"If students don't write at least three times a week, they are dead". - Donald Graves
"Real writers are eager for collaboration. They use other people's brains to help them get their writing right". - Mem Fox
"You learn to write by grappling with a real subject that truly matters to you". - Ralph Fletcher
"If students don't write at least three times a week, they are dead". - Donald Graves
What is the pedagogical model?
All About Writers presents three aspects of pedagogy which work together to promote independence and community: a workshop classroom, where writers engage in process and develop craft as writers.
This model is All About
-
Writers, not writing
-
a community of writers (and humans)
-
writers who think, make decisions, reflect
-
predictable routines and structures
-
explicit instruction
-
independent daily writing
-
conferencing
-
-
skills and strategies that are transferable across purposes for writing
-
authentic writing
-
student choice and agency
-
developing process from K-6
-
writing for real purposes and audiences
-
-
teaching HOW alongside what and why
-
fostering a love for writing and creativity
The Writing Process
The Qualities of Great Writing
Daily Writing
A Writers' Workshop
Conferencing
Where does it come from?
Our approach to writing combines three main elements: teaching the writing process, within a writer's workshop, and attending to the qualities of great writing.
We begin with the work of Donald Graves, who is regarded as the father of process writing pedagogy. His research over thirty years ago began a movement to teach children to write authentically, as published authors do. We can explicitly teach children skills within a writing process, starting with thinking and going right through to publishing. This process will grow and change from kindergarten through to grade 6, by which time your students will have developed autonomy within their own process.
Next, we look to the birthplace of the writer's workshop pedagogy at the Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University. Within a workshop classroom, a community of writers gather to hone their craft as writers, to find their voices as writers, to offer support and response. The workshop has a predictable routine and lesson elements plus key tools to support teaching and learning.
Finally, there is so much more to a great piece of writing than following a formula and focusing too much on spelling! Building on the 6+1 Traits of Writing (from Education Northwest), we will show you how to identify the qualities of great writing, and break them down across a continuum of skills that you can use as a primary resource for teaching and moderating writing.
Research and Reading
Donald Graves
The research and subsequent work of Donald Graves (1930-2010) revolutionised writing pedagogy. He published several books which are still regarded as foundational texts within the field, including Writing: Children and Teachers at Work (1983). The man and his work are remembered in Australia today through the annual Donald Graves Address presented at the ALEA National Conference. In 2012, the inaugural address was delivered by Australian author Mem Fox and is well worth a read: www.alea.edu.au/aleanews/mem-fox-delivers-donald-graves-address
Teachers College @ Columbia University
Many leaders in the field of writing education are alumni of the (previously named) Reading and Writing Project at Columbia, including Lucy Calkins, Jen Serravallo, Ralph Fletcher, Carl Anderson, and Georgia Heard. We stand on their shoulders (and rely on their resources) in the work we do.
