Research of the writing workshop framework and Journeys writing workshop framework
Research:
Writing workshop is an approach to teaching students how to write. “Literacy specialist Reggie Routman (2005) suggests that we “think of writing workshop as the time in which everything writers do to create a meaningful piece of writing for a reader takes place” Writing Essentials: Raising expectations and results while simplifying teaching. (as cited Karsbaek, B. (2011). Writer's Workshop: Does It Improve the Skills of Young Writers?. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 39(2), 3-11.) Writing Workshop gives students an opportunity to write in a variety of genres and helps to foster a love of writing. “...Writer’s workshop is a framework for both strategy instruction and the gradual release of responsibility. Miller (as cited in Karsbaek, B. (2011). Writer's Workshop: Does It Improve the Skills of Young Writers?. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 39(2), 3-11. )
Research:
Writing workshop is an approach to teaching students how to write. “Literacy specialist Reggie Routman (2005) suggests that we “think of writing workshop as the time in which everything writers do to create a meaningful piece of writing for a reader takes place” Writing Essentials: Raising expectations and results while simplifying teaching. (as cited Karsbaek, B. (2011). Writer's Workshop: Does It Improve the Skills of Young Writers?. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 39(2), 3-11.) Writing Workshop gives students an opportunity to write in a variety of genres and helps to foster a love of writing. “...Writer’s workshop is a framework for both strategy instruction and the gradual release of responsibility. Miller (as cited in Karsbaek, B. (2011). Writer's Workshop: Does It Improve the Skills of Young Writers?. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 39(2), 3-11. )
From my research I learned that there are 3 components to the writing workshop framework: A mini lesson, writing time, and a share. This framework is the same each day; however each component can have different activities happening at different times. The mini lesson has several components. In the first part of the mini lesson the teacher is helping to connect previous learning with the lesson about to be taught (connection), this is done to help the students understand why they are learning a certain topic. “The topic of the mini lesson varies according to the needs of the class, but it typically falls into one of the following categories; Procedural... Writer’s Process... Qualities of good writing... editing skills...” (Writing Workshop The Essential Guide, 2001, p.10-11) The next part of the mini lesson (teach) is explicit teaching and modeling of a new strategy or writing skill for the students. “Of all the workshop components, the mini lesson looks closest to what we associate with traditional teaching. Mini lessons are short, focused, and direct. The teacher has something to teach, and she gathers together the students to teach it.” (Writing Workshop The Essential Guide, 2001, p.10) “During mini-lessons, the children are actively engaged and encouraged to talk with their writing partners about the new strategy being taught’” (Karsbaek, B. (2011). Writer's Workshop: Does It Improve the Skills of Young Writers?. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 39(2), 3-11.) This “talk” can happen during the next part of the mini lesson (active involvement), in which the students are encouraged to discuss and tryout the new learning in a quick activity during the lesson. Another part is the link, when the students go off to do their own writing, which is the writing part of the writing workshop. The teacher encourages them to remember and try to use what they learned, especially if it applies to what the student has intended to do during this time, but they do not have to and are not expected to go back and practice the teaching topic for the next 30 minutes. The mini lesson does not “direct the course of action for the rest of the workshop.” (Writing Workshop The Essential Guide, 2001,p. 11) The mini lesson ends and students go and focus on the goals and intentions that they’ve set out for themselves, which is the actual writing time. Other activities happening during the writing time are conferences; peer conferences with writing partners and teacher/student conferences. This concept of free choice during the writing time allows the students to develop as writers, which is because during the writing time the students can be found doing many “writing” activities. “This is when “children are free to move about the room to confer with other students and consult dictionaries or mentor texts...” (Karsbaek, B. (2011). Writer's Workshop: Does It Improve the Skills of Young Writers?. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 39(2), 3-11.) The last part of the mini lesson/writing workshop is the share, during the share the students are encouraged to share writing with the whole class. “In these share sessions, you coach students in how to give and receive response to each other’s writing.” (Writing Workshop The Essential Guide, 2001,p. 13). I have decided in my class I will teach my students to share, like I did as a 1st grade teacher during share of an article brought from home. When they share, my student will say “Any questions or comments?” Students may then ask questions and make comments. Once there are 3 questions or comments the sharing student will say, “That’s 3, I’m done!”
Next I looked at The Journeys Common Core Writing Handbook Teacher Guide. This is the manual that is being used this year to teach writing along with the Journeys reading program. There is a teacher's guide along with a consumable workbook for each 2nd grader. "The Common Core Writing Handbook was designed to complement the writing instruction in your reading program as well as meet all of the Common Core State Standards for writing. It consists of two components: a handbook for students that they can refer to as a resource as well as practice writing throughout the year, and a Teacher's Guide that supports instruction by providing mini lessons for every handbook topic." (Common Core Writing Handbook Teacher's Guide p.6)
The guide
then goes on to explain the different components of the program,
the mini lessons, and the student book. The journeys program uses two
easy-to-use components. The first
component is a “160-page partially consumable student handbook with 30 writing
topics that correlate to your reading program’s key writing lessons.” (Common
Core Writing Handbook Teacher's Guide p.6) There are writing models along with
interactive practice. The practice
is used to scaffold or reinforce students’ understanding of the different
writing genres. “As students practice writing, they build additional examples
of forms to refer to throughout the year as well as develop a deeper
understanding of each form’s structure.” (Common Core Writing Handbook
Teacher's Guide p.6) There is a section in the student handbook that the
students can use as a resource tool to refer to when they write. “Topics range from writing strategies
to how to use technology to do research.” (Common Core Writing Handbook
Teacher's Guide p.6)
The other
component is a teacher’s guide with 60 mini lessons for section 1 and one mini
lesson for the remaining pages of the resource handbook. The next section in the teacher’s guide
explains “mini lessons”. “Mini
lessons are short, focused lessons on specific topics.” (Common Core Writing
Handbook Teacher's Guide p.6) During each mini lesson the teacher is
expected to demonstrate an aspect of writing and then the students go try it on
their own. The teacher’s guide
provides mini lessons for each topic of the handbook. The mini lessons are correlated to the reading program’s
writing lessons so that the mini lessons are used throughout the year at least
once. The other mini lessons
correlate to each remaining page in the handbook and can be used to clarify
concepts for students and provide additional support. The teacher’s guide then
goes on explaining journeys purpose for writing, the writing traits, and the
writing process, which are also in the student workbook. These pages
guide the teacher on how to teach these ideas along with pictures of what the
students are looking at in their own workbooks during the teaching of these
ideas. The mini lessons consist of a title, an objective, guiding question,
teach/model-I do, Guided practice- we do, practice/apply-you do, and conference/evaluate. Each mini lesson’s practice/apply has a
collaborative and an independent part.
The collaborative part is partner work, while the independent part is
work for the student to do alone during the workshop. All the writing work is
based on the teaching topic. The mini lessons are focused on a specific topic
for each lesson. The actual
student writing happens in the practice/apply. However, the practice/apply is
teacher directed with a teacher objective to be done during this time that
relates back to the teach/model part of the lesson. Even though it is done independently it is not when
“children are free to move about the room to confer with other students and
consult dictionaries or mentor texts...” (Karsbaek, B. (2011). Writer's
Workshop: Does It Improve the Skills of Young Writers?. Illinois Reading
Council Journal, 39(2), 3-11.). It is definitely a time when the mini lesson does “direct
the course of action for the rest of the workshop.” (Writing Workshop The
Essential Guide, 2001,p. 11). The
teacher guide has lots of teacher reminders for what to do if a child is struggling,
what common core state standard the mini lesson refers to, and a focus trait
the lesson refers to on the corresponding page. There are 144 mini lessons in
the teacher guide. After lesson 60
the mini lessons only contain a title, objective, guiding question, teach/model
and a practice/apply. The
practice/apply continues to be teacher directed with the emphasis on the topic
from the teach/model.
Reflection:
From my research reading
of the writing workshop framework and from my reading about journeys writing
workshop I have concluded that there are some similarities and some major
differences.
The similarities are that
both models have called the outline for teaching the topic a mini lesson. Both model’s use mini lessons to teach
a certain topic to help the students develop as writers. In each model the mini
lesson has a teach, a guided practice or active involvement and a
practice/apply or link component. The
mini lessons in the Journeys are all based on “practice to scaffold or
reinforce students’ understanding of opinion, informational/explanatory, and
narrative writing” (Common Core Writing Handbook Teacher's Guide p.6) and connected
to the Journeys reading program. This connection would actually make the ELA period
run smoothly and cohesively if a teacher were using the reading program as well
as the writing program. The
students might be able to see the reading and writing in a way that could help
them grow as writers through their reading experience. The research based writing workshop also
allows a teacher to connect the reading and writing. Since the research based writing workshop is not scripted on
“what to teach” but that there should be “topics”, the teacher is free to use
the model in both reading and writing with a defined agenda for overlapping to
make a cohesive ELA time. During the mini lessons there seems to be
conferencing for both models. In both workshops the writers are writing during
the workshop.
The differences are what
separate the two models into two different types of writing workshops. The first major difference is the
writing that is taking place during the workshop writing time. In both the
Journeys’ writing workshop and the researched based writing workshop the
teacher explicitly teaches a topic. However, in the research based writing workshop
the writer is writing what they want to write. They are focused on goals and projects that they started
with their own intentions. “During this time, students work on writing projects
they have set out for themselves.” (Writing Workshop The Essential Guide,
2001,p.12) The mini lesson is used to teach a topic that the teacher knows the
writer will need at some point. It
might be that specific lesson or at another writing time. The students’ writing
happens with the topic or without it during the writing time. During the writing
time in the Journeys writing workshop the students are writing what the teacher
wants them to write. They are
either writing with a partner or independently, but it is still teacher
directed writing. In the Journeys writing workshop the topic is taught for the
writer to use within that specific writing workshop. The practice/apply is truly that, a practice. There is no time in the workshop for
independent writing of the writer’s choice. The students are busy completing teacher-assigned writing. The
teacher will have to find another time for the students to write creatively of
their own choice.
This difference is what
has driven me to use the research based writing workshop. I want my students to write what they
have planned for their writing. I
want the choice of what is written to be my student’s choice. Choice is important in that “we learn
best when we have a reason that propels us to want to learn.” (Writing Workshop
The Essential Guide, 2001,p.9) “When students have an authentic purpose for
their writing- whether to document an important event in their lives, get
classmates to laugh, or communicate a message that matters- they pay attention
differently to instruction.” (Writing Workshop The Essential Guide,
2001,p.12) Letting them make
writing choices will make them more engaged and receptive to the topic being
taught. The structure of the research
based writing workshop helps writers become independent not only as writers,
but also as learners.
To sum up the research based writing workshop
I feel that I learned it has explicit instruction for writing along with
writing time. “Writer’s workshop
is the overall framework for when and where writing occurs in the classroom...”
(Karsbaek, B. (2011). Writer's Workshop: Does It Improve the Skills of Young
Writers?. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 39(2), 3-11.) From my
research I want to make sure I have time in my writing workshop for mini
lessons, independent writing time and share time. I feel these are essential
components that I cannot leave out of the workshop. Fletcher explained the
necessity of time, and space for workshop writing. I want to make sure that my
mini lessons stay "mini" and the writing time is used purposefully.
And lastly, I want to make sure that the students are able to share. I feel
that these are essential components that I cannot leave out of the workshop.
Action:
The decision of using the research based writing workshop framework will drive my action. My plan of action for cycle 2 will be to implement the research based writing workshop in my class. In order to do this I will take these steps:
The decision of using the research based writing workshop framework will drive my action. My plan of action for cycle 2 will be to implement the research based writing workshop in my class. In order to do this I will take these steps:
1.
Research more about a writing
workshop.
2.
Design lessons to launch the
writing workshop in my class
3.
Teach the lessons
4.
Observe my students while they
are writing.
Analysis and Reflection:
As I reflect on my research of writing workshop I realize that I want my writers to not only become good writers, but to become independent students. I feel that writing workshop helps students toward that independence. Can 2nd graders write with their own ideas? Will they stay focused? These are all thoughts that push me toward helping my students become better writers this year. Can 2nd graders sustain writing for 30 minutes a day with a purpose in mind? From my readings I will be looking closely at these ideas. I want to encourage my students to take their writing experience and use this type of work throughout the day. I believe that once 2nd graders “let go” they can do almost anything!
As I reflect on my research of writing workshop I realize that I want my writers to not only become good writers, but to become independent students. I feel that writing workshop helps students toward that independence. Can 2nd graders write with their own ideas? Will they stay focused? These are all thoughts that push me toward helping my students become better writers this year. Can 2nd graders sustain writing for 30 minutes a day with a purpose in mind? From my readings I will be looking closely at these ideas. I want to encourage my students to take their writing experience and use this type of work throughout the day. I believe that once 2nd graders “let go” they can do almost anything!
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