Teach Writing, Part 1 - Setting up a Writing Workshop

Teaching writing...the former arch-nemesis in my classroom. Whether due to not having strong training in writing during my own education, not having a strong resource previously in our district curriculum, or a combination of the two, writing was the area that I used to be the least comfortable teaching. Yet somehow, Writing Workshop has become one of my favorite parts of the day. In the last few years my perspective on teaching writing has done a complete one-eighty. I love seeing the spark in my students' eyes as their enthusiasm grows with each new step and success. I love to witness their creativity. I love the time I spend building relationships with my students and nurturing individual growth during conferencing. Yet, even though I feel I've hit my stride as a teacher of writing, I constantly visit with teachers who are facing the same challenges I once faced and have pushed through. Where do I start? How do I set up a writing workshop? How do I keep track of my students and their writing? How do I fit writing in and use it to support the rest of my teaching? And in the case of my district...How do I read Lucy Calkins and get all of those 15+ pages from the manual into a lesson?!

Before I begin to address these questions, let me take a minute to share what has changed my perspective. A few years ago the district I was teaching in adopted a writing program created by a man from California by the name of Steve Dunn. Steve came to our district several times a year to train us on how to use his program and modeled several lessons. It was through his influence that I first became confident in how to structure my writing workshop time. His program provided students with a clear process, tools to organize their thinking, and strategies that could be applied to writing across subjects. Two years later I was offered a position in my home district where they had just made the decision to adopt Lucy Calkins' Unit of Writing. Lucy's approach to teaching writing is VERY different than Steve's. Lucy is the heart of writing. Steve is the process of writing. Abstract. Concrete. Passion. Product. East Coast. West Coast. I've actually joked many times that if we could somehow marry the two we'd have the perfect program. Kidding aside, I wish everyone could experience both programs since influences from both have significantly impacted my approach to teaching writing. 

Whether you are a new or experienced educator, teaching writing can be overwhelming and frustrating. Where do you start? Routines. Just as we need clear routines for classroom management we need clear instructional routines during writing workshop. Creating a predictable structure to whatever time we can carve out of our day to teach writing not only makes it easier to plan our daily lessons, but it also helps students to be more successful writers. When they know what to expect they are automatically more relaxed and focused on their learning. Whatever length of time you have, you should plan to include a mini-lesson, student writing time, and sharing. My Writing Workshop block is 40 minutes. I take the first 10-20 (depending on what I need to teach that day) for my mini-lesson, the next 20-30 minutes for students to write, and the last 5 or so for students to share. Sounds simple, right? Wrong! Learning to limit yourself to 5-10 minutes? HARD! Teachers don't know when to shut up and get out of the way!!! (or maybe that's just me, sometimes...) It's also super easy to lose track of time and cut out the share portion. DON'T DO IT. It's during this time that enthusiasm for writing grows, students learn from one another, and the opportunity to tie work back to the mini lesson really cements our work each day.

Day 1 - You MUST introduce what Writing Workshop is...don't assume your students are mind readers and already know what's coming. I compared WW to Santa's Workshop, only we aren't building toys...we're building stories! The anchor chart pictured here was ready to go with the headings on the left only. As I explained each chunk of time I added it to the chart. Our "anchor lesson" will always come first, and, just like the anchor on a boat keeps it from drifting away, our lesson will anchor our thinking for that day. I explain that they will get to spend time writing every every every day. Finally, our WW time will end with the opportunity to share. This might be a few students sharing out to the class, partners, or small groups, and it isn't required. 

On Day 1 I also quickly previewed the writing process "big picture." It's so important that students realize writing doesn't flow out of our pencil published and finalized. Students need to be ready to experiment and play with their stories until they feel just right (hence the two-sided arrow between drafting and revising). They need to know that getting their stories "just right" will take some time, and that the expectation is to look for ways to improve their writing and make changes.

I hope this post has given you some structural pieces to apply to your teaching and management of writing workshop. Is this the only correct way? Absolutely not. Will this be how I teach writing forever? Maybe, but maybe not. Education is fluid and changes in response to our students. I believe strongly in making instructional decisions based on my students, not on what I've always done or what I'm most comfortable with. If I find new and better research on best practices then I won't hesitate to adjust. Part 2 of my Teach Writing Series will focus on how to be INTENTIONAL with that short chunk of time reserved for writing mini-lessons...