Do you run Writer’s Workshop in your French classroom? Or maybe you thought about implementing it, but haven’t yet?
Today, I’m thrilled to be interviewing an amazing teacher who knows tons about French Writer’s Workshop.
Mme Andrea is sharing her definition of this method for teaching writing, DOs and DON’Ts for setting it up in your classroom, and so much more!
This is a post in a series of interviews, where I’ll be chatting with amazing educators so we can learn their tips and strategies to make our own lessons even more enticing, effective, and fun!
Writer’s Workshop in the French Classroom
Lucy: Hi Andrea! So happy to be interviewing you. We’ve known each other for over 6 years, I think, and during this time I’ve seen you grow so much as a teacher and as an entrepreneur. Following you along your journey has been fun and inspiring, so thank you!
Today we’re talking about Writer’s Workshop in the French classroom and my first question: how would you describe or explain what Writer’s Workshop is?
Andrea: Hi! Thrilled to be here answering all your questions about writing. Writer’s Workshop is one of my favourite parts of the day. I’ve seen a lot of different resources, blog posts, etc. calling themselves Writer’s Workshop over the years, but sometimes these look different than what I believe true Writer’s Workshop to be.
To me, if you’re teaching writing via a workshop method, you will model a new concept, your students will practice on their own (or in a small group/one on one conference with you), and then you’ll wrap things up with a share, where students will show what they have worked on and receive feedback from their peers.
So, mini lesson, practice, share.
During Writer’s Workshop, students choose their own topics (but the teacher might choose the genre), and they will tell their own stories – no “fill in the blanks” or responding to a prompt.
Obviously, responding to a prompt and filling in blanks are important skills, too – they just don’t necessarily help our students learn to tell their own stories. I do those at other parts of the day, with a focus on things like letter formation and other writing mechanics. Getting students to fill in the blank might feel easier, and the end result might look more like what we adults perceive to be “real” writing. But, it’s important to remember that how children write is different, and we all start somewhere!
To me, the challenge of Writer’s Workshop is well worth it when you stick to it and the magic eventually happens.
L: Why are you so enthusiastic about it?
A: I am so enthusiastic about Writer’s Workshop because I just believe in it so much.
I have seen my students make INCREDIBLE growth via this model, and I am thrilled over and over again by the stories that they tell. As a person, I love writing, so it makes me happy to watch my students fall in love with writing too.
My writing block went from something my students were bored of/annoyed about doing to their favourite time of day – if we skip writing, they are not happy!
Showing my students that writing is fun and making them see, year after year, that they all have stories to share has been so rewarding for me.
L: What grade(s) have you taught?
A: I’m currently in my tenth year of teaching (how?!). Of those years, 7 have been in maternelle, two in première année (including this year), and one was a maternelle/1 combined.
L: Are there any DOs or DON’Ts when it comes to implementing Writer’s Workshop?
A: So many, haha! In my free guide to Writer’s Workshop, I have a whole section just for DOs & DON’Ts!
Here are a couple of the most important ones:
DO:
- Build Writer’s Workshop into your regular routine. Make it a consistent part of your day! I know this can be a challenge if you’re doing a half day K program, but if you’re teaching a full day with a full literacy block, create a space in your schedule for WW every day
- Let your students choose their topics. It’s fine for you to choose the genre, and it’s also fine if your students choose to write about the same topic as you. But the fact that it is their CHOICE is key! We want our students to share their own, unique stories – not copy someone else’s.
- Use a writing continuum so you know where your students are at and what their next steps will be. A writing continuum can also help you appreciate your students’ writing and see that it’s worthy no matter how it looks. All steps on the continuum are an important part of your students’ writing journeys!
- Provide your students with resources and tools to support their writing. For example, my students are obsessed with these word banks. My students know that words are all around us, and they are welcome to use whatever tools they need to help them be successful in telling their stories.
- Remember that learning to write is a process – just like when babies learn to talk! Your students aren’t going to be writing novels (or probably even sentences) by day two. Stick with it and don’t give up! The magic will happen 🙂
DON’T:
- Just do Writer’s Workshop when the mood strikes/when you have an empty block here and there. Consistency leads to mastery in all things, and WW is no exception!
- Assign a topic and/or make your students fill in the blank. Writing from a prompt, copying from the board, and/or filling in a blank are important skills and my students often practice these at other moments of the day, but they are NOT Writer’s Workshop.
- Ask your students to do things that are developmentally inappropriate. Use the writing continuum to guide your next steps!
- Have a word wall that your students don’t know how to use, or a classroom full of environmental print that your students don’t know they can use in their own writing as well
- Expect instant results and feel frustrated or give up when they don’t happen
L: What would you say to teachers who want to try it, but believe that implementing Writer’s Workshop in their classrooms would be too hard or would simply not work? Where or how should they begin?
A: Writer’s Workshop can be hard/frustrating to implement for sure – at first. But, like most things that are worthwhile, if you push through the hard parts and stick to it, the magic is so, so worth it. I do have a free guide to Writer’s Workshop that is a good starting point, explains everything about it in detail, and also offers a sample lesson and sample schedule. I offer a course on Writer’s Workshop once a year as well, but it’s not open at the moment. Teachers can reach out to me anytime to get the free guide, though – I’m happy to send it their way!
L: How do you assess progress? Could you give real examples from your classroom?
A: To assess my students’ writing progress, I always use a writing continuum! I explain all about it in detail in this blog post, but a writing continuum is SUCH a valuable way to both see what your students already do well and understand what their next step should be.
Before each report card, I look at all of my students’ recent writing. I check off any and all appropriate boxes on the continuum, and it gives me a great snapshot of where they are at and where they are headed. This helps me guide my teaching and choose my next mini lessons, and also reminds me that, however my students’ writing looks, they are somewhere on that continuum. Their work is already worthy and great, and it’s my job to meet them where they’re at!
L: If you had to give just ONE piece of advice for teachers who are now ready to give WW a try, what would it be?
A: It’s really hard for me to pick one thing, haha! I was tempted to say to either stick with it/don’t give up or be consistent, but after reflecting a bit, I think there’s something even more important to suggest.
To be successful with writer’s workshop, your students will need to be in an environment where their attempts are celebrated with just as much excitement as their results. Their efforts & approximations should bring you just as much joy (if not more!!) as perfectly written words. Truly writing is not the same as copying, and learning to write is so much more valuable and exciting than learning to copy… even if what they copy might look more like what we adults consider “real” writing to be.
In order for Writer’s Workshop to be a success, your students will need to feel safe to take risks. They need to be confident in knowing that you will celebrate them every step of the way, and that their writing and their stories are already worthy, no matter where they fall on the writing continuum. When it comes to writing, taking risks and being willing to participate are so much more important than being correct. With explicit teaching, exposure, and practice, the rest will come – unless our students are too focused on being perfect to feel brave enough to put their own stories on paper.
L: Thank you so much, Andrea, for sharing your Writer’s Workshop expertise!
If you’d like to learn more about Andrea and what she shares about teaching French, check out her “Enseignons ensemble” blog and her TpT store. Also, make sure to stop by her Instagram account and let her know you’ve read and enjoyed this interview.
Thank you for reading!
Merci!
Lucy
Read: Teaching Students to Stretch Sentences
Read: How to Get Students to Enjoy Writing in French
