Yes! Primary students can grow into being independent writers! Disregarding the false notion that writing instruction in the primary grades needs to be mostly teacher directed, Jennifer Jacobson shows teachers how to develop a primary writing workshop that helps nurture independent, engaged writers. "No More I'm Done!" demonstrates how to create a…

Preschoolers may be novices in the area of writing but, as this article highlights, they are indeed writers. In a year-long ethnography of preschoolers during structured writing time the teacher/researcher explored how students adapted to a writing workshop format. Students participated in daily journal writing and sharing, and weekly conference…

Educators have been challenged for many years to engage their students, but often students still seem to be disengaged (Klem & Connell, 2004). Research indicates student engagement is critical to student achievement and success in school (Appleton, 2008; Connell, Spencer, & Aber, 1994; Easton, 2008; Fredricks, Blumenfeld, & Paris,…

This article describes how one such teacher, Shirley Thacker, developed and implemented a successful writing program in her first grade classroom, which is known as Thackerville. Shirley describes how she motivated a classroom of first-graders to use the writing process in a workshop format and how this approach affected the children's perceptions…

This qualitative case study reports on a three-year writing enrichment program among second, third, and fourth graders at a public urban elementary school in a medium-sized midwestern city. Designed as teacher research, the inquiry is a phenomenological examination of the experience of the workshop for its participants, including more than one…

This study examined the writing development of English language learners (ELLs) in a fourth-grade bilingual classroom in Northern California. The purpose of this study was to explore the linguistic and cultural resources the students used to inform their writing and determine to what extent, if any, these resources influenced their writing. The…

Describes the preconceived ideas that adolescents have regarding the reading and writing of poetry. Explains the author's nontraditional high school classroom and its methodology. States that the class is run like a reading and writing workshop. Emphasizes the importance of students' ownership of their ideas. Concludes that adolescents can be…

Describes a project where the author worked with students twice a week to observe and document types of collaboration that took place during writing workshops. Presents evidence to identify types of collaboration. Discusses these observations and delineates classroom components that allow these interactions to take place. Considers types of…

States that, for one instructor, professional inquiry in a graduate education program has led to a critical examination of day-to-day practice in the classroom, especially regarding the writing process in the grade 7-9 writing workshop he formerly taught. (PA)

Contends that in order to have a successful writing workshop, teachers need to model writing for their students through interactive writing. Outlines a writing workshop which includes: a drawing stage; guided phonics-based spelling; adult underwriting and individual minilessons; large-group focused minilessons; "minisharing"; and the publication…

A teacher-researcher provides ideas for creating a writer's workshop and encouraging written expression. Suggestions include letting the children create the room arrangement, providing a variety of writing tools, establishing a predictable writing time, becoming partners with students in the writing process, and encouraging students to be active…

This article explores the ways three young students expressed their perceptions about literacy and investigates how their classroom identity shapes and is shaped by those perceptions. The ways in which positioning within a writing event and the classroom culture contributed to the development of writing voice and identity are examined. In…

Article describes how elementary teachers can create a writing workshop environment that encourages students to write. It discusses how to set the tone and conduct effective conferences. It suggests teachers act as facilitators and listeners and establish workshop procedures. It recommends teachers initially ignore errors and respond to content.…

The four videotapes and a viewing guide cover all the practical components necessary for establishing and implementing a successful writing workshop, including the importance of choice, creating a risk-taking environment, the difference between skills and craft, the writer's notebook, the writing conference, revision, the role of literature, and…

States that a writing workshop environment is a radical approach to teaching, one that requires instructors to empower children to make choices and take responsibility for them. Discusses collaboration, classroom structures, and the need for democratic disposition in a writing workshop. Concludes that the implementation of a writing workshop…