Maintaining a Writing Workshop Alongside Core Reading Programs

Date: Tuesday, September 24, 2024

Time: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM ET

Location: Online, via Zoom

Who Should Attend: Grades K-5 teachers, coaches, and leaders

Cost: $150 per person

Across the nation, teachers are reeling from the requirement to adopt mandated core reading programs. Teachers everywhere are realizing that the “approved” curriculum don’t provide anything close to a writing curriculum–nor do they leave enough time free for them to teach a full writing workshop. This brief workshop is designed to help teachers make the hard decisions required in order to shoehorn a writing workshop into a school day that contains very little breathing space.

You’ll hear from the authors of the Units of Study about what can–and can’t–be removed from a writing workshop. Just as a building has some walls that are weight-bearing and really can’t be removed, a coherent systemic curriculum such as the Units of Study contains structural sessions, and others that are not as essential. Come and get sage advice on how to abbreviate minilessons, whole days, and even units, too. 

This session will introduce you to time-saving supports that can help. You’ll learn how to survey the curriculum for a year, where to find (and how to rely on) curricular maps and learning targets, and you’ll get advice on tweaking the assessment system for your school.

The session will work for you whether or not you have access to the brand new writing units. If you do have access, you’ll have 150+ small groups to draw upon, and this day will help you identify the most high leverage of those small groups. And if you don’t yet have access to those resources, you’ll be given a few small groups, which can serve as helpful templates for you. You will also learn about important and engaging new mentor texts, as well as the ways standards have changed in the teaching of writing, and curricular revisions we suggest as a result. 

Above all, it’s important to teach a writing workshop that works magic, even within the new curricular constraints. So this day will remind you of ways to make all your students feel seen, ways to create a culture of loving to write, and ways to bring joy and social connections into your teaching.