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Assessing a student's writing skills and development is a process. In order to assure your student is learning the material, formative assessments should be used daily/weekly. Formative assessments can range from quizzes, classroom discussions and feedback given by students in small groups. At the beginning of the year, we will come up with a common goal for writing. Every friday the students will do an activity that will help them reach their goal. By the end of the year, all of the activities that they mastered, will lead them to reach the class’ goal! One of the most important things to remember while assessing a student's writing, is to respond to the writer's individual needs. The primary goal of writing assessments are to give positive and useful feedback. One strategy I would use to assess my students is use the “X marks the spot” technique. Instead of overwhelming students with marks all over their paper, this technique allows you to put minimal markings. Applying a small X above the wrong word or spelling, informs the student that it is wrong but then allows them to go back and fix their own mistakes. This also teaches kids to learn from their mistakes. Another way I would assess my students is giving them a benchmark assessment three times through the year. By comparing each of these scores allows the teachers to see the students progress throughout the year.

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Fifth Grade Teacher finds the Value in Speaking during Writing Workshop 

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Fifth Grade Teacher finds the Value in Speaking during Writing Workshop 

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Article from the National Writing Project (2001)

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A Place for Talk in a Writers' Workshop - National Writing Project

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It was not until I began reading about teaching writing that I realized that those morning gab sessions were responsible for this excellent writing. Whereas I thought we were "stealing" writing time to talk, we were really practicing the art of storytelling. We were prewriting, planning, and thinking.

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Peanut Butter and Jelly Recipes used in Writing Workshop to understand Author's Message 

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Peanut Butter and Jelly Recipes used in Writing Workshop to understand Author's Message 

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WEBSITE: http://www.teachertube.com Writing the directions to make a PB amp J is not as easy at it seems. An author must use appropriate details and vocabulary for the reader to understand what is the authors message.

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Exploring Problem and Solution in Writing 

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Exploring Problem and Solution in Writing 

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To enable an environment that is writing workshop friendly we found collaboration and resources to be the most important aspects of our classroom. For collaboration, we have provided desks in groups for enhanced interaction, along with a rug and two tables where students may engage with one another and collaborate on work. Secondly, resources fill the room from the bookshelves in the classroom library to the classroom activity board and smart board in the front. The position of the teacher’s desk allows him or her to also be a resource to the students, it is at a location where they are accessible and integrated enough to provide guidance to the students during writing workshop but also separate enough to have one-on-one interactions with students.

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Implementation of a Well Done Writing Workshop Mini-Lesson 

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Implementation of a Well Done Writing Workshop Mini-Lesson 

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A Danielson Observation of a TCRWP Fourth Grade Writing Workshop in an Integrated Co-Teaching Class - An Observation of a Writing Minilesson

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Writing Workshop helps Develop Communication Skills 

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Writing Workshop helps Develop Communication Skills 

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Writing workshops provide students with skills that they can utilize in their writing for the rest of their lives. Along with deepening student’s understandings about the mechanics of writing and grammar, writing workshops also help to develop various communication skills.

Reading: Reading during a writing workshop is crucial for students; it allows them to go back and read their writing, finding errors along the way, and also helps to broaden their vocabulary. Having students go back and re-read their writing allows them to get into the habit of doing so after they finish writing. Re-reading work to look for spelling errors, and grammatical issues helps students catch their mistakes, and fix sentences that sound a little funny. Providing students with writing prompts, or short readings during the writing workshops helps students practice their reading skills, while broadening their vocabulary.

Speaking: Sharing is a huge part of a writing workshop. Reading their written work out loud to a classmate allows students to gain practice speaking in front of others, and allows them to get to know their classmates better. Allowing children time to share their work with a classmate helps students develop better communication skills amongst peers.

Listening: Whether the teacher is explaining the writing workshop for the day, or if a classmate is reading their work aloud, the student must be listening. Good listening skills are necessary for success in the classroom. By listening to other classmate’s work, students gain experience being active, good listeners to get the most out of the writing workshop.

Writing: Writing without the fear of misspelling words, and having their writing judged by the teacher many times restricts students who are very capable of creating wonderful pieces of writing. Writing workshops are designed to allow students to go outside of their comfort zone, and get their pencils to the paper without getting deep into the mechanics of writing. Practicing writing on a daily basis allows students to gain experience as writers, and find their own, unique writing style. With help and guidance from the teacher, over time, students writing will begin to explore new ideas, and feel more confident in their abilities as writers.

Viewing: Students, when pushed outside of their comfort zones, whether during the writing workshop, or during real life situations, begin to view things with a different perspective. Taking the pressure off of students during the time of the writing workshops allows them to gather ideas from their lives, and view things in different ways. For example, something that is going on in a student’s life that is really negatively impacting them, can become a piece of writing, that has potential to help other kids dealing with similar situations. Taking a different view on a topic, situation, or even the way we learn can have a lasting impact on students and the quality work they produce.
Visually Representing:
Having students display their work on Smart-boards, or iPads incorporated technology into the classroom, while allowing students to be independent and gain skills on how technology works. It also allows for students to explore all the possibilities technology has to offer, while broadening their communication skills via technology.

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A Writing Workshop friendly Classroom Set Up 

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A Writing Workshop friendly Classroom Set Up 

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How Writing Workshop Enables Extra Support for those that need it 

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How Writing Workshop Enables Extra Support for those that need it 