Wrapping Up a Year Full of Writing: Reflecting on Fourth Grade Writer’s Workshop
This afternoon I collaborated with a dedicated group of 4th grade teachers who were wondering how to wrap up their writer’s workshop for the year. They reflected on the fact that they spent a lot of time establishing their writing community in the fall, but that their year seemed to end abruptly and without any closure for them or their students. They wanted to design a reflective experience for their classes so students could have the closure they were looking for, and teachers could receive valuable feedback at the same time.
How great would it be to hear directly from your students about what worked, and what didn’t, with writer’s workshop? We tossed some ideas around and came up with a 10-day sequence of lessons for the remaining days of writer’s workshop. Teachers will guide their classes in discussions, focusing on different aspect of writing instruction, Graves’ 7 conditions, and more. Then students will spend time each day adding to a reflection piece they’re drafting to their teachers, providing the feedback we’re hoping to use to inform us as we plan for the following year. Download a copy for yourself and see what we have planned. How do you like to finish out your year of writing?