Passion, Purpose & Intent: Envisioning Units of Study in Writer’s Workshop Tasha A. Thomas Director, Spartanburg Writing Project

What is your Vision? “Good writing starts with passion of purpose.” -Katie Wood Ray

Envision Your/Your Students’ Writing 1.What do you want to write? OR What do you want your students to write? 2. What have you/your students read (or might you read) that is like what you want to write?

Writing moves toward vision from intention You must write with a clear vision of the thing you are making. In order to do so, you need to immerse yourself in good writing that has the characteristics of what you hope to produce Keep track of what you “notice” as you read Build your finished piece by “borrowing from the larger world of writing” (Ray, 37)

Envision Your Writers’ Workshop As Teachers of Writing We Must: Help students develop intentions as writers Help students develop a vision for the kind of writing that will serve their intentions Give students the opportunity to explore craft and live like writers An effective WW will address: –Interests of the writers –Needs of the writers –State and local standards –Rigor and challenge »(see Study Driven, page 92)

What stands in the way of realizing your vision? TIME –To plan –To collaborate –To write Too many resources The know-how According to Katie Wood Ray

How do we solve these dilemmas?

One Answer: INTEGRATION Use an inquiry stance to integrate your reading/writing/content studies Design units of study that encompass several areas of the curriculum and pull from several resources so that students have the benefit of meaningful reading, writing and revision EVERY DAY

Step I: Understanding the Framework Essential Question #1: What will students read that is like what we want them to write?

The Framework 1. Gathering Mentor Texts –Samples of the kinds of writing students will do 2. Setting the Stage –Students are given expectations, deadlines, etc. 3. Immersion (Getting the Big Picture) –Read and get to know the texts (reading strategies) 4. Close Study (Delving Deep into Craft and Style) –Revisit the texts with the central question: “What did we notice about how these texts are written?” –Teacher will model how to use the mentor text to influence writing 5. Writing Under the Influence –Finish pieces of writing that show the influence of the study (Study Driven, page 19)

Step II: Determining Your Focus Essential Question #2: What will students be expected to produce?

Envisioning the Product Genre Study –Memoir, Literary Nonfiction, Feature articles, etc.) Author Study –Cynthia Rylant, Laura Numeroff, Gary Soto, etc.) Process Study –Revision, Using Punctuation. in Interesting Ways **These are reciprocal. An author study can also lead to genre studies and vice versa.

One School’s Vision: Inman Elementary, 3 rd Grade Study Possibilities for Memoir Unit As you plan your own individual units, pull from multiple resources (i.e. Calkins’ Units of Study)

Step III: Envisioning Units of Study Throughout the Year Essential Question #3 Which genres integrate naturally with content area units of study?

What to Study As the teacher, you must establish the purpose for each unit of study. “Set the Stage” for meaningful reading and writing with clear expectations Create a balance of genre study and time for student driven inquiry Plan to study something that fascinates you as a teacher, and your enthusiasm will rub off on your students.

Determining when to teach what and for how long … Which genres appeal to you? Appeal to your students? Consider both process and product. Consider which units of study naturally integrate with technology- based products like digital stories, web pages, podcasts, online research, etc. Refer to Chapter 12 in The Writing Workshop (page ) and Section 3 in Study Driven (page 189)

One School’s Vision: Clifdale Elementary, 5 th Grade August2 weeksWhat is a writer’s notebook? Sparking Seed Ideas September2 weeks 3 weeks Memoir Realistic Fiction / Book Reviews / Book Blog October2 weeks Informative Practical How to Writing ABC texts November1 week 2 ½ weeks List Feature Articles Feature Articles (sports / science) December3 weeksCrafting Family Stories into Literature January2 weeks WWII Historical Fiction Feature Articles from History (True Stories) February2 weeks 1 ½ weeks Literary nonfiction / Ecosystem unit Integrated Podcast and Art Project March3 weeksPoetry (1 week Connection between Poetry and Songs) Poetry (2 weeks Free Verse / some form poetry) Possible chap book April2 weeks Revision Process Study (2 revised, copy-edited pieces due for 5 th grade anthology) Multigenre Study (1 piece changed to 2 new genres) *Photostory May2 weeks Genre Study of Prompt Writing (PASS Practice) Publishing and Preparing Portfolios (Self Assessment) *Anthology Announcement / Portfolio Parties

Study Possibilities Feature Articles Based on Interviews List Articles Biographical Sketches and Profiles Editorials, Commentary, and All Things Op-Ed ABC Texts Reviews News Reporting Photo Essay Slice of Life Writing Topical Writing Survey of Different Kinds of Writing in the World Multigenre Writing Memoir Short Stories of Realistic Fiction Historical Fiction True Stories from History / Historical Narrative Crafting Family Stories into Literature Poetry Essays Feature Articles and Literary Nonfiction Practical How to Writing Informative How to Writing Advice Writing Study Driven, Section 3

My Challenge to You For Today Review the list of KWR study possibilities with grade level colleagues Determine which ones would fit well within your existing curriculum Brainstorm a list of study possibilities for your grade level including: – Genre studies –Author studies –Process studies (the “how” of writing) ***Begin to think about how you can devote more time to developing young writers by integrating reading, writing and other content material

“People who write well know how their writing fits into the world of written texts.” -Katie Wood Ray