Writing

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The Writing Workshop​

Several decades ago, the Writing Workshop was developed by Lucy Calkins. The big idea is to inspire children to be lifelong writers. Children are encouraged to write from their own lives, alongside an established routine writing process that includes: mini lessons & teacher models, independent writing, conferring & sharing. Writing in Kindergarten should be and can be so much more than just writing a sentence. It's about deep critical thinking and making sense of the world! The Writing Workshop process works. I have used it for over 11 years. In an effort to make mini lessons more meaningful and relative, I designed a Yearly Kindergarten Writing Curriculum with 9 explicit mini lessons per unit across 10 units. 
 

Mini Lessons

Mini lessons provide focused, explicit instruction on a single writing skill, strategy, or technique. These lessons allow you, as the teacher, to demonstrate how writers think and work. They also provide important background knowledge and information, as well as, different ways and reasons for writing. Good mini lessons scaffold skills throughout the year, and provide students with writing tools (e.g. important concepts; 5 star writing rubric) that they can independently use! These are tools that can and should continue to be reviewed and reinforced unit after unit. They really do build up on each other and students will absolutely absorb these tools as they become writers. For example, in Unit 1: Pictures, the concept of drawing a story with a who, what, where is introduced. This may be the only time the concept is explicitly taught, but it is a concept you should continually be modeling and reviewing throughout the entire year!

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Teacher Model: Why

The mini lessons are designed with an intended Teacher Model. This is a very important step in the Writing Workshop design, and should not be ignored - though I know it can be cumbersome to do so! During the Teacher Model, you are demonstrating how to write a story. In doing so, you provide students with explicit, consistent instruction that breaks down the process of writing into manageable steps, and allows them to learn how to think like a writer. I cannot stress enough the importance of modeling so that students learn how a writer brainstorms, ponders, imagines, and constructs ideas from the mind and translates them onto the page. The Teacher Model is like a “writing aloud,” which helps students to understand how thoughts can be written down. Additionally, as you model, students learn how to use proper syntax & sentence structure - of course in Kindergarten you will mostly be reviewing how to write a sentence for the duration of the year! Students will be much more engaged when you model a story, rather than reviewing a manufactured story model.

 

Teacher Model: What

Model a Picture Plan before writing. It is the bridge between the mind and the written word because drawing helps to plan and organize thoughts and ideas that can be translated into sentences. Following the Picture Plan, model how to craft a sentence, including the who, what, where, centered around a current theme or specific prompt. The Picture Plan provides essential details that students can use to tell a story as their writing skills evolve.

Teacher Model: TIP

If you have access to a SMART/Online Whiteboard, download a template of Kindergarten writing paper and save your teacher models and/or prep them prior to the lessons to save on time! If you do not have access to a SMART/Online Whiteboard, I recommend purchasing a Primary Teaching Easel.

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Independent Writing
This is the time for fostering autonomous writers! Strategically plan the amount of time students will need for independent writing. As the year progresses, students develop more complex writing skills and will need additional time to write. During independent writing, students will create their own picture plan, and ultimately, write one or more sentences for a narrative, opinion, or informative prompt. During this time, you can design a system for conferring that works in your classroom!

Conferring

Conferring is like a check-in with a student. By engaging in a brief, one-on-one conversation, you can meet students exactly where they are, scaffold their learning, and help them take immediate action to improve their writing. It is not really achievable to confer with each student each day, especially in a large classroom. I recommend designing a schedule for this part of the Writing Workshop. For example, choose a few students each day to confer with, and then they can also be the "Author Share" students. 

Author Share
Sharing stories is one of the greatest celebrations as a writer, or storyteller. During Author Share, students will share their stories with the class and receive feedback. It's a great time to practice fun types of applause, such as the roller coaster clap, the money clap, or the fireworks clap. This may be students' favorite part of the Writing Workshop. They are so excited when it is their day to share, and trust me, it serves as a great source of motivation for students to do their best work!