Frequently Asked Questions
| Question: What
is Writer's Workshop? Answer: Writer's Workshop is a block of school time devoted to student planning, drafting, and editing compositions for publication, often involving peer collaboration. |
|
| Question: What
should parents see from their child this year? Answer: You should notice your child spending more time on writing and less time on drawing pictures. You will notice they will write several sentences on the same topic and begin to write across pages. They will add more details to their writing. |
|
| Question: How
does their writing as a 2nd grader differ from their writing as a 1st
grade? Answer: As 2nd graders, they become more aware of the audience they are writing for, and they will put more thought into the topic they choose to write about. |
|
| Question: What
are the goals of writer's workshop? Answer: The goals are to challenge the students to expand their ideas, to create focus within a topic, and to foster confidence at a time when self-consciousness may appear. |
|
| Question: What
are the main components of writer's workshop Answer: The main components of the Writer's Workshop include a Mini-lesson, Writing & Conferencing, and Peer Sharing & Author's Chair. |
|
| Question: What
is a mini-lesson Answer: A Mini- Lesson is usually a 5-10 minute whole class activity and may be as simple as doing guided writing from a story. An example is to lay out a favorite story's events in beginning, middle, and end form, create an idea web featuring a book's plot, or formally present the use of ' mechanics' such as basic punctuation. The children take the information they learned from the mini-lesson and use it in their writing that day. |
Below is a good reference book for you if you would like to read on helping your
children
become lifelong readers
and writers.
Raising Lifelong
Learners: A Parent's Guide by Lucy Calkins and Lydia Bellino