Mrs. Potters writing room

Melissa Potter 12/2/2022

Happy December! Today on Mrs. Potter's writing room blog I will be sharing with you ways that I set up writer's workshops in my kindergarten classroom.  

When you think of kindergarten you may think "They are just learning to write, how can they have writing workshops?" But kindergarten is the perfect time to introduce how we write and think about writing to create our masterpieces!

Step one: Mini lessons 

Start the year with mini lessons about writing workshop procedures. After the procedures are in place, move on to you modeling what your students do once it is their turn to write. It is important to model thinking out loud about your writing. Students will hear your thought process! First I draw the picture that will go with my writing. Then I fill in my sentence. I go over the steps again before I release them to work independently. 

Step two: Independent writing

Because this is the early stages of reading and writing in kindergarten I first give them blank papers with a box for their picture and writing lines on the bottom. I do not worry about correct spelling or perfect handwriting. We want our students to feel comfortable and PROUD of their writing from the very beginning. I also do not give writing prompts at this stage, I want them to be able to think of things to write about on their own. 

Step three: Conferring 

While students are busy working on their independent writing I meet with them. We discuss whatever they are willing to share with me about their work. It gives me the opportunity to see what they have done, or if they need a little more extension on my mini-lesson. I keep track of who I have met with and what I noticed. This helps me to see growth and who is needing more help, I refer to this as I am planning my future lessons. What are they ready for?

Step four: Sharing

This is the BEST part. I give each student the opportunity to stand and share or sit and share. I never make anyone share who does not want to. At this age, most are eager to share. If you feel that your class in not ready to share independently, you can pair them up with a partner and have them share with their partner.  

These steps of my writing workshops are important to build the confidence your little authors will need as they move onto first grade and work their way through school. Once good writing habits are formed and they KNOW they can create it they will be excited to write! 

Sources

says:, K. et al. (2022) Getting started with Kindergarten Writers Workshop Free File, Mrs. Wills Kindergarten. Available at: https://mrswillskindergarten.com/writers-workshop-week-2/ (Accessed: December 2, 2022).