Lake George Elementary School uses the Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing, a Common Core workshop curriculum developed by Teachers College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) to teach writing. TCRWP is a research and staff development organization housed at Teachers College at Columbia University.
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Writing Instruction:
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Writing Workshop
Writing Workshop is a daily component of our balanced literacy program. It generally follows the same format as a reading workshop. Each writing period begins with a mini-lesson when the teacher instructs the whole class on a writing technique that is both appropriate to that unit of study and to the students’ lives as writers. This is followed by independent writing time. During this time, students work within specific genres on their own writing. By grade three students work in their own Writers Notebooks, collecting artifacts, ideas and story lines for their future writing. Throughout the grades, students are taught to brainstorm ideas, draft, revise and edit, then publish their writing into a final piece. Focusing on this process teaches students to plan, organize and maintain focus on one idea. Revision and editing are two areas of the writing process that are emphasized in each unit.
Shared Writing
Shared writing is an opportunity for the teacher and students to create a writing piece together. During this time, the students generate the ideas and sentences, while the teacher does the physical writing. It is a time for students to practice writing skills as a whole class with teacher support. Shared writing emphasizes the skills recently learned as well as those skills that should be used consistently at that grade level in their life as a writer. It is a piece that can be referenced as an example during their independent writing time.
Interactive Writing
Interactive writing opportunities are used primarily in kindergarten and grade one to support the development of phonological skills and to help teach students the meaning of print. It is a time when the teacher and student(s) jointly share the pen, usually 1:1 or in small group as they compose and write text. For example, the teacher first talks with the students to establish what they will write about. Then the text is constructed by the teacher and students. The teacher uses the opportunity to model reading and writing strategies as he or she engages students in creating texts.
Word Study in the Writing Program
Word Study is an integral part of the writing process. The spelling inventory assessment determines what to teach each student about phonics, and using this data, the teacher designs small group strategy sessions during the writing workshop units of study to support students at various stages of spelling as they write their own pieces. It is important for word study to transfer into students’ independent reading and writing and to do this in writing, teachers evaluate how students are applying their word study knowledge in their writing and coach them to draw on what they’ve learned as they write on their own.
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