Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Writing Workshop, Checklists, Folders & FREEBIES... OH MY!


Hi, friends!  Ashley here from One Sharp Bunch!  For the past decade, I have continually reminded students to label their pictures, stretch out the words, make finger spaces, begin with a capital letter, end with a period, and so on... does this sound a little familiar?!?!  Head on over to my blog to see how I create independent writers in my classroom and grab a few FREEBIES!

Writing Workshop can be one of the most challenging times during the day for our Kindergarten students, but not with these great writing tips, writing activities, and writing FREEBIES!  This “growing” writing checklist is one of our favorite Kindergarten activities for improving our Kindergarten writing block and creating independent writers... one check at a time!
 

4 comments:

  1. Hi Ashley, I'd love to learn more about how you conference during writer's workshop. What does it look like? Are you walking around the room or conferencing at a table with one student at a time? Are you able to see every student? What kinds of things are you conferencing about? What do you do with the anecdotal records you take? I'm sorry for all the questions. Incorporating the Lucy Caulkins writer's workshop model is relatively new for me and conferencing is my weaker area. Maybe you would consider a future blog post on it? I love you writing checklist! What a great resource!

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    1. Hi, Julie! You are so right! I could write an entire blog post on conferencing! I will try my best to briefly explain what conferencing looks like in my room...

      We always begin Writing Workshop with a mini lesson. When we first began using Lucy, I followed them to a T. Now, I incorporate some of my own ideas too. Once we are finished with the mini lesson, we head back to our seats to write. I build stamina by using a timer and stopping when we are off task (much like Daily 5). We graph our writing minutes at the end of each session.

      While they are writing, I walk around the room to conference. I have tried to conference with students at my table, but I have found that it works better for me to be up and moving. I just feel like students are more on task when I am moving about the room. The conference topic depends upon the student, but I always begin with a "what are you working on today" so that I can hear them explain in their own words. I jot this down on my conference form. Then, I choose the path of the conference from there. Sometimes, it is working on beginnings or endings, adding more details, making spaces, adding punctuation, using the words from the word wall, and my list could go on. I end the conference with a goal for the student. I write this goal on my conference form so that I can refer to it next time we meet. As the year progresses, I will also jot the goal down on a sticky note for them to keep inside their folders.

      I hope this is helpful for you! I will most definitely do a blog post about conferencing in the future! Thank you for taking the time to read my post!

      Ashley

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  2. Ashley,
    I. LOVE. THIS! On my wishlist! And thanks for the freebies!
    -Andrea

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    1. Thank you, Andrea! My kiddos are really doing so well at checking their own writing! Enjoy the freebies!

      Ashley

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