Unpacking the Writing Process

This workshop looks at the elements of the writing process and the teachable and transferable skills found within it. We will work through thinking, talking, planning, drafting, revising, editing and publishing, exploring how these develop from kindergarten through the primary years.

We will frame this learning within a writers' workshop environment, initially watching a kindergarten mini-lesson to focus on the skills of thinking that are so important in the early years and beyond. From here, we will explore the different types of talk that happen in a writing classroom, from oral rehearsal to dialogue incorporating questioning and feedback. Planning before writing takes many different forms, some of which we will explore, before talking through the important aspects of drafting.

Revising comes next, and is widely considered among authors as being the part of the process that demands the most time. We will share strategies for revising, differentiating it from the next part of the process, editing. Finally, we will share ideas for publishing according to the purpose and audience of the piece.

Throughout this workshop, teachers will work through the process themselves and write. If we want to teach writers in an authentic way, we need to share our own writing experiences with them as they find their own process. You will leave with ideas and resources you can use in your classroom, and a plan for how to implement in your context with your students.