b&b: writing workshops

I think this chapter gives a lot of good ideas and advice for implementing a Writing Workshop into the classroom. Maybe because I often get writer's block, I enjoyed the amount of suggestions it gives for getting writers started. Having the teacher demonstrate their own list of "writing territories" is a good example. Amy did this with us in class when we made our lists of significant places. It may help spark a memory or idea for students that would not have considered writing on that particular topic. It opens up the freedom to write about anything...they can be as open as they want. Coming up with a "library of provocative prompts" is another way to get students thinking about something a little deeper and more introspectively. Maybe no one else has asked them questions like "What is one thing you would like to change about your life if you could?" I think we would find that behind the exterior they present most of the time, high schoolers have some interesting and surprising answers to these kinds of questions.

I'm glad that this chapter spent quite a bit of time discussing conferences. Just because I did peer conferencing in high school, I kind of assumed most people have or know how. The chart on page 57 presents key components of a well-written paper that would be a good guideline for students to follow while analyzing each other's papers. Spending time on the mini-lessons the author suggests would also be very useful. How are students supposed to look for a skill in someone's paper when they can't do it themselves? So, I think covering these kinds of topics beforehand and throughout the writing process would benefit them over time. Focusing on revision and not necessarily editing was another good point. I find it easier sometimes to check a paper for misspelled words and grammatical mistakes than to look at how it's working as an entire piece. I am just curious as to how teachers set up a timeline for a writing workshop. How much time should be spent and how often should the different kinds of conferencing take place?