In this article, the author describes how an Oregon district redefines coaching roles to find a balance between school and district goals. As director of improvement for North Clackamas School District in Milwaukie, Oregon, near Portland, the author's role of coaching the coach was new, and the coaches welcomed the immediate feedback. Through the…

Uses visual images to open up spaces for imagination and to encourage children to go beyond the familiar during writing workshop. Shares ways to engage students with looking at the visual arts in order to write. Reflects on September 11. Explores the possibilities of the aesthetic response. (SG)

Describes how to inspire elementary students to write stories by first creating a picture, then developing a story from the picture. Using the "scribbles-to-stories" approach, the teacher models the process for the students with a think-aloud about story elements, then has students create quick sketches and generate stories out of those…

In this inquiry study, teachers will learn about or refine their understanding of the components of Reading and Writing Workshop. They will begin by living as writers themselves and then explore how to create supportive contexts for the learners in their classrooms. Video footage from a number of classrooms will serve as a series of possibilities…

Describes how four teachers used a pilot program of incorporating art into a writing workshop, as described in several related articles in this issue. Notes the experiences with its development, the integration of teaching and learning, the challenges faced, and a presentation to the National Council of Teachers of English convention. (SG)

Argues that children's literature is a great tool for teaching writing in the elementary grades. Offers a list of fine children's literature the authors use to teach specific writing and "writerly" skills. (SR)

Discusses reading and writing workshops at Green Intermediate School. Notes that Nancy Atwell's voice has become a significant thread woven into a tapestry of literacy research and instruction among others whose work has contributed to the evolution of the way educators teach children to negotiate language. (SG)

Suggests that there are three powerful ingredients that compose writing workshop block: time, ownership, and response. Notes that the child-centered nature of writing workshop is part of what makes it appeal to students. Considers how the fact that each child is accepted at his or her level allows for many differences in ability. (SG)

Continues an exchange begun with the authors' April 1991 article in the same journal about a writers' workshop in one author's elementary school classroom. Describes her continuing process of questioning and strengthening a workshop approach to writing instruction. (SR)

Two important schools of thought in the teaching of writing are those of the "writing workshop" and "critical pedagogy." Both encourage expression on the part of the student, but while writing workshop advocates assume that the student writes from a stable, unitary, autonomous self, the critical pedagogy advocates do not.…

Suggests that keeping a writer's notebook can be a unit of study in itself and that students can learn to use the notebook as a workbench for drafting, crafting, revising, and editing. Describes the author's work using writer's notebooks across several classrooms and grade levels. (RS)

Describes how using writers' workshop with mixed groups of elderly and children has benefits for all parties. Describes one intergenerational program bringing together elders from a writing group at a local community center with elementary school children. Discusses initial reasons for the project, shares some activities, and presents some things…

Describes an expository writing lesson, taught in the context of a modified writing workshop, that motivates needy students to compose meaningful essays. Explains that this approach promotes self-pacing and independent learning. Concludes that this method helps struggling readers see themselves as writers. (PM)

Provides words and pictures to help understand how the concept of the artists' workshop can enhance writers' workshops in the elementary or middle school classroom. (RS)

Discusses the development and implementation of the Lunch Bunch Writing Club, a weekly parent-student lunch and writing workshop organized by a fourth-grade teacher at Edgewood Elementary School in Homewood, Alabama. Parents assist their children in writing essays or stories on particular themes while becoming more informed about their children's…