Promoting Writing in the Primary Grades

  Writing workshops?  When I first heard this term I thought of a workshop teachers attend to better their writing skills so that they may become better and effective writing teachers. I thought during these workshops teachers learnt various methods that they can use in their classroom to assist their students how to write. This was not it at all. After watching a few videos I realized I was wrong. Writing workshops do not include teachers bettering themselves as writers. In fact, a writing workshop is  described as a ‘structure’ for teaching the writing process. I can therefore say that t is my understanding that w riting workshops are sessions teachers use to help guide their students through the writing process.  The writing workshop comprises of (3) components (see picture below) .  1. Mini - Lesson These are short lessons that the teacher model for students the writing process.                   During these lessons the teacher will also model the skills that they would want their

 When you hear the phrase 'writing workshop' what comes to mind?  For me, when I first heard the term writing workshop, I thought that it was the teacher engaging in group discussions and activities that would help him or her be better able to teach students how to write. However, after this week of video watching and discussion, I soon realize that writing workshops entail so much more.  Writing workshops are not  about teaching students how to spell words nor is it about teaching students how to use transitional words or giving them prompts. Writing workshops are student structured discussions and activities that allow for the teaching of the writing process.  These workshops allow for teachers to help students through the writing process; that is:  generate ideas or topics for writing research the selected topic  draft their writing piece  revise their writing  edit their writing share their final product As students go through the entire process, they should be learning a l

  What is writing workshop? Teaching children to write enables them to express themselves clearly and creatively, developing a lifelong love of writing. To grow as writers, children need thorough instruction in the skill, mechanics, and process of writing. Writing workshop is a student-centered framework for teaching the writing process and fostering students' development as competent and independent writers. Writing workshops are an effective technique for teachers to teach students to write. It guarantees that students acquire the ability to write. During writing workshops, students are encouraged to write for themselves and grow as writers. Furthermore, teachers cannot present the students a list of prompts and expect them to write about them. The writing workshop  enables students to exercise their freedom to select their own topic and working at their own pace. The writing workshop encompasses the whole writing process, from prewriting to drafting, editing, proofreading, and p

These videos are to assist with the reflection of writing workshops and conferencing.   

 

  Not everyone is a good writer. Allow me to clarify when I say ‘writer’. No, I don’t mean a writer as in someone who writes neatly. From my research ‘A writer can be described as a person who uses written words to communicate their ideas.’   Why should educators/teachers become better writers? “The world of writing is a mural, not a snapshot. Students’ notions of genre should be expansive, not narrow” says Tom Romano. You may or may not agree with Tom Romano, but I know I do.  It is the teacher’s responsibility to assist students to become creative and independent thinkers. But how can we as teachers help our students if we ourselves are not good writers? According to Donald Graves, “You can’t ask someone to sing a duet with you until you know the tune itself.” It is therefore essential that we as teachers must educate ourselves on the importance of writing. We must also practice the skills of writing if we would like to become better and effective writing teachers.   The article ‘Bec

  Reflection on BECOMING YOUR OWN EXPERT-TEACHERS AS WRITERS by Tim Gillespie(1985) Being An Effective Writer Makes You Better At Teaching It . According to Frank Smith, “teachers should write with their students.” As teachers we are already writers! However, in order to be the greatest writing teacher possible for our students, we must write in order for our instruction to be anchored on knowledge gain from reading.   In Tim Gillespie’s article, he tried to convince an administrator why it is important for teachers to attend writing project sessions and why it is important for teachers to write with their students. Some of his points includes:  “When teachers write, we provide a positive model for our students.” As teachers, we should strive to model effective writing in order to inspire and assist our students in their writing development. We should write and make our writing valuable by sharing our ideas in order to encourage our students to practice good writing. Additionally, it

  Should we seek to become better writers in order to become better teachers.  Writing doesn't come easy for everyone and that's okay. There's no shame in admitting it.  As teachers, we are tasked with the responsibility of creating a space where our students can develop into the best writers that they can possibly become. In order to do so, it is imperative that we ourselves practice our own writing so that when teaching writing, we are able to share experiences and help students through the process, because we ourselves have been through the process.  In the article by Gillespie (1985), it is evident that persons in education have opposing views on whether it is important for teachers to be able to write "a pretty little poem or story". In the article,  a school administrator was of the opinion that workshops are not needed in order to teach students how to write. However, Gillespie disagreed and proposed a few reasons why it is important for teachers themselves