Writing Workshop is the Answer!

Before reading A Classroom Teacher's Guide to Struggling Writers: How to Provide Differentiated Support and Ongoing Assessment, I expected to find secrets and strategies that would be new to me.  It surprised me to find out that I already knew the answer to helping struggling writers.  Dudley-Marling & Paugh (2009) point out the answer when they state
             
              Writing workshop, with its emphasis on whole-class minilessons, independent writing time,
               and writing conferences, provides instructional spaces for teachers to assess the needs of
               individual students and provide frequent, intensive, explicit, and individualized support and 
               direction as needed (p. 3).

While I am still learning much about using a writing workshop format for the writing instruction time, I understand how this time can be extremely beneficial for struggling writers.  Teachers are able to provide more direct, individual writing instruction during one-on-one writing conferences.  One of my fears of teaching is not having enough time to make sure that every student is successful in my class.  It is promising to know that there will be time during the day to give assistance to those who need it the most.

I highlighted the sentence "Teachers who do not write themselves may have difficulty appreciating the struggles of novice writers" (Dudley-Marling & Paugh, 2009, p. 11).  The more classroom experience that I have, the more I am appreciating the importance of this sentence.  As I continue to grow and develop as a writer, I can encourage and instruct my students in a more authentic manner.  I hope that they will be motivated to write as they see me write alongside them.

A question that I have from chapter two is how does "the immediate social possibilities of writing often motivate struggling and reluctant writers"? (Dudley-Marling & Paugh, 2009, p. 14).  When I think about writing, I do not associate it with social possibilities.  I do, however, like the idea of students collaborating on stories.  I just do not think that all struggling students will benefit from the social aspect/collaborating in their writing.  I guess that is why the writing workshop is not a formula to figure out, but a continuous learning experience for both the teacher and the students.

I experience the writing workshop every Tuesday and Thursday in my field placement class.  While there are so many wonderful aspects of this writing environment, I do wish that there was more organization for the students.  There is only one table set up in the back of the room for the students to use.  Most students write from their desks or from sitting on the floor in various places around the room.  There is not a centralized location for students to obtain materials.  If a student needs a clipboard and lined paper, he must obtain these supplies from two opposite sides of the classroom.  I am learning the importance of organization and space in the writing workshop.

I also completely agree when Dudley-Marling & Paugh (2009) state, "To help struggling writers become aware of the hard work of writing, teachers can model their own writing processes during minilessons" (p. 35).  I did exactly this during my minilesson last week with the fourth graders I was teaching.  They responded well to seeing my writing process and quickly caught my (intentional) punctuation mistakes.  When the students see their teacher in the writer role, they are more likely to respond positively when it is time for a writing conference.

Something new that I learned from this week's reading was the "written conversation" activity.  What a wonderful way to model proper conventions and help the student with ideas in a different format.  I may try this activity the next time I have a writing conference with a student.



Dudley-Marling, C., & Paugh, P. C. (2009).A classroom teacher's guide to          
          struggling writers: how to provide differentiated support and ongoing      
          assessment. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.