Hi everyone! Back again today for a continuation of yesterday's "Kicking Off Writing Workshop" post! In case you missed it, you may want to go back and read it prior to reading this post.
We've been going strong each day in Writing! I wanted to take a moment to share what I did after our first experience with Writing Workshop. I collected all papers. As I was collecting, I asked the kids to tell me if they were finished {words complete, pictures drawn/colored, name and date on papers} or not finished. I sorted them into two piles as I collected them and labeled them with sticky notes. Then after school, I looked through the piles. I was specifically looking for students who really struggled. I had, of course noticed them struggling as I was floating around the first day, but I didn't want to interrupt them hard at work, so I let them continue on. I did my best to differentiate paper when distributing it the day prior, but there were a few kids I wasn't 100% sure about. Looking at their pieces after school solidified that they definitely were in no way ready to start writing sentences. I noticed there were about 5 children who definitely needed to work on labeling vs. writing sentences. I marked their papers with a sticky note that said "switch to labeling." The next day, after my mini-lesson, I pulled those students to the table and we worked on labeling together. I had them begin with drawing pictures of something they did/wanted to share. I then drew the lines for them to label the objects. I also helped them stretch out their words. They were MUCH more confident after this session. I'll continue to do this until I notice they are ready to begin writing a full sentence.
So...you might be wondering, "How does she keep the rest of the class quiet and working while these kids are at the table getting intense intervention in Writing?" Well, we established some expectations for Writing time after our first day {I wanted to do it after so the kids could have ownership in creating the poster with me}. The kids know to raise their hand if they need me and I'll invite them up to my table so they can show me their story. For the most part, they've been very good about this. How could they not be? They are excited to write, therefore there isn't much time to talk to one another!!
As kids come up to show me their stories, I informally confer with them. I prompt them for more information. For example, I had a student come up to me that had written a page and was "finished." I prompted him to tell me more about his experience at the Bouncy House and he was able to add 3 more sentences, which naturally required a staple! He loved that!
Each year, the workshop just "comes together." I am not sure what the magic trick is. Maybe it's that I love teaching Writing so much. Maybe it's just experience. I do know that each year, it gets a littttle bit better! I always think of something small to tweak. It's constantly evolving.
I'm so proud of my writers this year! They are off and running with their stories!
**Don't forget-all of my Writing units are on sale through Wednesday, September 10 only!**
xo
Megan
We've been going strong each day in Writing! I wanted to take a moment to share what I did after our first experience with Writing Workshop. I collected all papers. As I was collecting, I asked the kids to tell me if they were finished {words complete, pictures drawn/colored, name and date on papers} or not finished. I sorted them into two piles as I collected them and labeled them with sticky notes. Then after school, I looked through the piles. I was specifically looking for students who really struggled. I had, of course noticed them struggling as I was floating around the first day, but I didn't want to interrupt them hard at work, so I let them continue on. I did my best to differentiate paper when distributing it the day prior, but there were a few kids I wasn't 100% sure about. Looking at their pieces after school solidified that they definitely were in no way ready to start writing sentences. I noticed there were about 5 children who definitely needed to work on labeling vs. writing sentences. I marked their papers with a sticky note that said "switch to labeling." The next day, after my mini-lesson, I pulled those students to the table and we worked on labeling together. I had them begin with drawing pictures of something they did/wanted to share. I then drew the lines for them to label the objects. I also helped them stretch out their words. They were MUCH more confident after this session. I'll continue to do this until I notice they are ready to begin writing a full sentence.
So...you might be wondering, "How does she keep the rest of the class quiet and working while these kids are at the table getting intense intervention in Writing?" Well, we established some expectations for Writing time after our first day {I wanted to do it after so the kids could have ownership in creating the poster with me}. The kids know to raise their hand if they need me and I'll invite them up to my table so they can show me their story. For the most part, they've been very good about this. How could they not be? They are excited to write, therefore there isn't much time to talk to one another!!
As kids come up to show me their stories, I informally confer with them. I prompt them for more information. For example, I had a student come up to me that had written a page and was "finished." I prompted him to tell me more about his experience at the Bouncy House and he was able to add 3 more sentences, which naturally required a staple! He loved that!
Each year, the workshop just "comes together." I am not sure what the magic trick is. Maybe it's that I love teaching Writing so much. Maybe it's just experience. I do know that each year, it gets a littttle bit better! I always think of something small to tweak. It's constantly evolving.
I'm so proud of my writers this year! They are off and running with their stories!
**Don't forget-all of my Writing units are on sale through Wednesday, September 10 only!**
xo
Megan
3 comments:
Megan, what a GREAT post :) You inspire me to do MORE and give my all to writing this year. My Kinders were sooo successful last year, but I'm sure they can be even MORE successful :) Thanks for the great tips! I will be featuring on my FB page!
Writing was never strong in my classroom until we started really learning about how to use writers workshop! It is such a fun time of the day. I love hearing their stories Nd seeing them unfold on paper. Now we have a classroom for just writers workshop. And they leave us loving to write. Your post reminded me how great it is to watch the process unfold! Thanks!
Em
Curiousfirsties
I have your writer's workshop and I am loving it! We are finishing up the first unit and my little ones are alreafy becoming super writers! One question, do you send their writing home after the celebration?
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