Here you will find examples of mini-lessons used in the training workshop.
Core Beliefs of the Writing Workshop
Portalupi J, Fletcher R. (2004). Teaching the Qualities of Writing. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
1. Young writers need frequent time to write.
2. Writers need to be readers.
3. Talk is a crucial ingredient in the workshop.
ML: Narrative
Writing Style
o Purpose
Create or recreate an experience
Delight
Entertain
Satisfy aesthetic needs
o Description
Word play and rich language
Depth of reflection
Emotional and intellectual content
Conscious pattern of organization
o Audience
Self
Others
ML: Teacher's Role
1. To keep track of your needs as a writer and your writing.
2. Grade writing four times this year based on cooperative rubrics and your growth as a writer.
3. Write and finish writing pieces.
4. Prepare and present mini-lessons on pertinent topics.
5. Help students find topics they are passionate about.
6. Provide a predictable class structure in which the student will feel free to take risks as a writer.
7. Organize the room so it meets the various needs of the writer.
8. Help the writer learn specific editing and proofreading skills.
9. Be the writer's final editor.
10. Give the writer publishing opportunities.
ML: Student's Role
1. Place your pieces in-progress in writing folder.
2. Take care of your folder and 3-ring binder; it is your text for the course.
3. Write everyday.
4. Finish pieces.
5. Find topics you care about.
6. Share.
7. Take risks as a writer.
8. Draft your prose writing in paragraphs.
9. Number and date each of your drafts.
10. Self edit in a different pen color from your actual print/type.
ML: Writing Workshop Rules
1. No erasing.
2. Write on one side of the paper only and double space.
3. Save everything.
4. Date and label everything.
5. Library voice when in conference.
6. Take pride in your work.
ML: Writing Workshop:
The Grade
Homework = 25%
Spelling Quizzes = 25%
Writing Projects = 25%
Participation = 25%
ML: The Order of WW
Reminder: all work must be double-spaced and only on one side of the paper.
Draft One = D1
The first writing of your idea
Neatness and grammar are not a concern here
The priority is to capture your mind and ideas on paper
Self-Edit = SE
Done on D1
Basically, making sense of your sentences
Use COPS
Draft Two = D2
The second writing and development of your pieces
All corrections are included
You may type this copy
Content Conference = CC
Schedule conference with teacher
Bring D1, D2 and evidence of SE
Add details, crack open
Rewrite = RW
Include all corrections
Address all questions, suggestions
Typing required (remember to save!)
Editing Conference = EC
Schedule conference with teacher
Bring all previous drafts
Conventions are focus
Finalization
Final corrections included
Read aloud complete
Publishing opportunities discussed
ML: Order of WW
First Draft Focus
"Writing a first draft is like trying to build a house in a strong wind.
William Faulkner, American Writer
A first draft:
A sense of urgency
No worries about spelling, grammar, neatness, just ideas
Don't worry about the order of events
Capture your mind on paper
Strategies for capturing your first draft…
Conference Tips
Whose agenda is it?
Teacher's voice versus writer's voice?
Teaching writer or text?
3 positives/ 1 constructive criticism.
Teach one point.
Leave student with questions to answer in their writing?
o What will be developed
Reflection Questions on Conference
What was the one center point of the conference?
What did you find out about the writer?
o How did you find out?
What will the writer do after the conference?
Who spoke first? Who spoke most?
What were other possible options to teach in that conference?
The Hardest Thing About Writing
Spandel, V. (2005). The 9 Rights of Every Writer: a Guide for Teachers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann (18).
o The hardest thing about writing is trying to find a topic about what to write and if it would sound good.
o It is hard for me to write because it is stressful.
o You can never put in all the details you want. It would take ages.
o The hardest thing about writing is thinking what to write and spelling.
o The hardest thing about writing for me is to concentrate.
o The hardest thing about writing is having to think about what you are going to write about.
o It's getting the words in the right place and starting your paragraph.
o The hardest part is when you run out of ideas.
o Thinking about what you are going to write.
o Figuring out how to begin.
o You have to spell correctly. And you have to think a lot.
o Thinking what to write, but that's why I like it.
Advice from High School Writers
Spandel, V. (2005). The 9 Rights of Every Writer: a Guide for Teachers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann (58).
o Make an outline of your ideas before you start writing.
o Avoid using the word "you."
o Use powerful verbs to give your paper voice.
o Write about things you enjoy; writing about the little things can make for great writing.
o Turn off the critic in your head.
o Try not to think while writing. I type/write all of the thoughts coming into my head and only after I've completed those ideas do I go back and make sense of the ideas I plotted. It makes my writing pure and uncensored. Otherwise the human mind tends to doubt its thoughts and leave out the points worth making.
o Always know what you want to accomplish before writing.
o Know the main thing you want to say. Write it down and paste it to the top of your computer.
o If an unrelated though pops into your head, don't reject it too fast. Give it a chance. Maybe it is related, like a distant cousin.
o Write what you feel. Honesty and personality can spark great writing.
o Find a place to write where you feel comfortable.
o Write from the heart. From what you feel, from what you remember.
o Brainstorm, get your topic in mind, sit down and start writing.
o Don't go to the fridge. Keep writing.
o Make sure what you're writing keeps your attention. If not, it's not going to keep the readers.
o Cut the b.s., and don't state the obvious.
Sample quotes for WW
Atwell, N. (1998). In the Middle (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
"If I feel physically as if the top of my head were taken off, I know that it is poetry."
Emily Dickinson
"The best way out is always through."
Robert Frost
"The difficulty in life is the choice."
George Moore
"The path is easy, save the picking and choosing."
Buddhist Proverb
9 Rights of Every Writer
Spandel, V. (2005). The 9 Rights of Every Writer: a Guide for Teachers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
1. The right to be reflective
2. The right to choose a personally important topic
3. The right to go “off topic”
4. The right to personalize writing process
5. The right to write badly
6. The right to see others write
7. The right to be assessed well
8. The right to go beyond formula
9. The right to find your own voice