Focusing on Writing Workshop Essentials

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Focusing on Writing Workshop Essentials

• Featuring
• Writing Workshop The Essential Guide,
• By Ralph Fletcher
• Facilitated by Carol Gebhart,
• Georgia Coulombe, Pete Cobin

2
Making it Work in the Classroom

• With a partner, share your homework journal
  entries from pages 45, 60, or 71.
• Upon completion thank your partner for sharing
  her ideas.

3
Understanding ELLs Development through Quality
Tier 1 Writing Instruction

• ESL writing is scored by the same rubric, in the
  same way as writing by first-language learners.
• When language is a struggle, the scores will
  generally be low across the board. This often
  makes it difficult to decide how to focus
  instruction.

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Look 4s in the Writing of ELLs

• Look for the unit of language the student is
  using.
• Words/phrases
• Sentences
• Paragraphs

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ELL Language Acquisition
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How do we support our teachers in their planning
of quality Tier 1 instruction?

• PLC ActivityLanguage Learners Strategies
• For this discussion, you will need to focus on
  student samples D and E.
• Discuss which units of language these language
  learning students are competently using to write
  with Paragraphs? Sentences? Words or phrases?
  How can we guide these students to move to the
  next more sophisticated unit of language?
• Discuss which single sentence from both samples
  strike you as each samples most sophisticated
  sentence. How can we guide these students to
  write more sentences like these, since they are
  capable of writing sentences that are that
  sophisticated?

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Exemplifying the Difference Comparing Student
Samples D E

• Sample D

• Sample E

• Is a list of sentences.
• There is nothing to link the sentences in to an
  expressive paragraph.
• If Student D could learn to develop a paragraph,
  this would be progress!

• Is a paragraph composed of linked sentences which
  are linked to make a story.
• The story is difficult to understand, so progress
  for this student would be to make a clearer, more
  sophisticated paragraph.

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Look 4s in the Writing of ELLs

• Look for the Most Sophisticated Sentence
• Any writing has a mixture of ordinary, simple,
  perhaps error-plagued sentences and more
  sophisticated sentences that challenge the
  writers expressive ability.
• Sophisticated sentences are a better indication
  of a students competence.
• The most sophisticated sentence can show small
  steps of progress that may not be picked up by
  the writing rubric, however it gives us a
  detailed view of the students language
  acquisition.

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Exemplifying the DifferenceComparing Student
Samples D E

• Sample D

• Sample E

• It was about in the old pass it was fun because
  you can see a move about the pass it about houe
  they find gold.
• (It was fun because you can see a move about the
  pass.)
• This sentence would be better with more
  sophisticated vocabulary, as well as improving
  spelling and sentence conventions.

• I saw a dog come after as wen we went for resis.
• This sentence is more sophisticated in a number
  of ways
• by describing the dog, by giving location,
  by showing how it affected other people or
  things, and of course by better spelling.
• The teacher can use this sentence as a starting
  point for elaboration.
• We were surprised to see a dirty dog come
  running after us in the hall when we were going
  to recess.

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Wrapping It Up

• Teachers can inform their instruction
• and recognize progress even at the bottom of the
  rubric scale
• by observing the language unit and the most
  sophisticated sentence

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Writers Notebook Lessons

• Share out your experience with implementing Ralph
  Fletchers Writers Notebook lessons.
• Preview lessons 11-17 for future implementation
  in your classroom through the Writers Workshop
  format.

12
BREAK

• Please take this time to refresh your self,
  visit with your colleagues, or check your CELL
  messages.
• Be ready to convene in 10 minutes for our second
  portion of our evening.

13
Quote Reflection Response Activity

• Read the quotes independently and highlight 3
  quotes that will stimulate discussion with a
  colleague.
• When the begins, circulate throughout the
  room.
• When the music stops, make contact with a
  colleague, then share one of your quotes and
  thoughts with her.
• Thank your most amazing partner and we will begin
  the process for two more partner shares.

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Conferring Video Discussion

• Featuring
• Donald Graves Conferring Video
• Describe the actions of both the teacher and
• student during the conferring element of Writers
• Workshop on your note-taker. Be prepared to
• share out and connect it to your teaching of
• writing.

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Closing Out our Evening

• Exit ticket
• Wrap-up Questions
• Whats Next ?

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• Thank you for your active
• participation, thoughtful
• reflections, and contributions to
• this evenings collegial.
• Carol, Georgia, Pete