In Make Writing, I share the three layer design process that I’ve used each time I’ve set up my own makerspaces or helped school districts develop their own: First we establish the substructure of the space, which is prepared before we open the doors of the space. Then, we assess the needs and interests of the makers we serve during the start-up phase, which begins when the kids walk in the door. As individual writers begin to…
I’ve spent a good portion of this year helping teachers unpack and design some pretty powerful writing experiences around this particular standard. I’ll admit that it’s my favorite. Sure, research and information writing teach us about the world, and stories help us learn how to live in it. Poets accomplish both of those things and more, but this is the standard that challenges young people to distinguish fact from fallacy and evidence from high emotion. This is…
“What is this?” Ava asked, pulling a fuzzy bit of string out of the tray that greeted the writers at her table. “I’m not sure,” I replied, teasing her a bit. “What could it be?” She considered this carefully, tilting her head a bit and pushing her glasses up with one finger. A tiny smile played across her lips. “I’ll bet we get to invent things with all of this stuff,” she guessed, scampering back…
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…
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…
Here’s a snapshot of the grid that some writers plan with at the WNY Young Writer’s Studio. And here’s another of a bulletin board near it, which provides new writers very basic approaches to try as they get acquainted with making writing in this way. These aren’t my ideas. Studio writers shared most of them. And here’s something that’s hard to portray in those photos or in sketchbook shots: the MOVEMENT of the sticky notes.…
In my work with teachers, and in our fellowship programs at the WNY Young Writer’s Studio, I’ve become closely acquainted with a few kids who absolutely hate writing. What’s worse is that they believe they aren’t capable of it. Why? Well, mostly because they are unable to sit silently before a screen or page and push words out of the end of their fingers in a coherent fashion until every inch of white space is…