Learning about Units of Study: Launching the Writing Workshop

I read the first seven pages of Launching the Writing Workshop from Units of Study for Teaching Writing Grades 3-5 by Lucy Calkins and Cory Gillette.  To help me process the information I made a list. Writing a list of techniques to use to gather ideas in the writer’s notebook seemed like a good idea but I have been given lists of “techniques to gather ideas in writing notebooks,” and used them in the past. I was also struck by the authors’ attempt to impress upon us that it is our responsibility to “build the children’s enthusiasm”.  I made that list instead. 

Building the Children’s Enthusiasm

1. Paint the picture of what writer’s workshop is like-describe the details to them explain that first I teach a strategy or a technique- then they go back and work on their own projects.(comparison to artists-painters)
2. Help them imagine themselves as writers-show them that they have important stories to tell (take small true stories of their lives to teach them how to strike a chord with their readers).
3. Listen to their true stories and say, “You’ll definitely have to write about that!”
4. Use examples of literature you hope they will imitate- compare their writing to great literature.
5. Take their stories of the summer and say, “I want your attention”, and then tell them how wonderful the stories are- that they have amazing stories of their lives. and that you are awed.
6. Express that these stories are so important we need to keep them forever and tell the kids “I want to teach you to think like professional writers.”
7. Teach about writer’s tools-the most important- the writer’s notebook-show your own decorated filled example
8. Talk about spending time every day-time is a writing tool
9. Tell about “the big schedule change to one hour per day”- erase “ditto” on the schedule and replaced it with “Writing Workshop”.
10. Act as though the kids stories have given you goose bumps- I know I won’t have to act having had some experience with this- but remembering to share those feeling is important to do.
11. Use the gentle nudge statement which is, “In a workshop, whether it is painting workshop or writing workshop, after the short lesson, the people go back to their work places and figure out what their painting needs next or their writing needs next, and they just get started on their own.” I will try that comparison nudge when my little writer says “I don’t know what to do...”  I’ll let you know how it goes. .
12. . Teach strategies to use when I am stuck about what to write-and point out the context in which the strategy will be useful.  Realize that I taught the strategies but the context is new to them.
13. Model the whole composing process using that strategy.
14. Read Naomi Nye’s Poem “A Valentine for Ernest Mann” I found one copy at:http://abeaver.wordpress.com/2006/08/01/valentine-for-ernest-mann-by-naomi-shihab-nye/