Writing workshop in a first grade classroom

Teaching Pre K-8, Nov 1995 by Fisher, Bobbi

Writing workshop is an essential part of the curriculum in my first grade classroom, and almost every morning the children are involved in self-selected writing endeavors.

On a typical day, you might observe the following: two children talking together about a book they're planning to write; several children involved in work they had started the day before; others beginning a "single piece" that they will finish that day; a few starting a story that they will work on for a longer period of time.

You'd probably also see a group of children sitting in a circle discussing their work, while someone hangs a finished piece on the sharing bulletin board or puts it in the sharing basket to share later with the class. I'd probably be conducting a writing conference with a student. Finally, at the end of writing time, we might all be sitting in a circle on he floor with our current work in front of us, sharing some descriptive words that we've included in our pieces.

The following components guide me in creating a dynamic and meaningful writing workshop for my first graders: a positive attitude of trust and commitment; an understanding of the process of writing, an orderly arrangement of materials; a predictable daily routine; and a clearly defined role for me as the teacher.

1. Trust and commitment. Since I believe that writing is essential for literacy development, I am committed to providing time for writing every day.

The children trust that they'll have daily opportunities to pursue their own topics, work by themselves or with friends, and begin a new piece every day or work on a story or book over time. I trust that when given these choices, they'll become engaged in meaning, rigorous and lasting learning.

These conditions provide me with opportunities to support the children in their growth as writers through mini-lessons, individual conferences, publishing opportunities and whole class sharing.

2. The process of writing. Building on the work of Lucy Calkins, Don Graves and Donald Murray, over the years I've created my own descriptions of the different procedures of writing--rehearsal, drafting, revising and editing--to guide my teaching. I've also added a fifth procedure: sharing.

* Rehearsal--different ways that children plan what to write. This includes thinking, talking and reading. It often occurs while the children are writing, not just before they begin.

* Drafting--the actual writing of the piece. This is often interspersed with thinking and talking.

* Revising--going over what is written. This happens continually as children write, not just during that last time before the work is edited or declared finished.

* Editing - working with an editor (teacher, parent or another student) to prepare the piece for publication. This includes attending to the meaning of the piece and working on standardizing writing conventions and spelling. The extent of editing varies. It can entail helping the child make a few appropriate changes on the original paper or it can involve preparing the piece to be published in conventional form, either printed by the computer or copied by the student.

* Sharing--all the different ways that children share their work. This includes producing a computer-printed piece, sharing in the author's chair, hanging the piece on the sharing board, taking it home, adding it to their portfolio or simply showing it to a friend.

3. Organization of materials. A systematic organization of supplies and writing folders is essential for writing workshop. In my classroom, general writing supplies are easily available and are organized and maintained by the children.

Pencils, crayons, erasers, rulers, staplers, date stamps and a variety of sizes of paper, both lined and unlined, are located in the writing area. In the reading area, there are dictionaries and lists of high frequency and descriptive words that hang on the area's bulletin board. Lists of social studies, science and math words, which are generated by the class throughout the year, are posted in the corresponding areas.

There are five work tables in my classroom, and five children are assigned to each table for eight weeks. Each table has a plastic file box with a hanging file for each child. In the hanging file are a pocket file in which the children keep their ongoing writing, personal dictionaries, lists of topic suggestions and other papers. Completed work is filed in a monthly file; at the end of each month, the children choose a few pieces for their yearly portfolio file.

4. Predictable daily routine. When the children arrive in the morning, one of their jobs is to get ready for writing. They put their folders at their chosen places and get any paper and supplies they'll need. Some choose to work at their assigned tables, while others settle in at other places around the room.

Many of the children have already begun writing even before we formally start the day as a group at the rug area. After this shared literacy time, which often concludes with a writing mini-lesson, the children return to their chosen places and begin.