Writer's Workshop

As a huge fan of The 2 Sisters' Daily 5 and Cafe books, I try to follow their routines closely. I do, however, stray from the Daily 5 when it comes to writing. Writing always seemed to get the short end of the stick if time in the morning ran out, so this year I moved writing to the afternoon and began conducting it in a "Daily 2" sort of way. 

First, I teach a writing mini-lesson, which often relates to strategies posted on our CAFE Menu.

Next, the students retrieve their writer's notebooks to begin Write to Self time. Here they are to practice the skill taught in the mini-lesson and write independently.

Last, students work with a partner to begin Write with Someone time. This is when they must listen to each other's work, compliment each other and offer help to one another. 

So far this has helped my class and I spend a bit more time on writing. The kids love showing off their work to their friends and love helping each other. 

The link below are posters of the expectations for these writing times:

Writing Time Posters

Illustrators!

So...I've been inspired in a new direction...again. A few weeks ago I shared my writing posters that encourage students to think about what they're going to write, say it out loud, write it down and go back and read what they wrote. After getting to know my students better I decided to make them illustrators before I made them writers. I wanted to alleviate the stress of using punctuation, correct spelling and grammar and instead have them tell stories with pictures only. I've gone so far as to say, "No words allowed!" Of course...that makes them want to write words more than anything which will help us transition into writers even more.

I came up with this phrase to assist students in making great picture choices:

1. Think it. (Think about the picture you're going to make. I usually give them a vague topic)
2. Plan it. (Plan how you'll make that picture. What kind of paper will you use? Where will you draw things on the page?)
3. Draw it. Draw your picture.
4. Tweak it. Tweak your picture. (Step back and look at your illustration. Decide if you need to add color, an object or anything to make it clearer for an observer)

Tomorrow we'll be adding words to an illustration we did today. I'll post posters to match my steps soon.