Writing that asks pupils to write in real or realistic situations where they use their knowledge and skills learned to help someone beyond their teacher.
Writer’s Workshop Structure
Quick writes (free writes)
Mini-lessons
Writing Time
Reading time
Responding/Conferencing
Reflection
Quick Write Ideas (Most from Penny Kittle)
- Trace around your hand, fill it with memories of what you’ve touched, held, loved
- Fill a heart shape with the music that lives in your heart, songs connected to moments you love
- Choose an article from the newspaper, read aloud and respond with your thinking
- A letter to someone you treasure; a letter to someone who annoys you; a letter to ask for something
- Capture a conversation you overheard this week
- Capture the sounds of your house
- Sketch your room, your backyard, your neighborhood, your classroom, your favorite hiding place
- Things you wonder about
- Questions you’d like to ask the principal, your parents, your best friend…
- Slow down time, show every detail you can recall
- Compressed time, like 100 moments on the bus
- Think of a favorite photograph and tell the story of that picture and why it matters to you
- Write a thank-you note to a stranger who did something kind for you
- Make a bucket list (the things you want to do before you die)
- Invent a new food—draw and describe it
- Create a life map, mapping out your life with just pictures
- How would you survive the zombie apocalypse?
- Create a classified ad for your favorite________
- Write a ransom note for a stolen ____________
- Respond to an image
Mini-Lessons
Short lesson with a narrow focus. It provides instruction in a concept or skill that pupils are working on in their writing (or will be working on). Typically, it extends learning, teaches a skill, introduces strategies, or creates interest in a topic.
Short: 5-15 minutes
Introduce the topic–often with a mentor text
Demonstrate the strategy/skill
Guided practice
Discussion
Student examples
Example of Peer Review Handout for Text Analysis
Peer Reviewer: Writer:
Text being analyzed:
- What are the Writer’s concerns with this paper?
- What is the thesis/argument in this analysis? Can you underline it?
- Put stars by any places in the analysis you really like.
- If there is something you want to know more about, put a plus (+) and ask the questions you want answered.
- Use question marks (?) to mark where you are confused. Ask questions to help clarify your confusion
- What claims is the writer making in their analysis?
- What do you think is the strongest claim in this paper? Why?
- What do you think is the weakest claim in this paper? Why?
- What additional points could the writer also consider using to better support their claims?
- What else might the writer consider adding to the paper?
- What else might the writer consider adding to the paper in order to fulfill its intended purpose?
- What questions do you still have after reading the paper?
- What do you find most compelling about this analysis?
Where I’m From Poem and Template
Fake News/Fake Texts Sites
Multigenre Project Example
“Genres of narrative thinking require writers to be concrete and precise. They can’t just tell in abstract language. They can’t just be paradigmatic. They must show. They must make their topics palpable. They must penetrate. And that is what multigenre papers enable their authors to do.” (Romano, 2000, p. 26)
For this project, you will take the topic you are interested in—a person, era, fad, phenomenon, show, place, object, etc.—and create a multigenre project.
You will create a multigenre piece that must include the following:
- An expository piece (500-750 words). You can put the piece in your work as an essay or you can use another form that fits your paper.
- A Table of Contents listing the title of the piece and the author’s name
- Preface/Introduction/Dear Reader
- Poem
- 2 Visual Elements
- 4 Additional Genres
- Bibliography (You must have a minimum of 5 sources. One must be a book and one must be an interview, survey, observation, or some other research you collect.) These can be the same sources as those you used in your I-Search project.
- Endnotes (For each genre I want an endnote, reflecting on its role in the piece and any additional information the reader needs to know. These notes should be a paragraph—two at the most—each.)
- Unifying Element—There must be a theme, connection, repetition; something that brings the pieces together and connects them into a whole.
These bullets MUST be in your piece. In addition, you’ll need other genres that will work to complete your work. Try to open up your mind and work to different ideas and adventures and see where they take you. Your project can be digital or analog—or a mixture of the two. Think about how what you are writing about influences how you present your work.
Follow Tom Romano’s advice and start your project soon. “Make it part of your academic life, take notes, and capture information as you read” (45).
Mentor Texts
Mentor Text Dropbox
New York Times Learning Network
Newsla
Websites I Like
Talks with Teachers
Penny Kittle
Kelly Gallagher
George Ella Lyon
National Writing Project
Writers Who Care Blog
Read, Write, Think