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

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

3. Step I: A. Envision Your Writing
With respect to your personal interests, what do you want to write?
“…you need to compose a writing life for yourself”
~Lucy Calkins

4. According to Ray… 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
(Study Driven, 37)

5. B. Discover Mentor Texts
2. What have you read (or might you read) that is like what you want to write?
Build your finished piece by “borrowing from the larger world of writing”
~ Ray (37)

6. Step II: Envision Your Writing 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)

7. What stands in the way of realizing your vision?
*Time
*Resources
*Accountability/Expectations from Administration
*Preparation/performance for standardized tests
*Achieving a balance between craft lessons and being able to write on demand for assessment

8. How do we solve these dilemmas?

9. Teacher as Professional
*Research-based Practice
*Assessment driven (data-driven) instruction
*Reflective practice
*Teacher as advocate for students, for the profession, for writing best practices

10. 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

11. Part A: Understanding the Framework
Essential Question #1:
What will students read that is like what we want them to write?

12. The Framework (Study Driven, page 19) 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)

13. Part B: Determining Your Focus
Essential Question #2:
What will students be expected to produce?

14. 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.

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

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

17. 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.

18. 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)

19. Part C: Envisioning Year-long Units of Study
Resources and Examples:
Envisioning Units of Study Across the Curriculum:
Purposeful Planning and Real-World Products for Every Classroom
(SWP Wiki)

20. Study Possibilities Memoir Feature Articles Based on Interviews
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
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
Study Driven , Section 3

21. My Challenge to You For Today
Review the list of KWR study possibilities with grade level and content area 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 with other content material

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