Writing
Workshop Is A Lot Like Lunchtime
by Assistant Principal, Susan Abramson
What on earth am I talking about, you may be
asking yourself. Well, if you have ever been in an elementary school lunchroom,
you will know that every school has its own lunchtime rituals and routines.
There’s a method to getting lots of children fed in a fairly short amount of
time, and the method is followed each and every single day. As a result of the
ritualistic nature of lunchtime, students know exactly what to do and when to
do it. They know what lunchtime means, and nobody ever says, “OK, I’m done
eating. Now what do I do?” Lunchtime is ritualistic for several reasons.
Students need time to eat. They need to interact with peers, and they need a
break from class work. Adults in schools know that if we do lunch the same way
every single day, students can quickly do “lunchtime” fairly
independently. We bring a shared,
accepted order to this time of day so that we get the same outcome every day:
people eat, people socialize, people are nourished. The food changes from day
to day but the outcome stays the same.
For
the workshop to be successful, teachers and students need to understand that it
is a time of day, not a set of directions or activities to be completed. This can be challenging for students
who are used to completing a specific set of tasks (answer the questions at the
end of chapter 6 or do problems 13 to 27, for example). It is a time of day when students from
kindergarten to fifth grade make choices about the work they will do as a
reader or writer, and, just like lunchtime is not over just because you
finished your sandwich, the workshop is not over when the learner comes to the
end of the page. Just as students know how to spend their time at lunch – they
may go back for more food, talk to their friends at their table, clean up – the
key to a successful reading and writing workshop is that students know the
range of ways they can spend their time productively. The routines for writing
workshop consist of a lesson, independent writing time, and a share. These
three things happen every single day, and it’s during the independent writing
time that students are making the most important choices about the work they
are doing as writers. Based on the lesson that starts the workshop, students may
be starting new pieces, revising old ones, editing to get a piece ready for
publication or sharing with a writing partner.
We work hard in the Lower School to keep this time predictable and
routine. Like the promise of a lunchtime which feels safe because everyone
knows what to expect, the rituals and routines of writing workshop free the
learner from worrying about what is expected and what they are supposed to be
doing and instead allows students to make choices about what they care about
and what they’ll write about, and teachers are free to help them grow and
develop as writers.
by Assistant Principal, Susan Abramson
What on earth am I talking about, you may be
asking yourself. Well, if you have ever been in an elementary school lunchroom,
you will know that every school has its own lunchtime rituals and routines.
There’s a method to getting lots of children fed in a fairly short amount of
time, and the method is followed each and every single day. As a result of the
ritualistic nature of lunchtime, students know exactly what to do and when to
do it. They know what lunchtime means, and nobody ever says, “OK, I’m done
eating. Now what do I do?” Lunchtime is ritualistic for several reasons.
Students need time to eat. They need to interact with peers, and they need a
break from class work. Adults in schools know that if we do lunch the same way
every single day, students can quickly do “lunchtime” fairly
independently. We bring a shared,
accepted order to this time of day so that we get the same outcome every day:
people eat, people socialize, people are nourished. The food changes from day
to day but the outcome stays the same.
In
much the same way, teachers here at Dwight-Englewood who deliver writing
instruction using a “workshop” model follow rituals and routines every single
day in the belief that the more ritualistic the routines are, the more
independent students become. Like the food in lunch, the content of the workshop
changes from day to day, but the outcome - strong, joyful, independent writers
– stays the same. In the Lower School we
have daily workshops for good reasons: we know students need lots of time and
experience working on writing and reading, and we know this needs to happen
every day. The “everydayness” of the workshop allows the rituals to develop
–just like lunch – so students can handle the ever-changing content.
For
the workshop to be successful, teachers and students need to understand that it
is a time of day, not a set of directions or activities to be completed. This can be challenging for students
who are used to completing a specific set of tasks (answer the questions at the
end of chapter 6 or do problems 13 to 27, for example). It is a time of day when students from
kindergarten to fifth grade make choices about the work they will do as a
reader or writer, and, just like lunchtime is not over just because you
finished your sandwich, the workshop is not over when the learner comes to the
end of the page. Just as students know how to spend their time at lunch – they
may go back for more food, talk to their friends at their table, clean up – the
key to a successful reading and writing workshop is that students know the
range of ways they can spend their time productively. The routines for writing
workshop consist of a lesson, independent writing time, and a share. These
three things happen every single day, and it’s during the independent writing
time that students are making the most important choices about the work they
are doing as writers. Based on the lesson that starts the workshop, students may
be starting new pieces, revising old ones, editing to get a piece ready for
publication or sharing with a writing partner.
We work hard in the Lower School to keep this time predictable and
routine. Like the promise of a lunchtime which feels safe because everyone
knows what to expect, the rituals and routines of writing workshop free the
learner from worrying about what is expected and what they are supposed to be
doing and instead allows students to make choices about what they care about
and what they’ll write about, and teachers are free to help them grow and
develop as writers.  |
| Lexi was Lower School Principal for the Day |
Digital Culture Workshop #2: New Trends in Social Media
Thursday, April 12 • 8:30 am - 10:00 am Hajjar Auditorium, Klein Campus Center for parents of students in Grades 4-12 featuring Trevor Shaw, Dwight-Englewood School, Director of Technology. Bring your laptop or tablet. For more information click here.Pi/Pie Day in Third Grade
by Ajay and Danny
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| Discovering the relationship between diameter and circumference for ALL circles (Pi) |
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| Fifth graders working on Math Team Problems |
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| Second and Third Graders working on a Math Team problem |
Fifth Grader Video Skype in Spanish with a Class in Spain Who are Part of the
"Creating Original Opera" Program
Just before the break, in Janet Glass' Spanish class, fifth graders had the opportunity to video Skype in Spanish with a group of students in Spain who are part of the Metropolitan Opera program "Creating Original Opera". Opera teachers, Mary Hevran, Erik Swanson, Lorna Milbauer and Elisa Garcia were on hand to listen as our students asked questions of their Spanish counterparts in Spanish and responded to theirs in English. A big thanks to Lower School technology specialist, Christine Nicolaou. |
| Second Graders at the Spring Concert |
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| Three of the Lower Strings Orchestra members |
Spring Concerts Video
Opera Update
Hi I’m Ryan, a Public Relation officer, and I'm going to be talking about Amaan,the Assistant Stage Manager. The Assistant Stage Manager has many responsibilities such as building the props. I had a chance to interview the Assistant Stage Manager, Amaan. I asked Amaan, “What is the hardest part of your job?”
Amaan said, “The hardest part is probably gathering the materials needed for the props together.”
Then I asked Amaan, “ What are you looking forward to doing?”
Amaan said, “I’m excited for the performance to see how all my props turn out.”
I hope you now know much more about the assistant stage manager and what some of his responsibilities are. Please tune in next week when Emma writes about Ashley,the Production Manager.
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Bob Bigelow will be speaking here at Dwight Englewood on April 19th from 7:30 to 9:00 in Hajjar Auditorium.
The topic is Adults and Children in organized youth sports; Who wins, who loses?
Bob Bigelow has conducted over 600 talks to adults throughout the northeast and has received local,regional, and national media recognition. Mr. Bigelow is the author of Just let the kids play, (Health Communications Inc.) that describes organized youth sports' major systemic problems and offers many reforms for better changes.
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