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.
