Answering Questions About Writing Workshop
I received a bunch of questions from a regular reader of TWT yesterday. Her questions seemed like ones that other folks might want the answers to, so I asked her if I could answer them on TWT without mentioning her name. She said yes.
Q. My kids constantly tell me, “my mother conferred with me and she says it is fine.” Do I worry about this or just let it go? (My guess is the parents are doing a lot of the work at home for them or with them.)
A. It’s lovely that parents are involved in their child’s writing life at home, but not if you think that their parents are doing the work for them. I wouldn’t let it go. Unless you’re streaming your lessons on TeacherTube, your students’ parents aren’t sitting through your minilessons. Therefore, there’s no way they can confer with them in the way that is helping their child as a writer (seems like they’re helping their child with their writing). I’d speak with my colleagues, if I were you, and see if it’s a problem in other classes. If it is, then perhaps you can formulate a grade-wide plan for dealing with this. It might involve hosting a Writing Night where you train parents to confer with their child in a way that helps their child as a writer so that the parents aren’t the ones doing the writing for their child.
Q. How long do your kids spend actually writing on their piece after your minilesson?
A. My kids spend 30 – 40 minutes writing independently before they share.
Q. Are they in their seats or out of their seats?
A. Very few of my students write at their desks. I have six pieces of furniture (two beanbags, two back jacks, and two lounge chairs), which are given to the first six kids whose plan boxes are approved (that doesn’t mean the first six kids who bring their plan boxes to me since I’m pretty picky about approving them. I want their plan to be SOLID before they leave the rug, so one has to work hard on their plan in order to get it approved on the first shot). Any kid who finishes seventh or beyond has the option to take throw pillows or a woven rug and sit on that. They may also work on one of the two rugs in the classroom. Hence, very few kids are sitting at their desks and writing.
Q. Do you let kids collaborate (co-author) on their independent writing?
A. At this point in the year, my students are working independently on their writing. Later in the year they’ll have the option of collaborating on a writing project.
Q. Do you have independent writing going on?
A. None of my students are working on independent writing projects at this time. I have a few kids who are interested in participating in the Kids Are Authors Contest, but haven’t started working on their submission yet.
Q. How long do you spend on each unit of study?
A. Most units I teach are 3 – 5 weeks long. However, there are a few mini-units on persuasive letter writing and notebook work that only last two weeks. They’re usually sandwiched in-between the longer ones.
Lindy:
I’d refer to the Upper Grade Units of Study in Writing published by Heinemann (Calkins et. al.) for guidance on starting up your workshop. I’ve never done it midyear, but I think you’re going to need to start as if it were September.
As far as selecting the units to teach from Jan. – June, I’d suggest using most of the Calkins books. You might want to skip literary essay since I don’t think time will permit, but I could be wrong.
Best,
Stacey
Hi Stacey! I am just starting to really learn about Writer’s Workshop this year. I want to get started with it in my classroom (mixed 3/4) in January. Any tips for starting mid-year? I’ve sort of got pieces of it in place already, but I want to make it a more cohesive program.
Also, I’m wondering about how to choose units of study. It sounds like you use different writing genres as your basis, but I’ve seen other teachers use the Six Traits as their units. Any advice there?
Thanks for your help!
Thanks a bunch! I think my next step will be revisiting how developing a specific plan in your plan box will help you stay on track. In my rush to start independent writing I let things get a little loose w/the plan boxes.
MOTeacher:
Here are your answers:
1. By the end of a unit of study: Conferences/Coaching Sessions: 2-3; Strategy Lessons: 2-4.
2. It’s nearly impossible for me to confer with everyone each week. Inevitably, someone is missed. However, that being said, thanks to strategy lessons, I do meet with every writer at least once a week. Plus, because of the plan boxes, I know how everyone is doing before they leave the rug everyday. This allows me to hone-in on the kids that really need to meet with me asap!
3. The kids are never waiting for me since they build a plan that will account for the entire workshop time. “Meet with Ms. S.” is rarely on there since they know they have to work it out on their own. Though, if they need to confer with me about something specific, they touch-base with me first-thing in the morning or right before the minilesson to let me know, “Hey, I need to meet with you about ______.”
Hope that is useful!
Best,
Stacey
I have a couple of questions that I’ve been thinking about for my 3rd grade WW:
1. How many conferences do you have w/a student before they write a final copy?
2. How often do you confer w/each student in your class? I try to do once a week, but for some that just isn’t enough.
3. In a unit like poetry or letter writing, where it seems the drafting gets done faster, what do your students do while they’re waiting to confer w/you?