Book Blog: Future Ready Writing Studio

What did I read? Hacking the Writing Workshop: Redesign with Making in Mind by Angela Stockman.

Why did I read Hacking the Writing Workshop: Redesign with Making in Mind?

As a K-2 Literacy Coach, I typically spend a majority of  my time focusing on foundational skills for reading. I need to be more intentional to include writing and in order to do that, I needed to rely on a recent resource to “do things differently” to get different results. And because Kelsey Clarke (@clarkeskinders), a Kindergarten teacher at Washington Elementary School in Raleigh, North Carolina, nudged me. 🙂

My takeaways…

Writing needs to move from whole group writing time to:

• personal experiences
• writing in all subjects every day
• pieces of writing (think sticky note writing and then connecting all of the pieces) versus one long “old school” block of writing
• fire starters to inspire writing = a bit more than brainstorming
• focus on collaboration with students throughout the entire writing process versus writing in isolation
• student goals with their writing and socialize with accountability partners
• strengthen protocols for students to follow routines
• provide continuous feedback versus evaluation at the end of the writing process (no growth comes from a number on a piece of paper when the assignment is finished)
• students keep a notebook (paper and pencil or digitally) to refer back to; goals, self-assessment, reflection, etc
• think LEGO by design…one block connects to another and to another and soon, a masterpiece

Now what?

You can:

• Follow the author @angelastockman
• focus on writing fluency: 30 seconds to 3 minutes to…..
• include an empathy map as an anchor chart when writing = the greatest hook is emotion
• have quick “stand ups” where students share learning targets = student exemplars
• have students sing, dance, act, etc to obtain their expressive format and then capture in words
• use multiple data points to document growth in writing: videos (Flipgrid), observations, anecdotal notes, pictures, pieces of art, movement, etc
• have tight and precise learning targets
• have students share their work (video, blog, podcast, etc)
• focus feedback on the learning target, not the “final copy”
• digital portfolio to view evidence of growth
• reflect, What do I need to do as a facilitator of writing to guide my students to become better writers?

Always be meaningful and memorable! HIGH FIVE!