Want a way to teach writing that helps your children grow a love of writing? Do you want a method that you’ll enjoy teaching too? Then writers’ workshop is for you. It’s the best way to teach writing. In this beginner’s guide to writers’ workshop for homeschool you’ll find everything you need to begin using this powerful method for teaching your children to write.
Filled with information, this guide will show you how to plan your year, gather necessary materials, “launch” your writers’ workshop, teach routines, teach the writing process, and use the four components of the writers’ workshop.
Beginner’s Guide to Writers’ Workshop for Homeschool
Planning Your Year
Planning is important in the writers’ workshop. When we have a plan, we’re able to nudge our kids to become better writers. But planning is not easy. And it takes time.
I don’t always have a plan.
It’s impossible to be intentional all the time. There are many days when I don’t give a mini-lesson or talk to my daughter about her writing.
I just let her write.
But I’ve learned to tell myself that it’s okay. Making time for writing is the first step, so if that’s where you are, no pressure. Keep up the writing routine and start adding the components of writers’ workshop when you feel ready.
Consider Your Age Group
How many children are you homeschooling?
How close are they in age?
Although writers’ workshop works with any age, how you plan your lessons will depend on the age span you’re working with. If your kids are in primary grades, your mini-lessons will target skills that your upper elementary kids already know.
Choose Monthly Units
One helpful way to structure your workshop is to plan different units of study for every month, or two. A unit of study can be a writing genre or an author study. Pick units that interest you and ones you think your children will enjoy.
Genres for units of study:
- Personal Narrative
- How-to Books
- Nonfiction Chapter Books
- Fiction
- Poetry
- Writing Reviews
- Persuasive Writing
- Research Reports
- Essays
- Journalism
- Fantasy Writing
Make Unit Goals
After choosing a unit to study each month, make a list of your goals for that genre.
- What do you want your children to learn?
- How will you know they’ve grown as writers?
Make a list of the skills that your children will need to learn in order to accomplish your goals.
Pencil in Weekly/Daily Lessons
Look at your monthly goals to determine what to teach your children during your mini-lessons.
Okay, don’t panic.
This is overwhelming, but don’t fret. Let me show you an example.
Writing How To Books
I know what you’re thinking
A glance at that 3-week plan has your head spinning. You don’t have time to plan. You don’t know how to plan. Is writers’ workshop for you?
Don’t worry. Start small.
You don’t have to do it all. Jot down 3 writing genres you want to try this year. That can be your plan for now.
Gather Materials
Writing Center Materials
Find a place in your home that can be designated for writing materials.
How about a rolling cart, a bookshelf, or small table with baskets?
Everything at your fingertips means no more wasted time looking for the stapler. And a writing space that’s inviting to kids will make them want to come back for more.
- Lined paper
- Stapler
- Tape
- Pencils
- Pencil sharpener
- Markers
- Colored Pencils
- Colored pens
- Dictionary
- Thesaurus
Materials for Each Child
Choosing a method for storing writing pieces really depends on your preference. Here are two possibilities:
- Writing folders
One way to set up writing folders is to buy two or three folders and put them together so the writing folder has 4-6 pockets. Label each pocket: writing resources, prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, publishing. Have your child place her writing piece in the pocket that corresponds to her stage in the process.
- Composition notebooks
If you picture loose papers and lost work with folders, composition notebooks are a better solution for you. Children can decorate the cover with stickers or magazine cutouts, then divide it into sections with tabs labeled resources, unit pieces, other writing.
The advantage of notebooks is that all the writing will be chronological. The disadvantage is that you can’t move papers around. If you run out of space you’ll need another composition book or staple/tape in additional pages. Have your child skip lines when writing in a notebook to allow space for revising later.
Materials for You
- Writing folder
Don’t forget to make a writing folder/notebook for yourself. When you write alongside your children during your workshop, you’re modeling writing. They’ll be glancing over your shoulder trying to sneak a peek at what you’re writing. They love to see mom write!
- Lesson plan binder
- lesson plans
- rubrics
- charts
- conference forms
- book lists
Store all your materials in one convenient place. Again, being organized will help your writing time run smoothly.
Launching Your Writers’ Workshop
The first day of writers’ workshop is so exciting! Now it’s time to share your enthusiasm for the year ahead. Start a discussion with your kids about writing. Keep things positive.
- Why do people write?
- What’s the purpose of writing?
- What does becoming a good writer mean to you?
- What do you like to write about?
If you used a writing curriculum in the past, use this opportunity to explain how writers’ workshop is similar or different from what they’re used to.
Then dive in and start writing from day one!
Teaching Routines
Use the first week to teach your children what to expect during writers’ workshop.
Using materials
Show how to use the pencils, markers, and colored pencils correctly. Tell your children where to put the materials when they’re finished.
Be specific.
I tell my kids to listen for the click on markers so they know the tops are secure. No one likes to use dried up markers, right? Teach them how to use the pencil sharpener, especially if it’s electric. Little ones love to grind their pencils down to the nub.
Setting up notebooks/folders
Kids take pleasure in making their folders unique. Give them time to decorate the covers. Let them glue in labels or writing checklists and charts. Explain how the folders will be used and where to store them.
Choosing writing places
Children don’t have to sit at a table to write. Let them write where they feel comfortable. Lying on the floor, slouching in a bean bag chair, lounging on a bed, sitting at a desk. A place where they can concentrate and do their best writing are the only criteria.
Writing independently
Talk about what writing independently looks like.
- Writing the whole time (when you think you’re finished, write something else)
- Staying in your writing spot (you can do more writing if you stay put)
- Solving your own problems (use the writing helps in your folder)
- Not interrupting Mom (she’ll be meeting with each sibling one-on-one)
Teaching the Writing Process
Once you’ve established your routines for writers’ workshop, start teaching your children the writing process. I recommend starting with something everyone can write about, a personal narrative.
Brainstorm topics and make a chart.
Encourage your kids to choose something close to their heart, because it will make writing meaningful and fun for them.
Here’s a video your kids can watch about brainstorming for personal narrative.
Prewriting
Spend time organizing ideas and planning out your personal narrative with a prewriting activity. This is when the real thinking takes place.
Don’t skip this step.
There are several ways to go about prewriting. Pick one technique to teach your kids for now. Save the rest for later. Over time your children will figure out which prewriting strategy suits them best.
- Make a sketch
- Make a web
- Talk about your ideas
- Make a list
- Use a graphic organizer
Drafting
Children start writing their “rough draft” or “first draft.” You can model this on a piece of chart paper. Show them how to refer back at their prewriting, take an idea, and put it into a sentence or paragraph.
Emphasize that drafting is getting ideas down on paper.
Key points
- Handwriting doesn’t have to be perfect, just legible
- Don’t worry about spelling and punctuation
- Remember to skip lines and write on only one side of the paper
Revising
Revising is taking a second look. Don’t confuse this step with editing, which comes later. Think of revising as “making writing sound better.”
Revising is difficult for children, because they have to look at their writing through the eyes of the reader. The focus here is on the message of the writing, not the little details of spelling, grammar and punctuation.
Have your children reread their writing and figure out how they can make it better. First, model revision using your own writing sample. Then, give your children a revising checklist so they can practice revising their writing piece.
Sample questions to guide revision:
- Is my writing clear?
- Is there something I should add or delete?
- Did I use colorful words?
- Did I give enough detail?
- Does my ending make sense?
Editing
Next, teach your children how to edit, or proofread their writing. In this step, children put on their detective glasses and look for mistakes in spelling, grammar, and punctuation.
Emphasize the importance of editing. If a piece of writing is full of mistakes, the reader might not understand the writing. Editing means making their writing look as good as it sounds.
Teach your children fun editing symbols and how to use an editing checklist or chart.
Publishing
Finally, it’s time to publish. Publishing means making a final copy of the writing piece that is ready to share. For your first time through the writing process, have your children write a published copy using their neatest handwriting. Later, you can add some alternatives, like typed and printed copies, or even published book copies.
How Much Time You Need
Plan for at least 30 minutes in your day for writers’ workshop. As the year goes on, you can expand the time to 45-50 minutes, which is more ideal. Writing 4-5 days per week will get your children into a writing rhythm, and they’ll grow more as writers.
Components of Writers’ Workshop
There are four components of writers’ workshop. The goal is to include all of the components each day.
If that’s too much for you at first, try to focus on a mini-lesson and independent writing time. You can add other components as you get more comfortable with the workshop method.
Please keep in mind that an ideal writers’ workshop has all of these components. Realistically, your workshop may be more basic. That’s okay.
The most valuable thing you can do is consistently spend time writing together with your children.
Teaching Mini-Lessons
Begin your writers’ workshop with all of your children gathered together. Mini-lessons focus on one writing skill, strategy or technique related to the craft, or art, of writing.
Keep it short.
They are called mini-lessons for a reason. 5-10 minutes is sufficient.
Connect with your children
First, take a moment to comment on what you know your children are doing well. Notice how they are staying on task, giving their best effort, or trying new things in their writing. You’re setting a positive tone for you writing time and boosting their self-confidence.
Teach with mentor text
A mentor text is a published children’s book that models quality writing.
Maybe the author shows lots of different sentence structures, has a lead that grabs your attention, and has fantastic word choice. You can spend several days using different sections of the book to highlight different writing craft.
Or select a different mentor text for each skill you’re teaching.
Teaching dialogue? Choose a mentor text that is full of dialogue. “Now I’m going to show you how to use dialogue in your story. Let’s see how this author used dialogue.”
Engage children in process
Practice using the skill together on a sample writing piece. “Now, we’re going to try it.” Or ask them to explain the skill after you’ve demonstrated how to use it.
Link to children’s writing
Close your mini-lesson by reminding your children to take what they’ve learned and apply it to their writing today and from this point on. “Today, I showed you…now when you write you can…”
Independent Writing Time
Everyone is writing
At the beginning of independent writing time, I like to pull out my own writing folder and write too. This is a great opportunity to model writing for your children. And it gives you a time to relax and experience what they are feeling as writers.
It may be a struggle for your children to write for a long period of time if they’ve never done it before. Don’t push too hard. Gently challenge them to get stronger each day. You can use a timer and chart their progress over time.
Conferring with your children
After you’ve done some writing, make time to meet with your children one-on-one. A writing conference gives you the chance to discover their strengths and areas of need.
A conference is a conversation between a learner and a coach. -Lucy Calkins
Ask your child questions.
- “How’s your writing coming along?”
- “What strategies are you using?”
Look at your child’s writing.
Ask him to read a part of his writing. It can be a part that he really likes or a part that shows how he used the strategy you talked about in the mini-lesson. Notice areas where he has room for growth and choose one for your focus.
Give positive feedback.
Tell your child what he’s doing well. Find something specific. Then talk about the one area where you can see where he can grow.
Teach one skill or strategy.
You can teach the skill just as you would in your mini-lesson. Give examples from a mentor text or demonstrate the strategy yourself. Then have him talk about how he could use it in his writing.
Keep track of your conferences with notes, or make mental notes, if you have a good memory.
Sharing
The purpose of share time is for your children to share insights from the day and to celebrate their writing. Gather everyone back together for a brief time to reflect and bring closure to your writers’ workshop.
Ideas for share time
Whole group share
Everyone shares a sentence or small paragraph that shows one of the following:
- something they did well
- a connection to the mini-lesson
- a technique they tried that was new to them
- a problem they faced that others can help solve
- a new insight from a favorite author
Give a rating
Have your children rate how well they used the skill from the mini-lesson. “Today we learned how to use sensory words. Thumbs up if you did that, thumbs down if you didn’t.”
Ask a reflective question
“What did you struggle with today as a writer?”
“What did you learn about yourself as a writer?”
Teach your children how to respond
Ask your children to listen to each other carefully during share time. Teach them how to give different types of feedback.
- Positive Comment (I like the part where…)
- Question (Why did you choose…?)
- Suggestion (Maybe you could try…)
In conclusion
Writers’ workshop is a wonderful method for teaching your children to write. Make a plan, gather your materials, teach workshop routines, and start working through the writing process with a simple personal narrative. Use mini-lessons, extended writing time, conferencing, and share time for opportunities to address the specific needs of your kids and see them grow as writers.
Next Steps
What piece from this beginner’s guide to writers’ workshop for homeschool can you start using this week? If writers’ workshop is brand new to you, start small and build as you go. You can do this!
Subscribe to our mailing list, and we’ll send you 5 FREE printables to use in your writers’ workshop today. You’ll get the writing process poster, writers’ workshop cheat sheet, writers’ workshop planning sheet, revising checklist (gr. 3-5), and editing checklist (gr. 3-5).
Do you have questions about starting your writers’ workshop? Feel free to contact me. If you have a friend who would be interested in learning about this approach to teaching writing, please share this post.
Happy writing!
