One of my go-to ways to breathe new life into writing workshop is to invite students to create their own writing projects. This doesn't have to be complicated or time consuming. It can happen between units or in the middle of a unit. It can happen in one workshop or a handful of workshops. Trust me, invite your students to create their own writing projects, and their energy for writing will increase. Below are two minilessons (one for primary and the other for intermediate writers) to springboard into a invitation for students to pursue their own writing projects. I'd love to know how you breathe new energy into your writing workshop. Leave a comment and let us know!
Description: Launch writing workshop with students writing their BEST BOOK EVER! In this lesson, students are invited to consider the things they know as writers to write a BEST BOOK EVER. Special Notes: There is an explanation of the routine for "turn and talk" in the middle of this video. Extra Resources: Check out the webpage I put together with the chart and inspiration boxes.
Lesson: WHAT WILL YOU MAKE IN WRITING WORKSHOP? (3-UP) Playlists:
Grades K-1 Grades 2-3 Routines Writing Process Launching Writing Workshop
Description: Offer an invitation for students to create their own writing projects. Students consider audience, genre, purpose, and topic when developing writing projects. Special Notes: Make sure to create the chart to use in the minilesson, inspiration boxes for students, and to give students access to the WIP Brainstorm Sheet (found on the resource page). Extra Resources: Click here for the chart, inspiration box explanation, and WIP Brainstorm Sheet on the resources page.
Conventions Grades K-1 Grades 2-3 Writing Process Launching Writing Workshop
Description: Our youngest writers can learn to courageously stretch rich words to make their writing meaningful. This lesson provides a chart and a concrete way to share brave spellings, as well as conventional spellings. Special Notes: This video is longer than usual. The reason is because it is two parts. The first portion is designed to be the minilesson. It explains the chart and models how to use it. The second part is to be used before the share session. It explains how to celebrate brave spellings and share the conventional spellings. Extra Resources: This lesson was inspired by Lisa Cleveland and Katie Wood Ray in their book About the Authors. When I saw the chart they made like this, it changed the way I talked with young writers about the words they used. I love that we can celebrate their spelling choices, even when it isn't conventional. I also appreciate being able to post the conventional spelling alongside the brave spelling.
After I created this video, I was doing a little thinking about extra resources to share with this lesson. As I was staring at the chart, I realized I used a "brave spelling" for afraid. Yikes! My first thought was to redo the chart and the video. However, I had already shot another video for an online course where I discussed the importance of valuing approximations. The irony was thick. In that moment I had a choice. I could redo hours of work to get it right, or I could embrace imperfection and keep moving forward. I wish I could say it was an easy choice. It's never easy to put less than perfection into the world. I took a deep breath, rolled my eyes, snapped a selfie and decided it is more important to put this lesson in the world than to be shackled by perfection. I'm sure you'll use conventional spelling in the title of the chart you create for your room. *smile*
