Defining Writer Workshop-Inside The Classroom

! Daily workshop for at least 45 -60 minutes a day. 

! Lessons based on craft teaching points needed by student writers.

! Explicit teaching of craft and lesson focus ideas needed by young writers

! Lessons start with short read aloud from STELLAR literature focused on craft.

! Students write each day for authentic purposes.

! Teacher models using think aloud

! Teacher conferences during independent writing time with students.

! Student work is displayed and celebrated
            The workshop model is not a program. Instead, it's in the delivery of instruction with effective researched based practices.  The teacher must understand the intentional touches with print or words that is in exemplar text for craft technique to paint a picture in the readers mind.  If you want to impact and improve your student's knowledge of craft, you must be the expert of it first.    Know the differences in the craft techniques and types of elaborations commonly used.  I highly recommend reading Lester Laminck's Cracking Open the Author Craft to deepen your understanding, knowledge and practice of craft techniques.  With careful attention to details, the instructor develops a full piece layered with craft  into each section that includes the teaching points over three or four days in advance prior to instructional blocks.  The most important part of the workshop is the share time!  Students need immediate feedback as you will see what teaching points that students owns...

Word Choices Matter: Strong Noun vs. Specific Detail

      We see the word “stuff” and “thing” far too frequently in our student pieces!  Strong nouns are words that help surpass the word choice for “stuff” and “thing” Examples of these words:  cheeseburger, aunt , sister, cousin, car, dog, or street.

     Word choice is one of the essential keys to moving a piece to next level.  Student pieces are more powerful with specific details (they provide a specific information for their reader). 

For instance, a second grader is writing about walking his/her dog.  Dog is left open to interpretation of what kind of dog is the child walking with an unclear vision of the action.  This is not a powerful visual for the reader.  If the same child replaces the word dog with Pit-bull or Great Dane, well the piece has a whole new meaning and picture in the reader’s mind of the dog dragging the child along!  The child is barely holding on to the leash, since that specific dog is so much bigger than a Second grader.

     Have children be very specific of names, addresses, numbers, amounts, or brand names etc in their planning and writing. This will help them move their pieces.  Word choice should be a focus craft twice a week and repeated every week.

                  

Elmo Goes To School

Elmo is NOT just a famous character on Sesame Street! 


        In a 21st Century classroom; Elmo is a tool that displays books, photos, and or documents. Breathing life into lessons to by grasping the learner’s attention with use of a camera magnifying objects! The Elmo is a necessity as a pencil sharper is to classroom to deliver highly effective instruction. Today, we demand for learners to understand not only the purpose of what they are learning; But why it is being taught, and how is the lesson meaningful to real life applications   The ELMO empowers student writers because they are able to investigate text to identify the craft of what published authors do in their work.  You’re able look closely at exemplar text to determine the meaning of why an author may have used a specific craft. As well as what meaning does it give to their reader?  Teacher drafted examples of craft could be demonstrated to paint a picture -of the why and how- behind craft for students. More importantly, students can share how they used crafts.
Watch Elmo change the classroom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru3_gD9UCOo&feature=related


Help Give an Elmo:


http://www.donorschoose.org/Crackingopentheclassroom
or VOTE for a one to be funded..


http://www.oo.com/safkids/detail/projectid/821332

"Not All Classrooms Are Created Equal"

To make gains in Writing, students must have access to seeing the purpose of craft, how using craft in their own work conveys messages to readers, and allowing students share time to display how they practiced the intentional touches of craft in their own draft.  The Elmo allows students to get feed back on their work while learning the Writing process. The share time is imperative to growth and building confidence in struggling young authors.  All students should have the same equal opportunity to technology and learning as they do to have a  highly qualified teacher.  Our policy makers ensure the teacher is qualified to deliver the instruction through testing and teacher certification programs. When will they have the same diligence in making sure all classrooms are equipped with the tools for the 21st century learner?  When was the last time any one who makes financial decisions to cut education funding actually visited your school?  They should do a fidelity check on the resources in schools to see first hand the impact of their decisions to our students...I am given a value added score as part of the evaluation system, Mr. Law maker I ask, "What is your value added score?"  Maybe our children should decide that since it is their future your choices affect?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIBy9nGKvZw




 Help Give an Elmo to a Classroom in a high needs public Title One School:


http://www.donorschoose.org/Crackingopentheclassroom