One of the biggest questions I get asked is “How do you set up your daily writing workshop routine?” I always answer with “Stay consistent with your routine to help students anticipate the learning AND to ensure you cover everything you need in the time that you have.” Some teachers have a 60-minute writing block, some have a 45-minute block. Today lets look at what is a common routine for a 30-minute writing block. Now 30 minutes is a tight schedule for a writing or reading block so I recommend using an A/B schedule for your block. Now, this schedule can be daily, or it can be weekly. With writing, I always recommend a daily A/B schedule.
So your A/B schedule would start on day A, and on that day you start with your mini-lesson. You do your whole group writing workshop mini lesson for 10 minutes. Then, you go into your status of the class for 5 minutes. This is where you will ask the students to tell you what they are going to do in writing time that day. While they are telling you this you will write down on a note what each student is doing. If they are struggling to come up with ideas on what to do in writing, then that gives you a great idea of who to go talk to right away. The last 15 minutes in your A-day then will be time for them to write independently, in small groups or centers. So your A-day will have the mini lesson for 10 minutes, the status of the class for 5, and then independent writing, small groups, and centers in writing for 15 minutes.
When you come back for your B-day you’ll start the day with a share, so you’ll share what the kids did from yesterdays writing time. They’ll bring their notebooks for writing, or whatever pieces they're working on, and they’ll share with a partner what they did and share with the whole class. You can do this for 10 minutes. Then review the skill you taught the day before for about 5 minutes. So you’ll go over the lesson from your A-day for about 5 minutes. And finally, give the kids about 15 minutes for independent writing on your B-day. You can also do some small group activity with them, guided reading, writing conferences, or some center activities. That's your B-day, and then the next day you’ll start you A-day over again.
A-day: Mini-lesson for 10 minutes, the status of the class for 5, independent writing for 15.
B-day: Share from the day before for 10 minutes, review the skill for 5, and then independent wiring for 15.
That's my recommendation. I hope this chat helps you think about how you plan to set up your daily writing schedule. If you would like to try a FREE week of my spelling program, click HERE!
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*CLIPART FROM A SKETCHY GUY. VIEW HIS STORE AT HTTPS://WWW.TEACHERSPAYTEACHERS.COM/STORE/A-SKETCHY-GUY
Happy teaching!
Jen
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Teachers ask me all the time, how do I fit in time for language arts? The answer is, I set up a language arts block to ensure I cover all the needed skills for a complete literacy instruction program. Some teachers have 60 minutes for their language block, some have 45, and some have only 30 minutes. Today let’s take a look at how we can schedule a language arts schedule with a 60, 45, and 30-minute block.
