Supports Common Core Standards for English Language Arts:
- Kindergarten: Reading: 1. With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about details and events in a text. Writing: 5. With guidance and support from adults, add details to strengthen writing as needed through revision.
Grade 1: Reading: 1. Ask and answer questions about key details and events in a text. Writing: 5. With guidance and support from adults, add details to strengthen writing as needed through revision; 7. Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., exploring a number of books on a given topic).
Grade 2: Reading: 1. Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details and events in a text. Writing: 5. With guidance from adults, strengthen writing as needed by revising and editing; 7. Participate in shared research and writing projects (e.g., exploring a number of books on a given topic).
50 minutes
By the end of this lesson, SWBAT:
Step One: What Is a Workshop?
5 minutes
Tell students to get excited: it’s time for them to share their novels with a real audience! Fortunately, this time their audience will be made up of friendly classmates who want to help them bring out what is already great about their writing. Then ask students if they know what the word “workshop” means. Help them connect the concept of the workshop as a place where people fix things with their hands to the concept of a workshop as an activity in which people improve things using other tools, such as their minds. Explain that today, like the characters they wrote about for their prompt, they will be “fixing up” their novels to make them great. They will do this by participating in a writing workshop.
Step Two: Explaining the Workshop
10 minutes
1. Explain that today, each student will read the first few pages of his or her novel to a partner. The partner will listen closely to the novel, coming up with positive feedback (pointing out the great parts!) and questions (What didn’t make sense? What could be explained in more detail?). Together, talk about guidelines for reviewing one another’s drafts. Tell the group that it is important to remain kind and positive when workshopping each other’s novels. You may also remind students of the discussion they had on respect at the very beginning of their novel-writing adventure. If needed, use “The Workshop” worksheet for guidance. With older kids you may want to pass this worksheet out and read the guidelines listed on the worksheet as a class.
2. Tell your students that one of the jobs they will have today is to ask questions about a partner’s novel. Kindergartners may need help writing questions down. While waiting for help with dictation, young students may put a question mark and/or picture on colored Post-its to remind themselves of their questions.
Step Three: The Workshop
30 minutes
1. Assign each student a partner. Tell the partners that they will take turns reading excerpts of their novels (2-5 pages) to each other. An alternative for kindergartners is to have partners talk about their novels with each other.
2. After reading both novels aloud, partners will swap novel excerpts. Each student will look at the excerpt of their partner’s novel and think about words, sentences, or whole sections that they really like. Then, on a colored Post-it note, partners will write a short sentence describing what they liked about each and post the note on the corresponding section. (Young students can skip the writing step and simply put a colored Post-it next to the parts they liked). Each student should write three “Positive Praise Post-its” and stick them on their partner’s novel.
3. Using another color of Post-it notes, each partner will write down questions they had about the novel. Tell students that if something doesn’t make sense, ask about it. If you need more detail about a character, ask about it. If you just want to know how your partner came up with a word, phrase, or idea, ask about it!
Brainstorm as a class what kinds of questions would be helpful to ask (and for partners to answer). Use the following questions for guidance:
For older students, you may want pass out the "Reader Review Worksheet" and have students refer to the questions on it.
4. Partners should spend about 20 minutes looking at and responding to each other’s work. Keep track of time and provide time warnings to the class.
Step Four: Share
5 minutes
1. Lead students in a brief discussion about the workshopping process so far. Is it hard or easy to follow the workshopping guidelines? Are there any guidelines that need changing? Invite response from as many students as possible.
2. Tell the class that they did a great job providing feedback to each other. Remind students to bring their novel excerpts to class tomorrow because they will be using the feedback they received today to make their novels even better!