Teaching Writing Through Peer Workshopping How to set-up and manage a Peer Workshopping Community in your classroom Beth Hammett Greater Houston Area Writing Project College of the Mainland

To teach writing you must: Be a writer! Have a safe community Model your process Know where your students are in their writings Use good writing models Reinforce positive comments Use students’ writings to model Grammar in context Vocabulary and spelling in context Students help build rubrics Practice, practice, practice!!!

Your goal as teacher is to serve as a… “mentor of writing, a mediator of writing strategies, and a model of a writer at work” (page 21). Nancie Atwell In the Middle “Writing teachers draw upon three distinct areas of expertise. We must know our students. We must know how to teach. And we must know something about writing itself” (page 2). Ralph Fletcher What a Writer Needs

Be Passionate About Writing! “Passion remains the most important quality the mentor has to offer. When we think back on those teachers we looked up to, we don’t always remember exactly what they taught. Above everything, we remember passion. Fire” (page 17) “You learn to write by grappling with a real subject that truly matters to you” (page 4). Ralph Fletcher What A Writer Needs

Two Approaches Traditionalists Focus is on finished product Writing is taught (linear process) Individuals work alone Teacher’s process: assign, collect, mark, return Mechanics taught Writing is done outside of classroom setting Process Process of getting to the product Writing is learned Writers work collaboratively Writer’s process –Prewrite –Rough draft –Revise –Edit –Publish Holistic Peer workshopping/conferencing

“Writers’ workshop teachers recognize that not every writer is the same….” Visual/Kinesthetic Drawings Storytelling ModelsWebs Auditory Tape recording Webbing while talking Diagrams “Good writing teachers must avoid giving the impression that there is a lockstep pattern to success in writing.” Kathleen and James Strickland Teaching English, 6-12

Getting Started Introduce yourself as a writer –Show your own work Diagnostic paper—Road of Life Map –Students create map, storytell, and choose one item to write a narrative from –This will help create your safe community Class list of names with strengths and weaknesses Set up your workshopping groups using your list –Design your groups accordingly Design your mini-lessons from your list –Where are your writers at and what needs do they have Choose meaningful topics

Introduce the Writing Process Holistically –Pre-write/Rough Draft: Not all students need a written pre-write Freewrite can sometimes work as a rough draft –Revise Re-organize, re-think, re-structure –Edit Grammar, spelling, punctuation, word choices –Final Copy Ready for publishing!

The Pre-write: Think about your process as a writer Listing Writer’s Notebook Webbing Freewriting Clustering Storytelling Drawing Any writing to get you started and thinking Do one as a class— model, model, model!

A Writer’s Notebook and Ralph Fletcher Is NOT a diary! What it is: –Write about stories/poems –What do you wonder about? –Write about the small things in life –Seed ideas –Pictures In your mind In print –Unusual words

Rough Draft Can be your freewriting/nutshelling process –Nutshelling: freewriting and giving a one-sentence summary of the exercise Get something on paper Rough drafts are supposed to be bad! Do one as a class Model your own Model others –Students –Published authors “Workshop teachers know how important it is to spend time modeling ways to respond to writing because success depends on writers learning how to help each other, how to act in a community of writers” (page 93). Kathleen and James Strickland Teaching English, 6-12

Peer Workshopping “Our goal is to help students make decisions about their writing during conferences rather than directing them on how to proceed or how to ‘fix’ their writing” (page 95). Kathleen and James Strickland Engaged in Learning,Teaching English 6-12 Model in front of the class using your own writing Two stars and a wish Orally Individual sheets Peer workshopper’s name Guided questions

Asking Questions: Encourage the writer: ask open ended questions –What are you trying to say with this piece? –What do you think about the piece? –What do you want the readers to realize? –How could you organize the paper? What specific help is the writer needing? –What part do you need help on? –What needs improving? BE SPECIFIC!!! –“It’s great!” becomes “I liked the description of…” –“It’s cool!” becomes “Your word choices are…” –“I liked it!” becomes “You grabbed my attention when…” –“Don’t change a thing!” becomes “Its ready to publish!” Only positive comments allowed

Teacher’s Role Practice being quiet Listen as students read their pieces Encourage the writer Ask questions the student can answer rather than putting the student on the spot –What are you doing with this piece now? –What is your next step? –What are you trying to say now? –What do you mean here? –I am confused by this. Can you explain it to me? Meet individually with writers Work the room You are the facilitator/coach

Revise Re-organize, re-think, re-structure Model, model, model! –Your own –Students –Published authors Mini-lessons –Organization –Voice –Tone –Mood –Beginnings, endings Read the work aloud to your peer group!!!

Editing “It is hard to be one’s own editor…To edit, one needs to step back from the writing and read with a fresh eye” (page 110). Kathleen and James Strickland Teaching English, 6-12 Grammar, spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, word choices, syntax Model, model, model! –Your own –Students –Published Authors Mini-lessons –Synonyms, antonyms –Showing not telling –Word tickets –Prepositional walk –Grammar theater

Final Copy Ready to be published! Model, model, model –Your own –Students –Published Authors Read alouds/Sharing Give writing as a gift Author’s Chair Author’s Lunches/Nights Barnes and Noble Greensheet, Teenink, Merlyn’s Pen, Jack and Jill, Highlights, Poetry.com, Seventeen, school newspaper, class anthologies, bulletin boards, hallways, etc…

Assessment Design your rubric with your students –They need to know how to get an A Assess only what has been taught Grade the process Rubrics should become more in-depth as the year progresses Students CAN do the grading! The teacher is the coach/facilitator –Re-read –Re-grade

Extras Expert groups –Students become teachers Peer tutoring –Those finishing early help others Portfolios –Visual growth

Resources Peer Workshopping In the Middle: New Understandings about Reading, Writing, and Learning (Workshop Series) by Nancie Atwell A Writer’s Notebook by Ralph Fletcher Engaged in Learning, Teaching English 6-12 by Kathleen and James Strickland. Editing/Revising Image Grammar by Harry Noden Lessons That Change Writers by Nancie Awtell 6+1 Traits of Writing by Ruth Culham Books, Lesson, Ideas for Teaching the 6 Traits by Vickie Spandel Inside Out by Kirby and Linear Publishing Writer’s MarketMerlyn’s Pen Novel and Short Story Writer’s MarketTeenink Freelancewriting.comJack and Jill Poetry.com Cricket Barnes and NobleBlue Mountain GreensheetSchool/Local

Bibliography Atwell, Nancie. In the Middle. Boynton/Cook Publishers, Inc. Portsmouth, NH Fletcher, Ralph. What A Writer Needs. Heinemann. Portsmouth, NH Strickland, Kathleen and James. Engaged In Learning, Teaching English, Heinemann. Portsmouth, NH