Getting ready to teach writing workshop...

This weeks readings were very helpful.  I liked that she spoke in chapter nine about the five categories for teaching writing workshop: how the room is set up, how we use that room, what is taught in focus lesson  and conference as well what we chose to investigate and how we require writing homework.  Set up of the room and how we use it seems pretty obvious but I would have never thought about the focus lesson and conference as well as the writing homework.  I see after reading this chapter that I still have a lot left to learn.  I only hope that I can see a writing workshop in person with a great lead teacher. 

Something that I would like address and talk about that came up in chapter nine is the idea of setting up the room to teach.  In previous classes I have taken in college it has been suggested that by modeling works or giving rubrics it can lend itself to students doing less superior work.  I must say that I was relieved to read that the author believes that students should be exposed to such works of art to help promote creativity.  After all if a poem can be written about the sounds that overall buckles make in the dryer than anything is possible. :0)

So in chapter 10 we learn that one of the goals of the author is for students to read the world like a writer.  What makes this such an awesome goal is that she practices what she preaches.  In class she shows her students an entry of her notebook where she had written a story about a car that passed by with a canoe on top of it.  What she explains to them is that there is always inspiration around us to write about.  She writes a fictional story about the car with the canoe on top of it and I learned from this chapter how if students are struggling for a topic, they can look around and use ordinary things around the room to make a story.  I only hope in my future that I will be able confident in my own work to share it with my class or I could just bring in books to share I guess.

Last chapter to discuss... chapter 13...I would like to talk about focus lessons in general. I knew that the whole point for writing workshop was to be student centered... or at least I thought it was. However in this chapter I learned that the majority of the writing workshop is spent with students working on their pieces but a small portion is spent with the teacher teaching about a topic relevant to everyones writing.  For instance when trying to get students to work on poems its a good idea to show them an example and then suggest that they go back through their writing after you are finished with their lesson as many times poems can be found in an entry.  What the author taught me is that each workshop should have some instruction from the teacher to somewhat guide students after all they are supposed to be learning as they write. I found it also interesting that she said not to have students tell some of the works right now but instead suggest their piece maybe used for this topic and so on and so fourth.  So students are involved but not directly just yet. The main goal of the lesson is to stay focused so that students can learn.  I really enjoyed this chapter and I learned a lot!!! 

Looking at writing... a new perspective

This week represents my first full week of this semester.  I read chapters one through five in our textbook and would like to take a few moments to reflect on it.

Chapter one was an interesting read. I really appreciated the author explaining the difference between what the writing process is and holding a writing workshop.  When I was younger and in elementary as well as middle school, our writing class consisted of our teacher assigning us a topic and then going through the motions of the process.  It was painful in school to go through all of the steps of drafting, revising, rewriting, peer editing and then final rewrite.  There were times I can remember where we worked for two weeks on the same piece.  I think pulling every strand of hair out one by one would have been more fun.  In turn I learned to dislike writing.  Every time a teacher spoke of starting a new piece I just wanted to scream.  In my future classroom I would like to focus more on writing workshop.  I agree that it is important to teach the process but I want the focus to stay on the workshop itself.

Chapter two said what I believe many teachers think, if students write in all of the other subject areas is it really necessary to have a writing class? (Ray 17)  I agree with the author that yes it is necessary to have time for writing class.  It would have been nice to have time each day to write and almost keep a journal of everything going on.  It would have been nice to have time to just write what I was feeling and what I was thinking.  I plan to have time each day even if it is only 30 minutes for students to free write.

The next chapters I would like to discuss together.  It was funny to read what the author wrote when she said that people disagree that they are writers but instead reader’s when indeed many people write different things each day.  I know I write emails, text messages, bills, letters, and thank you notes.  I wonder if some one pointed this fact out if people would agree that they are indeed writers.  And lastly I would like to reiterate that a schedule is key to success of any classroom and so is lenience.  However, writing workshop does not needed to be treated like a fluid entity.  I agree completely that students need time to write and work on old pieces as well as new pieces.  Once established I believe that a writing workshop can exist with little instruction from the teacher.  In the classrooms that I have observed the best writing workshops were peer led.  I hope to apply what I have learned today to my classroom in the future.