Writing Workshop Curricular Calendar

Essential Question – “What can we make of this?”

Unit 1 (3 weeks) The Writing Life: Mini lessons

(Based on assessments)
Launching the Writing Workshop

Assessment (3 days) Purpose – obtain baseline • Day 1 - draft

understanding of what students • Day 2 - revision
Quick Publishing know about writing process • Day 3 - edit and publish
and qualities of good writing

Bring Students Together as • Read alouds • Help students see themselves

a Community of Writers
• Last year’s notebooks
• Last year’s publications
(published works)
as authors
• Hear wonderful reading read
aloud
• Bring in and share last year’s
notebooks and publications

Writers Learn the Rituals
and Structures of the
Writing Workshop
• Independent Writing Rubric
• Guidelines for Conferences
• Guidelines for Mini Lessons
• Teach the rituals and
structures of the Writing
Workshop
• Students learn to work
independently while teacher
confers
• Classroom looks like, feels like
and sounds like a place where
writing matters
• Students see themselves as
members of a writing
community
• Students’ roles during mini
lessons
• Students’ roles independent
writing time
• Students’ roles during
conferences.

Adapted by J. K. and O. K., Whittier School, Long Beach Unified School District, 8/2002
From Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, Writing Curricular Calendar 2002-3
 Writing Workshop Curricular Calendar
Essential Question – “What can we make of this?”

Everyone Has a Shared
Understanding of What It
Means to Live Like a
Writer
• New Writer’s Notebooks
• Examples of Writer’s
Notebooks
• Writer’s Notebook Rubric
• A Writer’s Notebook,
Unlocking the Writer Within
You, by Ralph Fletcher
• Books where the main
character has a journal
• Students begin the year with
Writer’s Notebooks
• Writers collect entries out of
the details of their lives
• Students generate writing
• Writing can grow from:
observations or rereading
previous pieces or memories
• Writers have real purposes for
writing
• Writers select a seed idea from
entries
• Develop that seed idea by
writing more entries about it
• “What could I make of this?”
• How to be sure seed ideas are
“seeds”
• Write with focus and detail
• Write a range of different
genres or personal narratives

Adapted by J. K. and O. K., Whittier School, Long Beach Unified School District, 8/2002
From Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, Writing Curricular Calendar 2002-3