“What’s a break it box?” Kevin asked, calling my attention to an overflowing black bin on the bottom shelf of our mobile makerspace. This five tier structure on wheels serves as a catch-all for recyclables, loose parts, and whatever craft supplies we currently have on hand. “It’s a box full of stuff you can rip apart and repurpose,” I told him. “People donate the things inside. I think there’s an old toaster and a broken…
This spring, I had the opportunity to work with teachers from southern Erie and Cattaraugus Counties. Our initial sessions challenged teachers to define writers’ craft, the process, and the values and habits of masterful writers. Then, we considered how the progression of these skills and dispositions builds and evolves as experience is gained. Teachers returned to their classrooms with new ideas to consider and test. As I prepared to see them again last week, I hoped that…
Guess what? I wrote a book! That’s right: Make Writing: 5 Teaching Strategies that Turn Writers Workshop into a Maker Space debuted Friday and quickly became an Amazon Best Seller. A big thank you to everyone at the WNY Young Writers Studio for being an important part of this project, and hats off to editor Ruth Arseneault, cover designer Tracey Henterly, and interior designer Steven Plummer for their careful attention and incredible work. I’m grateful to Mark Barnes…
This chart provides a glimpse at two different ways to execute a day of workshop. One is teacher-centered, and the other is writer-centered. As you explore them, consider when it makes sense to use each, because one approach isn’t better than the other. Each makes sense, given writer’s needs and place within the process. Both models are reminiscent of traditional structures, but over time, I’ve made small but purposeful shifts in order to increase ownership…
I founded the WNY Young Writer’s Studio with two great intentions: First, I longed to create a lasting community where children could choose to write about the things that mattered to them in ways that were deeply rewarding. I envisioned a place where young writers would continue to learn from one another month after month and year after year, far beyond the confines of a workshop or institute. I wanted to created a place where…
Last spring, several groups at the WNY Young Writer’s Studio made a careful study of dialogue. Rather than charting the ideas that might have emerged from my teacher-driven mini-lessons, writers researched this topic using varied tools. They looked for evidence of these stratgies in beloved mentor texts, and they interviewed real writers. Then, students added their findings to the chart below. This small shift in practice was incedibly rewarding. How are you making your writing workshop more student…
Primary teachers know that drawing is writing and that even our littlest writers have wonderful and very important stories to tell and opinions to share. It’s important to mention that the anchor chart below, which I’ve shared before, is one that is typically constructed one lesson at a time, over the course of days or even weeks. How fast you move depends on the needs of your writers and the time available for instruction. This…
I spent much of last week curled up on my couch designing writer’s workshop units while nursing a killer cold. One gorgeous silver lining: I’ve discovered lemon ginger tea. Another? I’ve had some time to think about how we do workshop a bit differently at the WNY Young Writer’s Studio. Over the years, we’ve become a community that is truly writer-centered. Shifting away from traditional workshop structures and leading from behind was more than a…
During conversations with teachers last week, one mentioned how overwhelming it is to move writers through the revision process and how, all too often, what comes from the effort is more a reflection of the teacher’s thinking and work rather than the writer’s. “If I don’t do the work for them, their revisions are never deep enough. Their final drafts are still pretty weak,” she said. Truer words are rarely spoken, and this is why…