How to make your workshop work?
In grad school, I learned about Nancie Atwell and her revolutionary (at least to me) ideas about using a workshop model to enable students to be better readers and writers. For the uninitiated, here is she is, in her own words:
And, for years, I tried. And tried. And tried some more. What I couldn’t seem to wrap my brain around was how to get organized: I couldn’t seem to re-create that structure in my own room. I was unsure how to make a structure that gave students freedom to write while providing a structure that gave them tools for their “writer’s toolkit”.
Last summer, I went to a conference that has helped me with both the theory and practice I needed. Here is Lucy Calkins, head of the project (and author of the Units of Study, among other things) in her words:
…but how to get organized? How to do this good work in your class?
If you get a chance to go to Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project, go. Besides being inspiring (of course), I also learned some of the nuts and bolts that have helped me in my room. Even better, I (and you) can get a copy of those same units of study. At $10, it is cheaper than any Professional Development that you’ll do all year.
In later posts, I know that I’ll refer to the lessons I learned from the conference and through the readings. It would be great to make an online book/and in-class practice? study. If nothing else, it’ll help you in your classroom on Monday.
Placing a Center of Gravity in your Writing
I wanted a way to help my students focus their writing. Too often, I would receive their papers that had no focus, no center. To help students find focus in their writing, I use something that I call a Center of Gravity.
The Center of Gravity is a thing that is of central importance to the writing. Without that thing, the story does not hold together.
Take an example from a book. In Bud, Not Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis, I describe the Center of Gravity as Bud’s suitcase. It is a thing, and it is central to the story. Without Bud’s suitcase, the story would not be as powerful as it is.
Then, I invite students to describe that Center of Gravity. To do that, they will use an outside, or physical description, as well as an inside, or emotional description.
In the outside description, Curtis helps us to see the suitcase. We know what it looks like, what is inside of it, even the string that ties the suitcase together. The smaller the detail, the better we can see the Center of Gravity.
In an inside description, Curtis shows us just how important the suitcase is to Bud. Bud feels strongly about the suitcase. He works hard to keep it safe, since he feels that it is his only link to his mother and father.
Center of Gravity in Action
Invite your students to think about the most important thing in your story. Is it something that the main character has? Is it a place where the character wants to go?
Then, ask them to create an outside description of that thing. They can use sense words to describe that thing so that the reader can “see” it in their mind’s eye.
Finally, invite them to create an inside description. Are there places in the writing where the main character shows their thoughts and feelings about that thing?
To extend the writing, spread the outside description and inside description throughout the story.
