1. Writer’s Workshop
Kate Carlisle
LSKY 2016

3. “You only learn to be a better writer by actually writing”
By extension you only learn to be a better teacher of writing by actually writing with the students
Writing…
“You only learn to be a better writer by actually writing”
Doris Lessing

4. Holistic Writing Model, K. Carlisle 2016
SHARE Authentic Integrated
Experiential
Synthesize / Create
PROCESS
How is the writing instruction
delivered?
SKILLS
What makes the writing good?
Shared vision – common assumptions about writing
I DO
Modelled
Teacher as writer
Mechanical skills / Expressive skills
Genre awareness
WE DO
Guided instruction
Personalized responsive learning environment
Student
YOU DO
Application
Integrated holistic content across the curriculum
PRODUCTS
What form will the writing take?
Student is the centre. Individualized learning goals and responsive instruction support each student.
CONTENT
What are we writing about?
Holistic Writing Model, K. Carlisle 2016

5. Holistic Writing Model, K. Carlisle, 2016
PROCESS
How is the writing instruction
delivered?
SKILLS
What makes the writing good?
Shared vision – common assumptions about writing
Genre awareness
Student
Engagement
Differentiation
Flexibility
Interdependence
Personalization
Choice
PRODUCTS
What form will the writing take?
Engagment, Differentiation, flexibility, interdependence, personalization and choice need to be considered in each quadrant.
CONTENT
What are we writing about?
Holistic Writing Model, K. Carlisle, 2016

6. Shared vision
Quality writing instruction begins with shared foundational beliefs and an understanding of how key beliefs impact instruction.
ons/statements/teaching- writing
Professional Knowledge for the teaching of writing:
Last spring Penny Kittle tweeted the ncte guideline document which summarized key research and foundational beliefs about writing for English teachers. The document resonated with me and I spent some time reading and summarizing it and thinking about how it applies to writing instruction in our division. This activity is designed around some of the ideas in this document.
Divide into grade alike groupings) Distribute 2 or 3 questions to each group and instructions. Table talk , distribute responses and complete doc for further discussion and then share back.
Discuss the question at your table group and try to arrive at a consensus.
Brainstorm potential implications for teaching.
Look at the NCTE guideline research summary.
Report back to large group

7. Implications for teaching…
Opportunities to write:
Variety of purposes and audiences
Variety of technologies and modalities
Variety of tools for thinking
Variety of composing modalities (digital design, illustrated text forms)
Authentic experiential learning
Summary of important implications for teaching from the ncte guideline doc

8. Implications for teaching…
Safe differentiated learning environment
Holistic process
Students own lives as content and process
Opportunities for talk
Integrate reading and writing
Quality instruction and ongoing assessment

9. TheTraits
The six traits can provide a useful focus for guided writing and formative assessment throughout the writing process.
At the same time students should be encouraged to think about their writing holistically.

10. The traits and… What makes writing good? Content / Learning
Critical thinking
Creativity
Authentic voice
Expression

11. Using student evidence to set learning goals for responsive guided instruction. Use Seravallo look Fors to assess student writing samples and identify learning goals
Student evidence

12. Students at the center…
Begin with the writing samples
Identify strengths and areas for growth
Students with similar goals can be grouped into small pods for guided instruction during writer’s workshop
Student centered model….need to look at student work to establish individualized learning goals
Go to Serravallo look fors on curriculum connections Share what we are doing at BCS as a pilot intervention

13. Selecting writing goals
Purpose and genre
Craft focus
F & P Writing Continuum
Serravallo Look Fors
Engagement
Cross curricular content
What tools can we use to select goals?
Serravallo Look Fors are grouped into K-2 and 3-6 and take into account and roughly correspond to the developmental levels of readers: Emergent, Early, Developing and Fluent.
Serravallo Look Fors are a strength based approach and are organized by genre and developmental level.
Other considerations?
Engagement
Across the curriculum

14. Mentor Text …an aspect of a writer’s technique…
A mentor text is a piece of writing that can be used to teach a writer about
…an aspect of a writer’s technique…
The ideas, the structure of the writing or the author’s craft…
And inspire the writer to try out these techniques.
The text can also be used to inspire an original idea based on one from the text and to demonstrate an organizational structure that the writer can attempt to emulate with their own original ideas.
A mentor text can be a book, or an excerpt from a book or a sample created by the teacher.

15. How to use a mentor text Read it like a reader Read it like a writer
Write like the writer with your own ideas 
When you read like a writer you are reading to learn about the writing and to identify the choices the author made to better understand how you might improve your own writing.

16. Draft, Craft, Edit, Publish
Writer’s Workshop
The Writers workshop model can be used to integrate writing with the content areas and allows seamless integration of content and process with emphasis on deeper levels of thinking and speaking.
Read, Think, Talk
Draft, Craft, Edit, Publish
How do we define writer’s workshop?
Why should we do it?

17. LSKY Curriculum Connections
Writer’s Workshop plans
Writers workshop planning template
Talk about importance of experiential learning, thinking and talking
Workshop model incorporates mall group instruction focused on the needs of the students identified with strength based assessment.
Talk here about setting up a place in the library for mentor text for teachers…purchase two copies of the same book

18. Mentor Text
The mentor text is used as a stimulus for the writing task.
Highlights qualities of good writing specific to the genre.
An example of using When I was Eight as a mentor text with an emphasis on craft would be to study the author’s voice in the text. Fatty legs is written in first person and is a memoir so after reading and analyzing the text students might experiment with writing from Olemaun’s point of view, or from the point of view of someone else in the book.
A variety of craft techniques in a text such as When I was eight or Fatty Legs could be highlighted with students: descriptive emotive language, metaphor, literary allusion to Alice in Wonderland
Metaphor: You could analyze the text for the use of metaphor and then apply that skill to another piece of writing. (Swan and the Raven)
Duplicate excerpts from the text and analyze how the author used to metaphor to enhance the meaning
Compare and contrast Alice in Wonderland with fatty legs and then write about some of the themes.
The book is written by Margaret’s daughter in law. Potential writing tasks based on writer’s craft might be to interview someone about their school experience and then write their story from their point of view.

19. READ
Mentor text: Analyze a text for the qualities in the lesson focus and specific to the students
Teacher as writer: teacher pre-writes and thinks through the steps …
Ideally both!
The writers workshop planning template can be used to create integrated writers workshops that integrate cross curricular contnet.

20. THINK
Include a visible thinking strategy
Talk about the Making thinking visible book and list of strategies in it

21. Six hats thinking routine
Video link:
Source: Edward DeBono, Parallel Thinking. He is most known for his 6 hats activity – In which you explore and problem solve an issue from a variety of perspectives. I think it would help with thinking and talking before writing persuasive pieces. The hats can be real (for younger students) or metaphorical…white hat – provide information about the topic, yellow hat –positive thinking, Green hat – creative thinking, red hat – emotional responses, black hat – judgment / evaluation and blue hat – guiding the process and think about the thinking. There are quite a few video clips on youtube that explain it…here is one: There are some funny ones as well that students might like.

22. TALK
Talk about the importance of talk

23. Drafting- write an initial draft
Drafting- write an initial draft. During the drafting phase students can be grouped according to the “Look Fors” assessment and immediate guided instruction can be provided

24. CRAFT
Revise the text based on the learning goal / craft technique from the lesson…substantive changes at this stage
Revise again : based on formative assessment ….individual support from teacher and / or peer suggestions

25. EDIT Polish your writing
Final edit involves polishing the writing…final copy editing

26. On-line resources
Writing mini lessons using mentor texts 6 Traits lessons on Writing fix.com LSKY curriculum connections

27. Penny Kittle http://pennykittle.net/index. php?page=home
Middle years and high school Resources – mentor texts

28. Assessing Quality
North East School Division: The SPDU website: The Stevenson scale Traits of Writing contains K-5 exemplars, descriptors and rubrics: C0/main.htm
Take 6 traits Stevenson continuum