Writing

Workshop
Session 5

Ann Marie Alford

Mini Lesson

10-15 minutes in the

meeting area

Connection
About 6 years ago, I taught middle school and was assigned to monitor the school dance.
About 30 min before the dance started, I heard noises coming from the boys restroom. I
walked in and found 3 sixth graders huddled around a cell phone. The were watching Justin
Timberlake videos and practicing the dance moves in the bathroom mirror.
They were so serious about their practicing, I felt bad for kicking them out. I thought about
them again when I was planning this lesson, they were doing something with their dancing
that I want to teach you with your writing.
They were trying to get good, and to get good, they were measuring themselves against one
of the best. They were using a standard. (remember this was 6 years ago- Justin was cool
back then!!)

Pg. 48-

Name the teaching point

Today, I want to remind you that writers think about what they
are writing about, but they think about how they are writing.
They think about the work they want to do in order to outgrow
themselves. Often writers use tools, like checklists to help
measure themselves against the best.

Teaching

When journalists (or any writers or anyone else) set goals, checklists help
them to set specific attainable goals.

In the last few years, there has been a lot of research on what
helps people achieve more. They learned this from watching
people play video games. It turns out that when you are trying
to get better at something like moving up levels in Xbox or
Playstation video games, it helps if you know exactly what you
need to take yourself to the next level.
Some people have taken the time to convert this knowledge
into checklists. That is why when you are on Xbox live or
Playstation network, and you go to check your achievements or
your trophies, there is a checklist there. It tells you everything
you need to earn extra Gamerscore. Checklists help you to
measure yourself against the highest standards.

Narrative Writing Checklist

useful to help writers set goals

You will use this checklist on your own writing, but first we will
annotate our mentor text together.

Annotate the Mentor Newscast

based on checklist

Three students were seen fighting in the gym at School for Global Studies today, over
who would be chosen as the center during a class basketball game. The game was an
opportunity for Globals star players to shine in the gym. Thats not what happened
though. Instead, there was pandemonium.
The students were girls from class 801, and each was a star player. Sharon was the
tallest. Rachel was the fastest. Ruby was the fiercest. Each wanted that center spot.
Theres more than one forward in basketball, theres more than one guard, but theres
only one center. To be center is to be the megastar.
Witnesses at the event saw it go from bad to worse. First the girls talked about it. Then
they jumped for it. Then they shoved for it. Then suddenly there were girls like puppies
rolling on the floor trying to get the ball. Bystanders were kicked, the circle of girls
around the players yelped. Then Coach Abrams long arms reached for the back of the
girls jerseys. Abrams decision was quick as she threw the girls out of the game. None
of the three would play center today. Those stars had just imploded.

Active Engagement:

Use the checklist to assess your own writing

With your partner look at the line Craft on the checklist and
apply it to your own piece. What did you do successfully? What
work is still left to be done?

Link
Take a look at the whole checklist with your partner. What are
things you know how to do, but you just forgot to do it?
Some of you may have forgotten to consider the lead and the
ending. Some of you may have forgot some punctuation. You
can add these things to your reminder list. Those are the things
that will get better right away because you already know them.
There are also some things that you want to stretch toward. You
can use a checklist to say, Which one of these things do I want
to get better at today?

Writing Time
Independence
Practice and
conferring

(30-40 minutes)

Conferring and Small Group

Rotations
1. Get out the laptops
2. log into Word
Remember that you are moving towards publication today;
people will see your writing. What specific things will you do in
todays writing to get it ready?
Make a list, and include the things that you are committed to
doing today. As you do each thing, be sure to check it off your
list.
If you think of something that is not on your list, like typing and
formatting your piece, add those items to your list. You will be
able to measure- by using the checklist-how you are becoming a

Mid workshop teaching:

Last minute editing checklist:
names of people and places are spelled correctly
Ending punctuation is clear, commas are sensible and similar to
those in books and articles
Indented or skipped lines to paragraph when the setting
changes, when time changes, for a mood change, and
expository paragraphs- for new ideas or examples.
Titles point the reader toward an underlying message

Specific Punctuation: Quotes

Introduce the source, then give the quote
According to one witness, The car came out of nowhere, and so
did the brave bystander.
Tucking a quote into narration/explanation
A witness first claimed that, The car came out of nowhere,
before adding, and so did the brave bystander.
Lead with a quote, then adding narration/explanation
The man swept the dog right from under the cars wheels was
how the witnesses described the incident.

Working to Meet Deadlines

As Journalists, you are on a deadline time. Youre moving to get your newspaper
online by today.
If you can end one piece soon and start another- do it. Journalists dont linger.
They write, the publish, and they write again.
This type of writing is very functional. You have to keep people consistently
informed, which means you need to produce-all the time, on deadline. See if
you can dip back into your notebook and get another piece out before deadline.
Publish on ANNMARIEALFORD.weebly.com, 9 th grade lit, in the comments for
First Newscast.
If you get your first piece published, turn and look- does your writing partner
need some help.

Share
Post your work to
AnnMarieAlford.weebly.com
9th grade lit
in the comments

(5-10 minutes- every kid

shares their writing every
day)

Share:
Give and Respond to feedback
Today was our first major deadline together. Though we are using our class website to
release these stories to the world, a journalists work does not end at publication. Many
journalists spend time reading and commenting on the responses to their work.
Your job is to read at least one other piece of student reporting. At the end you have to
leave a comment.
Comments should respond to the event or issue that the writer is reporting, and
comments should talk about the writing itself.
Comments might look like this: It is tragic that students struggle to get along and
respect one another during gym. We should be able to have fun without fear of
violence or the need for teachers to hover over us all the time. Your writing really shows
how frustrated this makes many students feel.
Think through your plans to respond to the feedback you collect

Homework: Respond to feedback

Tonight respond to your feedback. You might write a comments
piece that responds to your readers comments.
You might add to your original piece, if you think some of the
questions merited additions.
You might reflect in your notebook about whats next for you as
a writer.
Come in tomorrow with some writing that shows you responded
to your feedback.