You can preach it, but can you teach it?

Chapters 9, 10 and 13 really cleared up some of my anxieties about writing workshop.  Prior to reading these chapters, I felt anxious about actually being prepared to implement the writing workshop in the classroom.  Chapter 9 pretty much laid out the structure of a writing workshop by actually giving some ideas for structures and routines that can take place in the writing workshop. I really liked the idea of having a basket for students to place texts that have been marked to be copied for their study and the bulletin board that displays students' pieces of writing. This chapter even gave examples of material resources needed for the writing workshop.  Having the basic lay out of what is needed for writing workshop makes me feel confident that I can actually do the writing workshop in my classroom.

I thought it was pretty neat that chapter 10 encourages teachers to share from their own writings.  I would have never thought to do this but I can see how it brings authenticity to what the students are learning. It also makes perfect sense to teach punctuation, capitalization, spelling and structure by using examples from students' own writings. If students are able to apply what they are learning in writing workshop to their own peices rather than correcting or identifying it on a worksheet, they are more likely to understand the importance of what they are learning.

I'm so glad that chapter 13 explained how to create your focus lesson. Again, I like how the teacher is encouraged to pull from their own writings. My only concern is what if I don't really write a whole lot? I mean, I totally agree that for teachers to teach writing well, they should be writers themselves. But right now, I don't write a whole lot. In fact, I write for academics and for practical reasons but I don't have a personal writing journal. I guess that is just something I'll have to work on! These chapters were definitely helpful!

My First Blog...EVER.

I'm not gonna lie. This blogging business makes me SUPER nervous!  I've always had hang-ups about writing casually for everyone to see!!! Just to back up this statement, I'll have you know that it took me 10 minutes just to write these few sentences. AND I just read this to Jenni and asked for feedback! Pathetic. But who can blame me? Throughout my entire academic career, I've been drilled to write for the prompt. As a child, I had a wild imagination and an interest in reading and writing.  I wrote countless stories, plays and diary entries at home.  I had so many adventures and experiences to write about. But in the classroom, I was usually limited to writing only about a specific topic or experience. I learned to write exactly what I thought my teacher wanted me to write.

In my own classroom, I want to give my students the chance to choose what they want to write about. Think about all I would miss out on learning about my students if I chose the writing topic for them every time! Chapter 1 basically says that if we expect our students to write well, they need to have their own reasons to need to write well. Having students to write about something that is meaningful to them will help them develop as a writer.  However, I was surprised that there is actually a curriculum for choosing topics to write about. I'm curious to find out how this actually works in a classroom, especially in a lower elementary classroom where the students are just learning how to write.

I want my classroom enviornment to be a safe zone for my students. Writing workshop is a great place for students to be able to write about what is going on in their lives. I want them to feel safe telling me about their greatest achievements of the week as well as their disappointments.  I want my students to be able to write about what is real to them, what they are experiencing in the world around them, and how they feel about it.  At the same time, if a student wants to write about an adventure or something they have dreamed up on the playground, I want them to feel safe sharing with me and not afraid that I will think they are nuts! I also want writing workshop to be a staple in my students' day. The book basically says that the students should know exactly what needs to happen during this time and it needs to be consistent.

Questions for Beth...
I am in a kindergarten classroom this semseter. Can writing workshop be implemented in Kindergarten when the students are just learning to read and write?