Writer’s Workshop & CCSS

1. Writer’s Workshop & CCSS Michelle Stewart, Crystal Gianopoulos, Sonia Lantz, Peggy Benjamin Vine Hill School, Scotts Valley

2. Description of Practice • This is not your grandmother’s Writer’s Workshop! We are presenting Writer’s Workshop, a method of writing instruction developed by Lucy Calkins and educators involved in the Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University in New York City, New York. (Calkins, L (2006). A Guide to The Writing Workshop, Grades 3-5. Portsmouth, NH: First Hand). It is a specific curriculum, a practice, a pathway to the Common Core. • This method of instruction focuses on the goal of fostering lifelong writers. It is based upon four principles: students will write about their own lives, they will use a consistent writing process, they will work in authentic ways, and it will foster independence. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Writing_Workshop)

3. Links to Common CoreInstructional Shifts Balancing Informational & Literary Text • WW will help you teach narrative, informational, and persuasive writing with increasing complexity and sophistication Building Knowledge in the Discipline with a Staircase of Complexity • WW will help you unpack the Common Core writing standards as they guide students to attain and exceed those expectations • WW will require high-level thinking including more opportunities to synthesize, analyze, and critique Text-based Answers, Writing From Sources, and Build Academic Vocabulary • WW will present numerous opportunities for writing across the curriculum The Reading and Writing Project has studied the CC Standards intensely in order to understand their infrastructure, to locate the ‘power standards,’ that enable a host of other proficiencies, and to highlight gaps between existing practice and the Common Core Standards. The new Units of Study are pre-aligned with CCSS for you! For detailed information, we recommend reading Pathways to the Common Core by Calkins, Ehrenworth, and Lehman.

4. Impact on Students Students: • write daily • choose topics that matter to them • are highly and actively engaged • become motivated and enthusiastic writers • increase amount of writing produced • write deeper, more meaningful content • progress at his/her own rate • understand audience • receive direct feedback on a regular basis • have a deeper understanding of the writing process • begin to revise and self edit in all content areas

5. Tips on Implementation (Lessons Learned) Set up your classroom • Establish Learning Partners • Build Stamina • Teach the Tools • Clear, Predictable Procedures

6. Resources & Tools for Getting Started Each child will need: • A writing folder • A writing tool (black markeror pen) • Various papers available to them • Blue and red markers for editing and revising Each teacher will need: • Units of Study inOpinion, Information, andNarrative by Lucy Calkins • Mentor Texts (children’s literature) from Units of Study • Stories of your own to share • The same writing paper as your students • A writing tool (black marker) • Blue and red markers for editing and revising • Conferencing binder where you can make notes about each child • Clipboard to take with you to conference (with paper or sticky labels) We highly recommend observing teachers using WW in action and seeking additional training as you implement this curriculum. • Teacher release time • Grants • Professional development • Focus groups