Future Writers Unite

I like to pride myself as a writer.  Literature is one of my areas in my Education program.  I strongly believe that everyone can be a writer, and everyone has something to say. 

When it comes to putting words on paper, “be yourself…above all, let who you are, what you are, and what you believe shine through in every sentence you write, and every piece you finish.”  -Jake.

Blogging strongly contributes to the creative writing process; that’s why I love it.   Because of this, I got a relevent idea from one of my classes, which is about teaching English Language Arts and creative writing.  It is called a Writing Workshop.  It was started by a lady named Nancy Atwell, who primarily taught English in the middle grades. 

Many children do not write beyond the walls of the school, and many of the writing they do in schools is not creative writing that exists just for the enjoyment of writing.  The Writing Workshop is a structured program that focuses on writing process and development.  Students first create their own ‘Writing Portfolio’ and decorated it in any way they wish.  There are three compartments: Record Keeping, Works in Progress, and Finished Pieces. 

The Workshop begins every day with ‘Status of the Class.’  It is like a form of attendance-taking; however, when your name is called, you tell the teacher where you are at in your writing process/status.  An example of this is saying “Memoir: second draft,” or “currently changing topics”.  Or if you need teacher attention, you say “Teacher conference,” and the teacher knows to come to you later for help. 

After Status of the Class, is the ‘Mini-Lesson.’  This is where the teacher would tackle reoccurring issues in the students’ work.  An example of this would be the differences between ‘then,’ and ‘than,’ or comma splices, or apostrophes. 

Next is 40 to 50 minutes of actual writing time.  The students can work at their own pace; they can edit whatever piece of writing they happen to be working on.  They start a piece by making a web, then however many drafts it takes until it is polished.  This is also when teacher or student conferencing happens. 

Finally, the last stage is the Group Share.  Everyone gathers in a circle, and people have the option of sharing a piece of their work, or asking for help.  When someone shares their work, the TAG system is used.  ‘T’ is Tell what you like,  ‘A’ is Ask questions, and ‘G’ is Give suggestions.   

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