A Guide to the Common Core Writing Workshop and Units of Study Presented By Cory Gillette Literacy Coordinator Darien Public Schools Add blank calendar, blank unit (make an easy-to-use one), 3 blank pages and a set of blank nf papers

“As teachers we need to shift our attention from simply product and the surface features, to an equal concern with process and meaning.” - Donald Graves A Fresh Look at Writing

What children need to become good writers Time to write every day Choice in topic Explicit instruction

Activity v. Workshop Activity Teacher models. Students independently do task. Task is completed. Workshop Teacher models strategy that builds on previous work. Students work independently using past teaching and the teaching of the day. The next day the work continues.

Structure of Writing Workshop Minilesson Teacher explicitly teaches one strategy to the entire class. Independent work time Writers work independently on their writing. Teacher differentiates instruction through -small groups (strategy lessons, guided writing/coaching, shared writing, table lessons) -Conferences (research/decide/teach, coaching, compliment, teach, research) Share Teacher does a teaching share that uses student writing to teach or reinforce. Teacher teaches another strategy.

The Writing Process Collect Pieces or Drafts Select a Piece or Draft Primary Grades Upper Grades Collect Pieces or Drafts Select a Piece or Draft Revise Edit Publish Generate/Rehearse Select an Idea Develop the Idea Draft Revise Edit Publish

Writing Process Chart:

Why We Believe in Units of Study Units of Study give the class a common focus Units of Study help build writers who understand the purpose and structure of different genre Units of Study that build on each other allow us to teach writing as a continuum, focusing on different levels of writing skills in each unit Units of Study give students multiple opportunities to go through the writing process Units of Study help enforce a big idea that Writing Workshop is about ‘the writer, not the writing’

Narrative v. Expository Writing Tells a story. Can be true or made up. Narrative writing contains story elements. Examples: Personal Narrative Realistic Fiction Historical Fiction Expository (Informational and Opinion) Talks about ideas Conveys information Can contain facts and or opinions. Can follow an essay structure. Examples: Personal Essay Feature Articles All About Books How To Books

Expository Writing We are looking for writers to… Present ideas about a specific topic Organize/structure information about that topic Elaborate on that idea with specific evidence using a variety of strategies to do so. Stick to an idea for a chunk/paragraph/essay Categorize information so that like parts are together Connect parts together with transitional phrases

Narrative Writing Write in sequence. We are looking for writers to… Write in sequence. Write about a smaller and smaller moment in time. Write with specific descriptive detail of setting, dialogue and action. That is, it is not summarized. Develop characters who mimic real people with positive and negative attributes. Write dialogue in a way that either moves the plot forward or reveals new information about the main character. Move between the inside (internal) and outside (external) story.

Series Overview: A Guide to the Common Core Writing Workshop 4 units per grade to support the CCSS If…Then…Curriculum Writing Pathways CD of resources Go over the series Show the books Explain the purpose of each book

Assessment Based Teaching: On-Demand Performance Assessments Student-Facing Checklists and Goal Setting Show prompt and learning progression for a grade Talk about qualities of good writing Activity: Look at a student piece and grade against the learning progress and talk about future teaching (Print 3rd grade piece) Show student-facing checklists from the book and talk about goal setting