Structure of Writer's Workshop

I began to inservice the teachers on writer’s workshop on the first day back to school in August, 2007. I shared a powerpoint I created on An Introduction to Writer’s Workshop. Following are the key highlights from it on the structure of writer’s workshop.

Writer's Workshop follows a predictable pattern of:

Mini-lessons (5-10 minutes)
Independent Writing (20-30 minutes)
Conferencing (during independent writing)
Sharing (5-10 minutes)

Total Writer’s Workshop Time: 30-50 minutes


Let’s take a closer look at each of the above parts of writer’s workshop.

Mini-lessons are conducted with the whole group. Ideally you have created an area of your room where the whole class can be seated on the floor gathered closely to you. A mini-lesson is explicit instruction in a specific writing technique taught in a short 5-10 minute period at the start of the workshop.

There are 4 types of writing mini-lessons:

• Procedures and Organization - routines


• Strategies and Processes


• Skills


• Craft and Techniques
  

Independent Writing occurs back at student tables/desks following the mini-lesson.

• Students write daily.


• Students determine the topics they will write about.


• Students use a writer’s notebook and/or folder for organizing writing.


• Students are at different stages of writing.


• Teacher’s role is facilitator…circulating the room, monitoring, encouraging, conferencing, and providing help as needed.


• “When you’re done, you’ve just begun.”
  

Conferencing is done during the independent writing time.

• Students seek responses from their partners.


• Teachers conference with individual students and/or small groups.
  

Sharing is done with the whole group to end the Writer’s Workshop.

• This is an integral part to the writer’s workshop.


• Students are given opportunities to share their writing piece, expose strategies they found helpful, share literature that inspired a piece of writing, and/or share a seed idea from their writer’s notebook.


• This time allows writers to learn from each other and to see/hear good examples of writing.


• This time also allows for students to practice speaking orally.