Every Thursday, half of the class goes to the Library, while the other half does Writer's Workshop. Writer's workshop is one of my favorite things to do in school! I LOVE writing and I LOVE teaching children to LOVE writing too! :)
Here is a chart to show what we do in Writer's Workshop.
Here is a chart to show what we do in Writer's Workshop.
First, we brainstorm together about something to write about. This when the teacher will model writing strategies to help us become better writers. We sound out the words together. Then students go to their tables to write their own stories! Right now we are learning Narrative writing- I can write a story. Students are not required to spell words correctly, but are encouraged to sound out the words and use inventive phonetic spelling. This will help students to be independent writers and let their true voice come out in writing, without being held back by making mistakes. Currently, students are just beginning to sound out their words and often use high frequency words we have been learning in class. Students learn to write their name, date, picture, and sentence(s). After that, we have Author's Chair. We will be taking turns throughout the year to be "Author's Chair". A student reads his/her paper in front of the class and the other students have a chance to encourage that student by saying what a good paper it is, or asking a question about the event. It always brings a huge smile to childrens' faces!
Keep on writing!
Keep on writing!