Reader’s/Writer’s Workshop Cara Mulcahy

 Nancie Atwell, In the Middle (1998)  Lucy Calkins, The Art of Teaching Writing (1994)  Linda Rief, Seeking Diversity (1992)

Donald Graves  Many recognize him as a founding member of the writing workshop movement  “An Examination of the Writing Process of Seven- Year-Old Children” (1975)  Balance the Basics: Let Them Write (1978)  Writing: Teachers and Children at Work (1983)

Graves believed:  schools focused more on students’ reading and listening abilities, both of which view students as “receivers, not senders”, instead of on their writing and speaking abilities (Graves, 1978, p. 5).  “The imbalance between sending and receiving should be anathema in a democracy. A democracy relies heavily on each individual’s sense of voice, authority, and ability to communicate desires and information” (Graves, 1978, p. 5).

 lack of exposure to writing curtails one's ability to formulate ideas of their own and communicate them to the broader society.  Preventing students from developing their ideas implies “Individual expression, particularly personal messages in writing will not be valued as highly as the accurate repetition of the ideas of others, expressed in their writing” (Graves, 1978, p 10)

 writing is important because it is “a highly complex act that demands the analysis and synthesis of many levels of thinking” (Graves, 1978, p. 6).

5 Ways writing contributes to the development of a person  it contributes to intelligence  it develops initiative  it develops courage  it contributes to reading by encouraging the student to be an active participant in the learning process, by helping the student to know sound-symbol relations, and by contributing to their reading comprehension  it contributes to learning in the field of mathematics

Ideas evident in his early works:  Children have the freedom to write about what interests them (student choice)  Children receive immediate feedback through process-conferences  Children are involved in portfolio development  Student voice and student inquiry are important to the writing and learning process  The content, not just the mechanics of the written piece is important  The process is as important as the product

 “When the content of an English course is ideas-thinking-and learning through writing, reading, listening and talking –and when students in the course pursue their own ideas and purposes in the company of friends and their teacher, the middle school English classroom has the potential to become an extraordinarily interesting place. This place is a workshop, a way of teaching and learning uniquely suited to young adolescents of every ability. A workshop approach accommodates adolescents’ needs, invites their independence, challenges them to grow up, and transforms the status quo” (Atwell, 1998, p. 71).

The Writing/Reading Workshop  The workshop approach to the teaching of reading and writing is a student centered approach, one where the students are active participants in their learning.  Educators implementing the workshop approach hold the belief that students learn to read and write by actively and purposefully engaging in those behaviors.  The curriculum is driven by the students’ interests and they have the freedom to choose what it is they wish to read and write (Atwell, 1998; Rief 1992)

Components of the Workshop  Time, choice, response.  A well organized and highly structured classroom.  High expectations for behavior and academic achievement  Mini-lessons, conferences, status of the class reports, student independent reading or writing time, and student sharing usually occur daily.  Student centered learning with many opportunities for student interaction

 The movement of students and teacher around the classroom as is necessary.  A desire to foster a life-long love of reading and writing.  Teacher modeling and teacher writing with the students.  Purposeful evaluation, often done through the use of portfolios  Publication of student work