Writers' Workshop

This month marks the beginning of Writers' Workshop, a routine that will continue throughout the winter and spring term. First, the students gather together in a group to learn a new writing strategy. The students are greeted by the teacher, "Welcome, writers," and the students politely respond, "Thank you!" The teacher models a particular writing strategy, such as labeling a drawing about a real life event, listening for initial sounds, or how to make mistakes and move on. The students are then sent off to work on their own compositions. 

                                    

Students are often prompted to close their eyes and take a few seconds to remember a story before they begin their work. This ensure that the student has a plan for their stories and they feel excited to put their thoughts onto paper. They are welcome to share their ideas with a friend before leaving the meeting to begin work. 

           

The students are first challenged to label their pictures. In writing the word "me" students are asked only to write the sounds that they hear. Some students may only hear the /m/ sound, while other may hear the /m/ and the /e/ sound. Both are developmentally appropriate forms of writing in Kindergarten.  This student writes about a time he remembers with his sister Jessica and his daddy. 

As their writing develops in organization, students begin to write sentences at the bottom of the page. Many students include initial and ending sounds. "I was waiting for my mom."

Students are asked to write true stories about themselves. While imaginative drawing is fun, it's easiest to include details and a firm storyline when the event actually exists in the student's memory. Many stories are told about exciting adventures students encounter with family. This student remembers a favorite recent event, "I was at Disney on ice."

After the writing time has finished, we all gather together to reflect on our writing. This student shared shared that he got to ride on a plane. We discuss topics, what happens when you make a mistake, and strategies we used to listen for sounds. I hope you will have the opportunity to ask your child, "What did you write about today?"