Writing takes on many forms in Upper El. From journaling and weekly letter writing to research, poetry and creative stories. Part of our work includes Writer’s Workshop.
The workshop begins with a mini-lesson, about 10-15 minutes of direct instruction from teacher to students. This is an opportunity to introduce skills such as generating ideas for a story, literary devices, paragraph structure, specific genres of writing, research skills and more.
The mini-lesson is followed by a sacred, independent writing time, about 35-40 minutes. During this time, students may choose to focus on various parts of the writing process: prewriting, drafting, revising, editing and publishing. They may have more than one active piece of writing, therefore they may be continuing a story while also editing a poem. Each student has a folder labeled with the different parts of the process and may keep their work in the appropriate pocket. Some students choose to handwrite their work, while others compose on a Google Doc.
After writing time, we end with the Author's Chair. The purpose of this is to receive feedback from other writers, build community and trust, show struggles and triumphs, reconnect to a mini-lesson and self-assessment. Students select a piece of writing to share. They invite the audience to: just listen, share positive feedback, offer construction or some other focus of their choosing. Peers get to practice focused listening and respectful responses.
I love this. The structure, the creativity, all of it. And, I love the practice of giving feedback as well. So awesome : )