groups.



Taking risks in drawing and Writing 2 1lesson

MaTeriaLS


■❑ Sentence strip for the sentence frame and workshop words

■❑ Chart:



LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word frustration to its cognate in Spanish, frustración.


■■ Understand that they can write and draw about anything they can imagine


■■ Identify what frustrates them and describe how they dealt with the frustration using the sentence frame:

– When I started to feel frustrated, I _______.

target words

■■ risk

■■ frustration

purpose

■■ This lesson is an extension of Lesson 13, “Planning Our Drawing and Writing.” In that lesson, students learned that their drawings conveyed meaning. Today’s lesson encourages students not to worry whether they can accurately draw a subject or topic. When students feel they are unable to draw things accurately, they often replace their intended subject with one that is easier draw.

■■ During this lesson, you will encourage students to stick with ideas that are important to them. Students’ drawings and illustrations can be a segue into writing craft lessons. You can teach students that writers stick to topics that are important to them regardless of what obstacles are present.

prep

■■ Have a story (or two) in mind to illustrate this concept to students. A story that the whole class experienced would be ideal. We have provided one that you can use as a model.

opening

■■ Tell students that sometimes you have seen them stop at the beginning or the middle of a drawing because they are not sure how to draw the subject. Tell them that today you will show them what to do when that happens.

■■ Let students know that writers often take chances in their writing by doing things that they are not particularly good at doing. If a topic is one that really interests them, they will stick with it. Tell students that you are going to illustrate a story you want to write. You might say something like:

Writers Workshop122

Lesson 21 • Taking Risks in Drawing and Writing


opening

continued

SaY “ I’m going to start a story with my drawing; midway through it, you will see that I don’t think I can draw what I want to. I want you to pretend you are detectives and watch what I do when I get that feeling that I can’t do it.

“ I want to tell the story about when our class pet, Speedy the Hamster, was missing from his cage. Remember how we walked in after lunch, and he was gone? But, we found him, didn’t we? He was hiding by the file cabinet, and he was scared. I couldn’t move the filing cabinet because it was so heavy, but he was able to squeeze out and run back to his cage.

“ I am going to start drawing this story. I think I’ll start by drawing the empty cage.”

■■ Start by attempting to draw a cage—but the addition of the cage lines makes it look like a jumbled mess.

SaY “ Oh—this does not look like a cage at all. I’ll try the hamster instead.”

■■ Attempt to draw the hamster; then stop.

SaY “ Forget it. I think I will just draw a sun and some flowers. I can do those.”

■■ Then, dramatically, announce that you really want to draw the story of the hamster and that you are going to do the best you can. Attempt to draw as much as you can—you may note that its hard to tell what some things are, but at least you are trying and you will also put words with your picture to help.

■■ Repeat this process again with another story so students can see another example of this process of frustration and ultimate success. This time, solicit advice from students as to what your next step should be when you get frustrated.

■■ Ask students to reflect on what happened. You might ask them:

– Did I get frustrated? Why?

– How did I overcome my frustration?

– How can you use today’s lesson in your writing work and drawings?



opening

continued

■■ Tell students that when they draw, you will expect them to draw whatever they want, the best they can. If they get stuck, or feel like they cannot do it, they should do what good writers do—keep going.











• Writers may choose to add details about objects in the story.

• Writers do not give up if they get frustrated.

work period

■■ Circulate and support students as they begin to write and illustrate their stories. Notice whether students are dealing with their frustration effectively.

■■ If appropriate, hold conferences with students during this work time.

closing

■■ Ask a few volunteers to share a time when they stopped drawing something or changed their story idea because it was too hard to draw.

■■ Ask them to think about their experience of frustration and turn and tell a partner about the experience. Encourage them to use the sentence frame while they talk. Debrief with students on their ideas and experiences.

■■ Ask students what they will do next time they come across something they think they cannot do.

■■ If you have time, invite one or two students to share in the author’s chair.

Writers Workshop124




■■ You could assign a grade after this lesson. The rank of the grade could depend on how well students are taking risks with their writing. Are they writing and illustrating their stories independently?


Writing for a Purpose 2 2lesson

MaTeriaLS



■❑ Chart:

– Writing/Author’s Purpose/Audience

■❑ Collection of assorted books and other writing, such as your Writer’s Notebook or conference notebook, picture books, nonfiction books, newspapers, letters to a friend or parent, grocery lists, and a Stop Sign


LanGUaGe connecTion


purpose propósito

audience audiencia


■■ View writing as a purposeful activity


■■ Discuss the purpose of a text using the sentence frame:

– The author wrote this text for the purpose of _______,

target words

■■ purpose

■■ audience

purpose

■■ When students begin to see the purposes of writing, they see that writing is a meaningful activity and that the writer is the one who directs a piece of work to fulfill his or her purposes.

prep


opening

■■ Tell students that today they are going to explore the different reasons that authors write. Introduce the word purpose and explain that purpose is the reason or motivation for doing something.

■■ Connect the concept to students’ lives and say something like:

SaY “ Everything we do usually has some purpose. For example, when you go to the cafeteria for lunch, your purpose is to eat. When you go outside for recess, your purpose is to play and have fun. When you go to bed, what is your purpose? What about when you go to the park?”

■■ Lead a brief discussion about different purposes.

■■ Connect the concept of purpose to writing. Tell students that all authors decide why they want to write a story and that reason is their purpose. Tell students that today they will explore different reasons or purposes for writing different stories.

Writers Workshop126

Lesson 22 • Writing for a Purpose


opening

continued

■■ Hold up one of the writing examples you collected. Make sure students already know the book very well or know what the object (Stop Sign, grocery list) is. Ask them to think independently about its purpose. Then ask them to turn and talk using the sentence frame: “The author wrote this text for the purpose of _______.” As they share the purpose, complete the chart. Go through this process with a few of the texts you have chosen. Your chart might look similar to this:

Writing author’s Purpose audience

Writer’s Notebook To remember Myself

Chato’s Kitchen For other’s enjoyment

Children (picture book)

Amazing Spiders For information Anyone who wants to know about spiders

Stop Sign To tell drivers to stop

Drivers

Crow Boy For other’s enjoyment

Children (picture book)

Your conference book

For making teaching plans

Principal and teacher

Grocery list For person buying groceries

Self or another

■■ Close the lesson by suggesting that students think about the purpose and audience of their current pieces. Ask them to share this information during the closing.

work period

■■ Circulate and support students as they write another story or add to a previously written piece. This is a great opportunity to check with all students briefly about the purpose of their stories. Ask each student to share why he or she wrote the story and for whom it was written.


closing

■■ Ask a few students to share their writing and its purpose. Follow the procedures you established for the author’s chair and class responses.


rereading for clarity and completeness 2 3

lesson

MaTeriaLS



■❑ Your writing sample for modeling

■❑ Seven Blind Mice (Young)


LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word clarity to its cognate in Spanish, claridad.


■■ Develop the habit of rereading their completed drafts


■■ Identify missing information in their writing and reflect on the revision process using the sentence frame:

– One thing I added to my writing was _______.

target words

■■ clarity

■■ completeness

purpose

■■ All writers need to reread their work to see if they have unintentionally left out important information and significant words or thoughts. Rereading is part of the writing process.

prep

■■ Read Seven Blind Mice to students so they are familiar with the content before this lesson.

opening

■■ Assemble students and tell them that you will reread Seven Blind Mice. Tell them that they will need to listen as writers.

■■ Read the story. Go through the book and ask students why each of the first six mice come to the wrong conclusion. Discuss with students how:

– This is like a writer telling only part of a story

– The seventh mouse was able to identify the elephant

– The explorations of the other mice led him to explore all the parts of the elephant

■■ Make an analogy between leaving important information out of a piece and exploring one part of the elephant. Discuss with the students how, by rereading their completed drafts, they can determine if they wrote part of the story but forgot to write down all of the thoughts in their mind.

Writers Workshop128

Lesson 23 • Rereading for Clarity and Completeness


opening

continued

■■ Tell students that this is a strategy that all writers use because they know they may have left out important information between the time they thought of what they wanted to say and the time they wrote it down on paper.

■■ Model for students how you go back to a piece of your writing and reread the piece. Think aloud about the parts that you have left out of the writing and how you can go back and add in information to clarify the writing. Use the sentence frame and state what you left out and what you added to your piece

■■ Tell students that during the work period they will reread a piece they think they have completed and ask themselves if their writing shows only part of their idea instead of the whole picture. Tell students that they may reread aloud as well as silently. Sometimes this can help a writer to find information or words that were left out.

work period

■■ Circulate and support students as they reread their work for clarity. You may want to pull students for conferences. If you notice a number of students who are struggling, you may decide to convene a guided writing group as well.

■■ Before moving to the closing, ask all students to reflect on what they added to their writing. Review the sentence frame, and ask students to use it to frame their thoughts. Ask students to get with a partner and share what they added to their writing.

closing

■■ Conduct an author’s chair using the established expectations. Ask the authors who share to discuss the revision process that they went through during this lesson.


■■ You could assign a grade after this lesson. The rank of the grade could depend on how well students are rereading and adding more information to their drawings and their stories.


Setting Up a response Group 2 4lesson

MaTeriaLS

■❑ Sentence strip for sentence frame and workshop words

■❑ Sticky-notes

■❑ Chart:

– Response Groups


– Student writing sample


noTe To Teacher

Monograph. For more information on response groups, see the America’s Choice Response Groups: Providing Feedback to Writers monograph posted on the Community of Learning.


■■ Practice giving feedback to other writers using appropriate responses


■■ Discuss and share what they saw in the demonstration using the sentence frame:

– One thing I saw in the response group was _______.

target words

■■ response group

■■ feedback

purpose

■■ Individual writers will be supported through the stages of writing while you confer and work with other writers in the classroom. Students will also develop a common language and know the procedures well so that they can work independently in response groups to give and receive thoughtful feedback from their peers.

prep

■■ Decide how you want students to sign up for response groups. Some teachers like a sign up sheet with three slots. Once these slots are filled, the response group meets. You can also create a sign up chart with library card pockets. Each student has a name card that they put into the slot when they are ready for a response group. Make sure that you create this routine before starting the lesson.

opening

■■ Tell students that today you will formally introduce working in “response groups.” Tell them that response groups are another forum, or place, to share their writing. It is a place where they can get feedback about their writing, share ideas, ask questions, and receive feedback.

■■ Explain that this is like playing on a team—their classmates will help them win at writing! You might say something like:

Writers Workshop130

Lesson 24 • Setting Up a Response Group


opening

continued

SaY “ Sometimes when you’re writing, you might have questions or get stuck or maybe need someone to listen to the writing to make sure it makes sense. As you know, I can’t always meet with everyone every day, so we’re going to talk about another option: response groups. During the work period, you will get the opportunity to meet with three or four students to share and receive feedback on your work.”

■■ Explain how to sign up for a response group before you model the process. Describe the procedure you have decided to use.

■■ Model a response group for the whole class by inviting three or four students to sit in front of the class in a semicircle. Tell students that you will facilitate this group, but that in time you expect response groups to work independently.

■■ Explain that one member of the group will share their work first, then each person will have an opportunity to give a response to that author about their work. Then the next person will share and receive responses to their work, until each person in the group has shared and received responses to their work. Mention that each reader needs to speak loud enough for the others to hear, but not so loud as to disturb the entire class.

■■ Review procedures for listening, responding respectfully; one person responds at a time, usually in clockwise rotation from the reader. Emphasize that all students in a response group get to read their writing aloud and receive feedback.

■■ Remind students of the process that was modeled for asking and answering questions. You might want to hold up the writing piece that you used to introduce this, the sticky-note where you recorded questions about your entry, and the answers that you generated the following day. Remind students that when they share their writing, their peers will ask them some questions.

■■ As the group works, facilitate their process.

■■ Ask students to think about what they saw the response group do. Give them a few moments to gather their thoughts. Ask them to turn and talk using the sentence frame: “One thing I saw in the response group was _______.”


Lesson 24 • Setting Up a Response Group

opening

continued

■■ As students share out after the turn and talk, record their ideas about what response groups do on a piece of chart paper. Your chart might look similar to this:

response Groups

• The reader reads clearly so everyone can hear easily.

• The other group members listen and look at the reader and sit quietly.

• The group members take turns giving feedback.

• The group members give the reader appropriate responses.

• The group members assemble quickly and quietly.

■■ Review the expectations for writers’ response groups: students will have the opportunity to give and receive constructive feedback about their writing and, as a result, improve their own writing.

■■ Let students know that today they are going to have the opportunity to work in response groups. State your expectations for the groups and how they assemble.

work period

■■ Students work in response groups. Normally you would confer during response groups, but because today is the first try, you may want to circulate and monitor the groups.

closing

■■ Let students know specifically what you saw and heard that was effective. Choose several students from different groups to share their experiences, possibly describing how the group worked together, and what they learned as writers to help improve their work.



appropriate responses 2 5lesson

MaTeriaLS


■❑ Sentence strips for the question frames and workshop words

■❑ Chart:

– How to Respond to Writing


– Student writing sample


LanGUaGe connecTion


comment comentario

constructive constructivo


■■ Use questions to give feedback on other students’ work


■■ Listen and respond appropriately with a comment or a question using key question frames: What _______? Where _______? When _______? How _______? Why _______?

target words

■■ response

■■ comment

■■ constructive

purpose

■■ Another writerly habit that students need to learn is how to respond to each other’s work and, ultimately, ask these same questions of their own work. Routinely asking questions helps writers clarify their message. Students will develop a common language to give and receive thoughtful feedback.

prep

■■ Make a transparency of student writing to model appropriate responses. When choosing student work, always ask for the student’s permission to use his or her work as a sample.

■■ Determine how you will respond to this student writing example.

opening

■■ Remind students of what they did in the previous lesson to set up “response groups.” Tell them that responding and listening to a classmate’s work is a big job and that today you are going to discuss appropriate responses. You might say something like:

SaY “ You are all becoming very comfortable with the Writers Workshop and see now that a big job we all have is to provide feedback on writing. We listen to writing in partner talk, in response groups, and in the closing. Today we are going to talk about our expectations for responding to writing.”

Writers Workshop134

Lesson 25 • Appropriate Responses


opening

continued

■■ Discuss with students that all responses should be positive and constructive. When modeling appropriate responses, show students that they should first give the author a positive statement, such as pointing out something the writer did well, and then give the author one constructive statement about the work, such as pointing out a confusing part where additional clarification is needed.

■■ Display the “student-writing sample” transparency, and read it together as a whole class. (This is always done with the student’s permission.)

■■ Model how you would say something positive about the writer’s piece, such as:

SaY “ I really like the part where the writer illustrates the main character. I got an image in my mind because of the specific words the writer chose to use.”

■■ Ask students to practice similar responses. Practice this type of comment several times.

■■ Then model the second type of comment, a constructive comment:

SaY “ I would like to know more about this topic. Perhaps you might consider adding more detail to ______.”

or

“ You might want to add something onto the ending to clarify _______. You could eliminate the part that talks about something different and replace it with additional information.”

■■ Let students practice making constructive comments.

■■ End the lesson by charting the kinds of responses that are possible when responding to writing. Make sure that the chart is color coded with a visual. Post this chart to use during the closing and during response groups. Add to it when you hear a new possible comment.


Lesson 25 • Appropriate Responses

opening

continued

how to respond to Writing

Positive comments constructive comments

– I like the part when _______.

– I like the phrase you wrote _______.

– I like how your character _______.

– I want to know more about _______.

– I was unclear about the part where_______.

– I wonder what happened at the end.

work period

■■ As students work with a partner, monitor and encourage them to use the appropriate comments and questions you discussed in the opening lesson Remind them to say something positive about what the writer did and to try to include a constructive comment.

closing

■■ Ask a few students to share their writing and practice responding appropriately.

noTe To Teacher

Learning responses takes time. It will take many days and weeks before students internalize the types of questions to ask and comments to make. Continue to monitor and support students while they are learning and practicing working with partners to read their work and to give feedback to other writers.






























Week 6






























6







essential practice

#1




■■ Students respond to writing using sentence frames.

■■ Students share their published work.

essential practice

#2


■■ Students use sentence frames to discuss the process of revision. (Examples: One strategy for revision is _______. Revision helps me improve my writing by _______.)

■■ Students use the “What We Do When We Revise” chart when they are not sure what to revise.

■■ Students select from their own writing pieces to add information.

■■ Students reflect on the writing process by using the sentence frame, “One thing I have learned about writing is _______.”

essential practice

#3


■■ Teachers and students co-construct charts and add to existing charts to support development of students’ vocabulary and the language needed to participate in Writers Workshop. (Examples: What We Do When We Revise, Habits of Good Writers, Ways Good Writers Write, Rubric for Stories)

■■ Students use language of the rubrics to determine the strategies they are using in their writing.

essential practice

#4

Build and activate background knowledge.■■ Teachers build on former lessons, charts, and discussions,

emphasizing connections to prior knowledge.

■■ Teacher uses a previously written classroom story to demonstrate revision.

Writers Workshop140



essential practice

#5

Teach and use meaning-making strategies.■■ Teacher uses student writing to model how to comment, question,

and respond to classmates’ work.

■■ Teacher uses his or her own writing to model how to use the word wall to support spelling.

■■ Teacher models how to add information to a writing piece by reading his or her own writing aloud and asking students critical questions, writing the additional information in the skipped lines.

■■ Teachers and students co-construct a writing rubric using the “Ways Good Writers Write” chart.



Teacher reading of Student Work 2 6lesson

MaTeriaLS

■❑ Sentence strips for the workshop words and the sentence frames from previous lessons.

■❑ A special place or box/basket for students to place their writing for you to read to the class

students’ learning

objectives

■■ Develop a sense of audience

■■ Hear their own writing and listen to others’ writing read by you


■■ Respond to writing using the sentence frames and suggested responses established in previous lessons

target words

■■ response

■■ submit/submission

purpose

■■ Beginning writers are eager to have their work shared and read. You can tap this energy occasionally by reading the work of students who would like to have their work read to the class. Reading in this way builds community and helps young writers develop a sense of audience.

prep

■■ This lesson does not follow the normal workshop model because the goal of the lesson is for you to share everyone’s writing aloud. Please note that the lesson combines the opening, work period, and closing.

opening

■■ Review with students the work that they have been doing in the last two lessons: setting up response groups and learning appropriate responses. Tell them that they are getting better at responding to writing.

■■ Tell students that sometimes at the end of Writers Workshop, you will read their work to the class, but that you will only read the work submitted to you in the designated place.

■■ Invite those students who wish to have you read their work to place their writing in the agreed-upon spot. (This could be a box or a basket near the whole-class meeting area.) Before you read the piece aloud, ask the student writer what kind of response or support he or she would like from the class. This can become part of the ritual of responding to a teacher-read piece.

Writers Workshop142

Lesson 26 • Teacher Reading of Student Work


opening

continued

■■ Share/read the student work to the class holding up any illustrations. If need be, a younger writer can assist you with reading their phonetic spelling or simply just telling what the story is about. After you share each piece, you can briefly model the kinds of observations and comments you expect students to make.

■■ Make sure you refer to the previous work that you have done as a class related to responding appropriately. Allow other students to comment, question, and respond to the work that you share.

■■ After sharing and commenting on the piece, move to the next piece. One objective of reading like this is for the class to hear everyone’s work at some point. After everyone’s work is shared/read, you and your students can express appreciation for all the writers in an appropriate way by clapping, shaking hands, cheering, or in a way unique to your classroom.

work period

■■ In this lesson, the opening, work period, and closing are combined.

closing

■■ In this lesson, the opening, work period, and closing are combined.


introducing revision 2 7lesson

MaTeriaLS



■❑ Colored pens or pencils

■❑ Chart:

– What We Do When We Revise

■❑ Koala Blue (Fox) See Note to Teacher for suggested use as an extension.



■■ Identify strategies for revising their writing


■■ Discuss the process of revision using the sentence frame:

– One strategy for revision is _______.

target words

■■ revision

■■ additions

purpose

■■ Your students may or may not be familiar with the concept of revision. It is important that you use this term regularly so that they will recognize that a story or piece can be continually evolving. It is equally important that you convey to students that revising is not a chore but something they should look forward to. Stress that revision is an opportunity. Tell students that when writers really like what they have written, they look forward to opportunities to make it even better.

prep

■■ Choose a story that you worked on previously as a class to demonstrate revision. This works best when the story is recorded on chart paper. We have included a sample story to model with your own story.

■■ Be sure that students have access to their previous writing that they can revise. You may want to make copies of students’ writing to preserve the originals.

■■ Have an ample supply of different colored pens or pencils for students to use as they mark changes on their papers.

opening

■■ Tell the students that today they are going have the opportunity to revise their work—something that writers enjoy doing because it gives them a chance to make their stories even better for their readers. Tell the students that often writers revise their best writing because they like it so much that they want it to be the best it can possibly be.

Writers Workshop144

Lesson 27 • Introducing Revision


opening

continued

■■ Explain that you will use an earlier classroom story to will demonstrate the revision process. Make sure to accentuate the elements you want your students to use.

■■ Reread your story to the students, and say something like:

SaY “ Rereading is the first part of revision. As you reread, remember that many people will be reading this, so you want to see if there is anything you could add to make the story better.”

■■ Use your own story on chart paper or this example:

SaY “ It was Friday morning. The lights went out and we were in the dark. When the lights came back on, we were happy.”

■■ Ask students if anyone can remember anything else that happened on this day. As they make suggestions, use a different colored marker (than the one used originally) to add the new elements. As you make revisions, tell the students what revision technique you are using—in this case you are adding information.

■■ Continue by illustrating that we might:

– Move sentences

– Delete information

– Add information

– Make the meaning clearer

■■ Begin a chart titled “What We Do When We Revise.” Ask students to think about the things they have done to improve their writing or what they just watched you do. Remind students of some of the things that they have done so far to revise writing.

■■ Ask students to turn and talk using the sentence frame: “One strategy for revision is _______.” Record their responses. Your chart might look similar to this:


Lesson 27 • Introducing Revision

opening

continued

What We do When We revise

• We read our writing again.

• We think about our readers.

• We clear up any confusion.

• We add information.

• We delete information.

• We move things around.

• We add to our illustration.

• We add people who say things.

• We add a new ending.

• We add a new beginning.

■■ Remind students to use this chart when they are not sure what they should do to revise their work. Post the chart in a visible place as an ongoing reference tool.

■■ Tell students that during the work period they will revise their work using the chart for guidance and then will work with a partner or response group to give and receive feedback.

work period

■■ Ask students to look at their writing and to think about what they could do to improve it. Tell them that when they have some ideas for revision, they may choose a colored marker and begin to make changes to their drafts.

■■ Allow time for students to begin revising and for you to circulate around the room to assist those students who might be struggling.

■■ Encourage students to use the sentence frame as they confer with you.

closing

■■ Remind students to refer to the “What We Do When We Revise” chart when they are not sure what they should do when it is time to revise their work.

■■ If time allows, ask for a volunteer to share some revision ideas he or she had. Model using the sentence frame and encourage students to use it when sharing their writing.

noTe To Teacher

extension. Read the book Koala Blue by Mem Fox to students. Let them know that she revised the book 50 times before it was published.



adding information within Writing 2 8lesson

MaTeriaLS

■❑ Sentence strip for the sentence frame

■❑ Transparencies:

– Sample student or teacher writing (double-spaced)



■■ Add information to their writing so that the intended meaning becomes clearer


■■ Provide verbal feedback to support the revision process

■■ Reflect on the revision process using the sentence frame:

– Revision helps me improve my writing by _______.

target words

■■ There are no new workshop words for this lesson. Continue to use and reinforce the language of the study and any vocabulary students may be struggling with.

purpose

■■ The purpose of this lesson is to foster independent revision during the Writers Workshop.

prep

■■ Make transparencies of several samples of student writing or your own writing

opening

■■ Display the transparency of student writing or your own writing sample. Before reading it aloud, tell students that you will ask them the following questions when you finish reading:

– Is there something that you want to know more about?

– Is there something that is confusing?

■■ Remind students that they have spent a lot of time learning how to listen and reflect on their own writing and the writing of others. Note that today is another chance to practice this.

■■ Read the writing sample aloud and ask the students to give you their input. Focus on one area in the piece where more information needs to be added.

Writers Workshop148

Lesson 28 • Adding Information within Writing


opening

continued

■■ Ask for responses about the placement of new information, and demonstrate how to write the additional information in the skipped lines. (Or use a separate strip of paper attached with tape or stapled in the place where the information should be added. This piece of paper can be folded over to fit neatly into the Writing Folder.)

■■ Write the additional information and show students how to place a mark (a star or asterisk) within the original writing sample and match the mark of the added information so that a reader knows when to read the new text.

■■ Repeat this process in another area of the sample writing that students have identified as an area that needs clarifying. Emphasize that you want students to use this method of rereading, thinking, and adding information to their own writing. Tell them that today during the work period you want them to choose a piece to reread and revise by adding information.

work period

■■ Give students time to choose a piece to work on and begin to go through the revision process.

■■ Circulate and support students in their work.

closing

■■ Ask a few students to share their writing and the information that they added during the work period. Push students to reflect on the revision process using the sentence frame: “Revision helps me improve my writing by _______.”


■■ You could assign a grade after this lesson. The rank of the grade could depend on how well students are rereading and adding more information to their drawings and their stories.


developing a rubric 2 9lesson

MaTeriaLS


■❑ Sentence strip for the sentence frame and workshop words

■❑ Student work (previous work to use as examples)

■❑ Charts:



– Rubric for Stories


LanGUaGe connecTion


rubric rúbrica

norm/standard norma/ estándar


■■ Use a rubric to evaluate their work


■■ Restate the characteristics of good writing as they work with partners and the larger group using the sentence frame:

– One thing a good writer does is _______.

target words

■■ rubric

■■ expectation

■■ norm/standard

purpose

■■ This may be students’ first exposure to creating a rubric for their writing, depending on the mobility of students in your school. It is important for you to explain the process and the rubric’s purpose. It is also critical that students be allowed to help create the rubric, in some way. Students can refer to the charts they have created (“Habits of Good Writers” and “Ways Good Writers Write”) to help with building a rubric. Simply creating a rubric that reflects what has been taught in the previous five weeks is fine for now.

prep

■■ Ideally, you will have some previous student work that you can use as examples when going over the rubric later in this lesson.

■■ Prepare chart paper for the rubric and title it. A title as generic as “Rubric for Stories” is sufficient at this point. Divide the paper into four columns. (See the sample rubric shown in the opening.) Think of score point 3 as student writing that is “on target,” score point 2 as student writing that “needs some work” (simple, less effective; 1–3 conferences needed), and score point 1 as student writing that “needs more work” (this could mean simply needing more lessons, or conversely, needing substantial instruction).

■■ Read through the lesson and be prepared to explain what a rubric is, how it is used, and how the class will create one to use on their completed work.

Writers Workshop150

Lesson 29 • Developing a Rubric


opening

■■ Tell students that they have learned a lot about drawing and telling stories. Ask them to think about what they have learned and what might be some things to look for in a good story or drawing. Ultimately, this list of features should reflect the lessons you have taught and the elements of drawing and writing that you have already discussed. For this point in the year, you may opt to guide students to think in terms of sequencing, organization, and details or criteria for their work such as:

– My story includes a drawing.

– My drawing/writing includes details.

– My drawing/writing includes a beginning, middle, and end.

■■ Record the criteria on your rubric. Tell students that this particular rubric will not be used for evaluation but rather for making their writing better.

■■ First ask students to look at the “Ways Good Writers Write” chart and think about what they expect to see in good writing. Read and review the first strategy and ask students to think about what that means to them.

■■ Ask students to turn and talk with a partner about the strategy using the sentence frame: “One thing a good writer does is _______.” Ask them to restate the strategy because it will help them formulate the wording and thinking for the rubric development. Remember that the chart should reflect the lessons taught and students’ understanding.

■■ As you go through each of the strategies that good writers use, define the expectations for each of the rubric levels. You will get a lot of experience with rubrics as you move through the year, so you may want to just define a few of the strategies that you have taught and worked with in this study. Your rubric might look similar to this:



opening

continued

rubric for Stories

element Score Point 3 on Target

Score Point 2 needs

Some Work

Score Point 1 needs

More Work

Sequencing My story (oral, drawing, or text) contains a clear sequence of events.

My story (oral, drawing, or text) contains only 2–3 sequence of events.

My story (oral, drawing, or text) does not contain a sequence of events.

Organization My story (oral, drawing, or text) contains a clear beginning, middle, and ending.

My story (oral, drawing, or text) contains a simple, yet loosely linked beginning, middle, and ending.

My story (oral, drawing, or text) does not contain a clear beginning, middle, and ending.

Details My story (oral, drawing, or text) includes details about the characters and setting.

My story (oral, drawing, or text) includes some details about the characters and setting.

My story (oral, drawing, or text) does not include details about the characters and setting.

work period

■■ Tell students that they are now going to choose a story they have been working on to see how it compares with the rubric you have created.

■■ Give students time to look through their folders to select what they think is their best piece. Direct them to reassemble and tell them that they will use the rubric to measure their work and make decisions about improvement. They will look at each criterion and decide how well they developed that feature.

■■ If you have previous student work, you can use it to walk through the rubric. If students want to add to their work at this point, they can. If students believe their work meets the criteria, they can opt to get another piece of work out of their Writing Folders and start the process again.

Writers Workshop152



closing

■■ Close with a discussion about the process of writing and drawing students have learned so far. Reinforce the importance of writers looking at their work, reflecting on what they have done well, and making decisions on what could make their writing better.


Sharing Students’ Published Work 30lesson

MaTeriaLS


■❑ Students’ published work


LanGUaGe connecTion

a cognate. If you have mostly Spanish-speaking ELLs, you can connect the English word celebration to its cognate in Spanish, celebración.


■■ Share published work with others while participating in a community of writers


■■ Reread and discuss their written work with peers

■■ Reflect on the writing process using the sentence frame:

– One thing I have learned about writing is _______.

target words

■■ publishing party

■■ celebration

purpose

■■ Sharing students’ published work in a special way helps students see the purposes for writing and celebrates the process and effort needed to bring a piece to publication. It also enables student writers to connect with an audience in a way that is similar to professional writers.

prep

■■ Let students know in advance that they are going to get the opportunity to share their published work with the class on a specific date. Make it a real celebration and invite parents, other classes, or important out-of-classroom personnel. Make sure that all of your students have published work completed by the celebration date.

opening

■■ Invite students to come to the whole-class meeting area with their published work in hand. You might say something like:

SaY “ I am so proud of each of you and how hard you have worked as writers. You have learned the Writers Workshop rituals, chosen topics for writing, and learned how to draft, revise, and publish your work. Today you will get to share your published work with others.”

Writers Workshop154

Lesson 30 • Sharing Students’ Published Work


opening

continued

■■ Discuss the expectations for sharing and for listening. Let students know that you will give the author a formal introduction similar to those given to professional writers before a reading. The introduction may mention other works by the author, special challenges the writer met while composing the piece, and other relevant personal information.

■■ Tell students that the writer shares their piece and may select two to four students who might wish to respond. Students should raise their hands to be called upon by the author and offer respectful, positive responses. Students can also share how the writer’s piece may have sparked ideas for their writing. You can comment or model effective responses to the author’s work at the beginning of the author’s chair session or throughout.

■■ After a student has shared selected work and received responses, he or she will announce how the published work will be accessible (in the class library, on a special wall, on a bulletin board). The author closes the session with “Thank You” and the entire class claps.

work period

■■ Let all students celebrate their work as writers by sharing in the author’s chair.

closing

■■ Tell students again that you are proud of their work and announce that they are now officially published authors. Display the published work. Take a final moment to reflect on the process of writing and what they have learned. Ask students to share final reflections using the sentence frame: “One thing I have learned about writing is _______.”


Lesson 30 • Sharing Students’ Published Work


■■ You could assign a grade after this lesson. The rank of the grade could depend on how well students have grown as writers by practicing the habits of good writers and using the strategies of good writers (the ways good writers write) that you have taught during this study. At this point in the year, you might want to focus your criteria for a grade around these questions students asked themselves:

– Does my story include a drawing?

– Does my drawing/writing include details?

– Does my drawing/writing include a beginning, middle, and end?

Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations

Study • Grade 1 • Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations Study • Grade

1 • Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations




















Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations Study • Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations Study • Grade







Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations






















Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations Study • Foundations Study • Grade 1 • Foundations Study • Grade







Post-assessment



post-assessment

MaTeriaLS


■❑ Paper and pencils

■❑ Students’ pre-assessment responses

■❑ Online Resources packet:

– Writing a Narrative prompt

– Scoring guide (one for each student paper)

noTe To Teacher

read the prompt. You will want to read the prompt to all of your students especially your ELLs and encourage them to draw and tell their stories.

purpose

■■ To help students recall and apply what they know about writing narratives

■■ To help you plan on-going instruction to ensure students’ success in meeting district and state standards

prep

■■ Make student copies of the pre-assessment writing prompt and students’ responses.

■■ Make copies of the scoring guide.

administer

■■ Have a conversation with students about what they have learned about writing narratives. If your district or state has specific criteria, a rubric, or a scoring guide that you expect students to master, use the specific language they might be familiar with, such as:

– Has a beginning, middle, and ending

– Has events told in order (sequencing)

– Has characters and a setting

■■ Ask questions like:

– What are the features that make a good narrative? What strategies have we studied?

– What approaches did you use on the pre-assessment? What might you do differently on this post-assessment?

■■ Think about ways to help students recall what they know about narratives and writing effectively. Help them review by brainstorming a list of what makes a good narrative.

■■ Help students review the pre-assessment and their responses. What do they notice about the prompt? What do they now think of their responses?

■■ You may want to chart their responses for reference during writing.

■■ Provide instructions by saying something like:

SaY “ Now, I want you to do some writing like the stories we have been studying. I am going to pass out paper for you to use. If you need more paper, just raise your hand and I will give you some more. You will also receive paper for planning, drafting, webbing, and outlining. You will have about 15–20 minutes to draw or write your story.

Writers Workshop160

Post-assessment

administer

continued

“ Put your name at the top, on the right side, of the paper. Put today’s date underneath your name. Listen to these instructions for telling, drawing, and writing your story.

“ Writers of narratives are often storytellers. You will take on the role of a storyteller and author. You will write a story that tells about a time when you gave a special gift to someone. It could be helping your mom or dad—or a brother or sister when they really needed a little extra help. A special gift could also be a phone call to a grandparent or another relative on a special occasion.

“ Remember to use appropriate details so that whoever reads your story will understand the details of what happened. Be sure to use strong verbs and interesting adjectives to make your writing engaging to the reader.

“ Make sure your writing is organized in a way that is logical and easy for the reader to follow and understand.”

■■ Answer any questions, and then get students started by saying:.

SaY “ Now, take your pencils and write your story. You will have about 15–20 minutes to write. I will tell you when half the time is up.”

■■ Allow students to write for the remainder of the class session. They should not take the writing assessment home, but they are free to revise it before they turn it in.

■■ Collect and read their stories.

■■ Use the scoring guide to assess each student’s performance level.

■■ Note class and individual strengths and weaknesses in order to plan future instruction.

noTe To Teacher

assessing first-grade students. In first grade, students may need to tell their story orally, dictating their thoughts, while you write them down. As students tell and draw and write their stories, they will typically take 15–20 minutes. You will need more time to actually take their dictation during this time, which may take up to an hour. Allow as much time as you need to take dictation from all students who are still in the oral and drawing mode. They can then add a drawing to their story. First-grade students usually need to get the physical structure of story in their heads to capture their thinking. This is usually then shown through drawing and oral story rehearsal.

Writers Workshop 161Foundations Study: Grade 1 161

Post-assessment


PromptThink of a time when you gave a special gift to someone. Remember a special gift can be a present or it can be helping someone when they needed help, doing something unexpected for someone, or spending time with someone who might have needed you—so you are giving of yourself and your time. Giving of yourself and giving of your time can be very important gifts to someone.

Think about how important the gift was to the person and what it meant at the time. Tell a story about giving the gift. Include the details of the person who received the gift, what the gift meant to that person, and how it made you feel.

Post-Assessment • Writing a Narrative




Post-Assessment • Scoring Guide

Date:

Student’s Name: Student ID:

Read each of the statements below, and circle the number on the scale that most accurately reflects your assessment of the paper.

3 = moderately strong 2 = somewhat weak 1 = weak

1 . The story (oral, drawing, or text) contains a sequence of events. 3 2 1

2. The story contains a clear beginning, middle, and ending. 3 2 1

3. The writer includes details about the characters and setting. 3 2 1

Additional comments:

Documents

Teacher ediTion - Niagara Falls City School District