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Writer's Workshop

writing

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Brian Cambourne's Seven Conditions for Learning

Immersion	Infant and young children need to be surrounded by an environment that is rich in spoken and written language.
Demonstration	Children need opportunities to observe models of the way written language is used in daily life.
Engagement	Young children need opportunities to try reading and writing activates on their own.
Expectation	Children need to be in an environment where adults believe that they will acquire literacy skills.
Use	Children must use reading and writing skills throughout their daily lives.
Approximation	Young children should be free to make attempts at written language that move closer and closer to conventional reading and writing.
Response	Children need to receive feedback from knowledgeable people on their attempts a reading and writing.

Introduction

Writing is an important process for students to learn. Through writing they learn to express their own feelings and thoughts, learn and remember new words and structures, focus their attention more on what they are learning, and learn how to become better readers.

So what can you expect your child to do in writing:

1. The students will become familiar with using the "Five Step Writing Process" Prewriting, writing, revising, editing, and publishing

2. The students will learn to use the 6 Trait writing model that indicate qualities if good writing include: Ideas (details, development, main theme), Organization (internal structures, pattern of ideas), Voice (tone, style, purpose, and audience), Word Choice (precise language and phrasing), Sentence Fluency (correctness, rhythm, and flow of the language), and Conventions (spelling, grammar, and usage)

By using the 6 Trait model, my goal is to improve the students writing and awareness of the quality of their writing. Students learn to become better writers when they know their strengths and weaknesses and how to adapt to those.

A Writer's Notebook

Students are expected to:

Write daily in your notebook at school and at home, once a week for POW program (paragraph of the Week)
Give each entry a title and a date, and write it single-spaced, on one side of the page (right side).
Use what you know about conventional spelling and grammar.
Make handwriting readable and neat. Limit doodling to writing related tasks.
“Find” topics for your notebook writing from life, from reading, from questions you have about the world. You are responsible for making decisions about your writing on a daily basis.
Take care of your notebook and have it in class EVERY DAY.

Important Keys to Good Writing

Pieces

Story needs to be in chronological
Uses descriptive details that appeal to the five senses
Uses emotion
Entertaining/keeps reader engaged
Has a strong story line
Exciting climax
Fluent sentences
Good word choice
Ends with a bang

snoopy_writing

Writing Club

Twice a month, students meet in their writing clubs to obtain feedback from peers about selected pieces. Student Expectations:

Students must take one writing piece they are interested in publishing to writing club.
Students must share their selected piece, one at a time and listen to their club members for feedback with an open mind.
All writing club members must share one positive, one minus, and one interesting comment about the members piece of writing (P.M.I.).
Students use this feedback to work on mastering their own writing.

Activities and Links

ABC's of the Writing Process, click here

Bite Size Writing, activity page

Editing Handout, click here

Fact Monster Writing Skills, click here

Paragraph of the Week Program, click here for topics

Strategies for Teaching 6 Traits, click here