Writing Workshop
This school year all students in grades K-8 will be taught using the Writing Workshop model of instruction. Writing Workshop is designed for use in all grade levels. Each grade level has specific units of study tailored to meet developmental and curricular needs. Students have a large amount of choice in their topic and style of writing. The teacher acts as a mentor author, modeling writing techniques and conferring with students as they move through the writing process. Direct writing instruction takes place in the form of a mini-lesson at the beginning of each workshop and is followed by opportunities for students to engage in authentic writing experiences. Each workshop ends with a sharing of student work.
K-8 Units of Study- Use this as a guide to what genres will be taught in each grade level. Note that the time frame may be adjusted.
Teachers will be using the Schoolwide Writing units during their Writing Workshop instructional period. These units are designed to support all genres of writing. Mentor texts are included in these units so that students are exposed to exemplar samples of writing. Grammar is embedded in the writing instruction and will not be taught separately, in isolation.
What is Different?
Grammar and Penmanship will not be taught in isolation. They will be embedded in the writing instruction. . Teachers will model strategies for students and they will be able to apply these in authentic pieces of writing. This will also be reflected in the students' report cards.