This week I’ve been teaching a workshop for first through sixth grade teachers this week on Writing Workshop with a focus on conferring. We’ve been looking at the Primary and Intermediate Units of Study by Lucy Calkins and Carl Anderson’s Strategic Writing Conferences: Smart Conversations That Move Young Writers Forward Grades 3-6, Reading and Writing Projects’s Workshop Help Desk-A Quick Guide to Teaching Second-Grade Writers with Units of Study by Lucy Calkins and Workshop Help Desk-Making Your Teaching Stick by Shanna Schwartz.
Second Grade Curricular Calendar from the Quick Guide (see earlier post)
| September | Narrative Writing-Revising and Re-energizing Small Moments |
| October | Raising the Level of Narrative Writing with Authors as Mentors |
| November | Writing and Revising Realistic Fiction |
| December | The World of Wonder: Fairy Tale Adaptations and Original Fantasy Stories |
| January | Writing to Grow Ideas (Inculding Ideas About Books) |
| February | Expert Projects: Writing to Learn and to Teach About a Topic of Personal Expertise |
| March | Persuasive Writing: Persuasive Letters and Reviews |
| April | Poetry |
| May | Expert Projects in a Content Area: Writing to Learn and to Teach About Science |
| June | Revision and Assessment |
Carl Anderson’s newest book set is a gem! It is targeted at grades 3-6 teachers, but the first and second grade teachers are finding it just as valuable. At $82.00 it’s not cheap, but it does include 3 books and 2 DVDs with a Teachers Guide. It’s just what you need to prepare for your best writing conferences with students as you head into the new school year.
Making Your Teaching Stick is another $8 gem from the Workshop Help Desk.
After teaching the workshop this week it’s back to New York City for the 16th Annual August Writing Institute at Teachers College to help grow my understanding of the teaching of writing even more. I am definitely more prepared for the week in terms of how to get around, shoes to wear, lunches to pack, and clothes that sweat well in (if that is possible).
