7 minutes...*

Chapters: 9,10, and 13

I really liked how Ray emphasized “group share” time while establishing a writer’s workshop. I think it is very important to show students that what every single student in the classroom says is valuable. If a student took the time to write it down then obviously that statement means something in that student’s world. One person reading “ My dog’s name is Chuck” on a friends page may not mean anything but to the author who wrote that sentence, that sentence could be linked to so many emotions and feelings of joy and happiness. You just never know. When I incorporate writers workshop into my classroom, I would like to make sure students get the opportunity to share their work. I know that there will be days where we will be crunched for time and not everyone can share in front of the class however even if students can share their writing with a partner it would be beneficial. Sometimes students are too afraid to speak in front of the class and feel more comfortable sharing with a friend or classmate. By sharing the work done in writer’s workshop every student will be catered too.

In chapter 13, Ray says we as teachers need to be aware of pulling students together during writers workshop time. This is so true. Nothing is more annoying then when I am writing, sometimes on a winning role in my writing when a teacher stops the whole class to address the spelling of a word. I hate that! I was on a role, and you want me to stop while you pretend to be dumb and ask US how to spell a word in order for Jimmy over there to get “class help “on his spelling. THIS IS WRITING TIME…FORGET ABOUT THE SPELLING! A good writer’s workshop teacher knows and understands the importance of being focused. I once read a study where it took the average students 7 minutes to get fully back on task and focused after just a single interruption. Think about that for a minute..or 7  7 minutes is a long time.

After reading these past eight chapters that we have been assigned, I am overwhelmed on doing writer’s workshop in my future classroom. I REALLY want to do it however I want to make sure I do it correctly. I was not taught in this way, therefore I feel like I have no valuable experience. Hopefully I will be able to facilitate writer’s workshop in my practicum classroom this semester. I have yet to see the students do it however my teacher did say that writer’s workshop is done in the class.