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Top Ten Ways to Keep Minilessons from Turning into Maxilessons

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Top Ten Ways to Keep Minilessons from Turning into Maxilessons

We've all been there. You've gathered your students into the classroom meeting area, nice and cozy, with the intention of doing just a quick l'il minilesson. Just a quick tip about writing and off they go, right? Maybe just a quick little demonstration? With a tiny bit of practice? Oh, and a chart... you'll need to make a chart so that they remember the lesson, right? Oh, and maybe remind them about all the other strategies they already know? And don't forget about their goals. Definitely remind them about their writing goals...and their writing partners...and to push themselves to write long and strong...and to use everything they know about punctuation...and spelling...and...and...and...

Next thing you know, twenty minutes have passed, and you still haven't even got to your main teaching point, and there's barely time for your kids to do any actual writing before they have to line up for lunch. Trust me, we've all been there.

If you are familiar with the Units of Study for Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing for K-8 (Lucy Calkins et al 2013, 2014), then of course you are familiar with minilessons. But just in case you aren't familiar, I'm referring to a particular kind of lesson structure designed to minimize whole class instruction and maximize time for independent work, conferring and small group work. There are usually four parts to the architecture of a basic minilesson:

1) a quick connection to something familiar to your students

2) a brief demonstration

3) a chance for kids to be actively engaged in trying out the work

4) and a link to ongoing student work and personal goals

This basic architecture keeps things nice and organized, grounded in research about how children learn, and efficient. The less time we spend in whole class instruction, the more time we have for individualized instruction via small groups and one-one conferences. By the way, conferring, Lucy Calkins and other experts will tell you, is the heart of a true writing workshop.

But how to keep those minilessons mini, but still strong enough for kids to understand and remember (and possibly even enjoy)? Here are my top ten bits of advice, gleaned from a decade of traveling around the country teaching reading and writing workshop:

10. State the teaching point VERY clearly. Try saying, "Today I will teach you how to ________________." With a clear teaching point, everything else falls right into place. Don't keep the teaching point a secret! If you aren't used to it, saying these words out loud as part of your lesson can feel a bit canned, uncomfortable, even. But trust me. If your minilessons tend to be maxilessons, making this one small change might work magic for you-and you can always develop your own way of saying this once you get the hang of stating your teaching point clearly every time.

9. Your demonstration should clearly model the teaching point that you named. Try saying, "Watch how I ________," before you start modeling. You don't want kids noticing your new nail polish color instead of the strategy you wanted to teach (I am speaking from experience, here). It helps a bunch to just explicitly say what you're modeling. No guessing games, please!

8. Be consistent about NOT indulging children's questions and comments during your minilesson. Remind children that the minilesson will be brief and they will have their chance to talk to you in just a few minutes after the lesson (and of course make sure you stay true to your word). If you're like me, not calling on kids is a challenge. Little Suzy has her hand up... and won't put it down until you call on her. It's so tempting to call on her... just this one time, right? But trust me, if you do, you'll have three hands up during your lesson tomorrow, then six the next day, and then you might as well just cancel your minilesson because, trust me, the kids aren't listening to you anyway when their hands are up in the air. Often at the end of my minilessons, I invite kids to stay at the meeting area if they still have burning questions.

7. A little repetition is a good thing. Naming the teaching point multiple times is good. Planning three demonstrations is not so good. Try to plan minilessons that your children will be able to understand after one demo, and one active engagement. If, while teaching, it seems too difficult, pull small groups later during the workshop, or revise the minilesson to make it more effective and try again another day. Keeping your kids at the meeting area for a half hour because "they just aren't getting it" probably isn't the best way to go.

6. The active engagement should involve the kids in trying the actual strategy you taught that day. This might mean that they actually write something, or help you write something, or say it aloud to a partner. Circulate during this time and coach the kids - if they aren't doing what you asked, stop them and ask them to try again! Watching an adult do the work, or talking about what they saw isn't the same as actually trying it.

5. Be expressive while you teach. Don't rush through just to make it "mini," but don't drag it on forever either. Use a dramatic voice, gestures, and try to have fun! There, I said it. It's okay to have fun while you teach!

4. Constantly ask yourself, "Do my kids really need this lesson right now?" Watch them while you teach - is it obvious from looking at their previous writing, or previous lessons they will understand today's lesson before you've even gotten to the active engagement?" Well, get them off the carpet so they can go write!

3. Ask yourself, and be honest, is this really a strategy that kids can use every time, in almost any piece of writing? (Ahem. Overly specific graphic organizer?) If they cannot use it over and over, on their own, for any piece of writing, then what you are probably doing is giving an assignment, NOT teaching a writing workshop minilesson....just sayin'.

2. My friend Shanna Schwartz long ago taught me the cardinal principles of management: 1)Reasonable expectations 2)Teach, don't tell, 3)Put yourself out of a job, 4)Consistency, 5) Walk the walk. Be the best student in your own classroom. Wiser words were never spoken, in the classroom and in life. And strong management is one of the most important things you can do to help keep your minilessons from turning into maxilessons.

1. Lastly, nobody wants their minilessons to be forgettable. Use visuals, like charts to help your kids remember what you've taught them. Try giving kids special "tools" to remind them of the really important things that they tend to forget. Use color, pictures, images. Act things out, use kids' writing as examples, display the examples after the lesson. Use stories from your own life, metaphors and images to help kids remember, make a game of the strategy when you can... do anything and everything you can to help kids retain what you've taught. But don't try to do it all in one lesson!

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Top Ten Ways to Keep Minilessons from Turning into Maxilessons

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We've all been there. You've gathered your students into the classroom meeting area, nice and cozy, with the intention of doing just a quick l'il minilesson. Just a quick tip about writing and off they go, right? Maybe just a quick little demonstration? With a tiny bit of practice?

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Lucy Calkins and Colleagues Units of Study

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A Workshop Curriculum - Grades K-8

by Lucy Calkins and Colleagues from TCRWP

Dear Teachers,
I couldn't be more delighted to be sharing this work with you. It is the understatement of a lifetime to say that Units of Study grow out of years of work in thousands of classrooms. This series also grows out of the greatest minds and most beautiful teaching that I've seen anywhere. To write the Units of Study, my colleagues at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project and I have done what teachers throughout the world do all the time. We've taken all that we know-the processes, sequences, continua, books, levels, lessons, methods, principles, strategies...the works-and we've made a path for children, a path that draws all we know into a cohesive, organic progression. Our hope is that this path brings children along to the place where they can write clearly and skillfully and read flexibly and joyfully-and can live together as caring, thoughtful readers and writers. Lucy Calkins

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Units of Study Reading, Writing & Classroom Libraries by Lucy Calkins

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Lucy Calkins Units of Study Series for teaching reading and teaching writing from the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project.

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You need to watch at least five videos. Be prepared to write about your takeaways from each session:)

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You need to watch at least five videos. Be prepared to write about your takeaways from each session:)

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Grades K-2

Top Ten List (Kate R).

Using the Alphabet Arc as an Intervention (Beth)

Tips for Teaching the Alphabet K-2 (Beth)

Tips for Increasing Stamina & Writing Independence (Beth)

Not This But That: No More Phonics Worksheets K-2 (Beth)

Using the TCRWP Units of Study Assessment Materials  K-2 (Kate)

Using Mentor Texts in the Writing Workshop K-6 (Kate)

Interactive and Shared Writing K-2 (Kate)

Phonics (Kate)

Grades 3-5

Top Ten List (Kate R).

Grammar 3-6 (Kelly and Andrea)

Tips for Increasing Stamina & Writing Independence (Beth)

Using Mentor Texts in the Writing Workshop K-6 (Kate)

Using the TCRWP Units of Study Assessment Materials 3-5 (Kate)

Tips: Using Charts and Checklists to Improve Peer Feedback 3-6 (Andrea)

Teaching Grammar Through Interactive Read Aloud (Hareem Atif Khan from TCRWP)

Quick and Fun Ways to Incorporate Vocabulary into Your Day (Mike Ochs from TCRWP)

Why Write About Reading? (Kim Brooks from TCRWP)

Chat GPT: What is It and How Can We Embrace AI in the Classroom? (Philip Seyfried from TCRWP)

Grade 6

Grammar: The Patterns of Power Process *Required

Grammar Advanced: More Methods and Strategies (Kelly) *Required

Writing Accommodations 3-6 (Kate)

Tips: Using Charts and Checklists to Improve Peer Feedback 3-6 (Andrea)

Supporting Students in Self-Assessment & Peer Feedback (Kelly)

Planning for Small Groups and 1:1 Conferences (Kelly)

Methods for Small Group Instruction and 1:1 Conferences (Kelly)

Teaching Tools: Charts, Learning Progressions, Bookmarks, Demonstration Notebooks (Kelly)

Chat GPT: What is It and How Can We Embrace AI in the Classroom? (Philip Seyfried from TCRWP)

Supporting Middle and High School Writers (Kelly) (This is a resource that offers tips for how parents/guardians can support their writer)

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9:00-9:30
Large Group
Student hat:

Write a personal narrative from a photograph.

Idea Generating with the phone

What did you learn from putting on the student hat? (chart)

9:30-10:30

Learning Progressions and checklists and how to use them(Beth & Andrea)

Turning a learning progression into a micro-progression

How to use your progressions with small groups and partnerships.

10:30-11:30

K-2- student exemplar sample (make and take)

3-5-Make and take using grade-level charts from units

I can/I'm Working On sort

11:30-12:45 Out to Lunch

12:45-1:45

Create your own charts for writing workshop (Beth and Andrea)

Activity: Charts (Video link)

1:45-3:00
Conferring with Writers (Kate)

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Click HERE for your homework :)

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SNACK POT LUCK

9:00-9:30
Student Hat:

Informational Writing - Tell All About It (Up the Ladder Chart)

Oral Rehearsal

What did you learn from putting on the student hat? (add to chart)

9:30-10:00 Andrea
Large Group

Mini Lessons (show 3 different types of connections)

Revising teaching points

Practice amping up a connection and a teaching point with a fractal partner

Small Groups 10:00-11:00

How to Prep Your Mini-Lesson (show 2 different styles for doing this)

Teach a mini Lesson as a jigsaw group

Time for reflection

11:00-11:15 Break

11:15-1:00
Report Cards (Kate)

On-Demands (Kate)

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If you miss a day, you will NOT be able to receive the compensation or the SCECHs.

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If you miss a day, you will NOT be able to receive the compensation or the SCECHs.

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11:30-1:00
Large Group
Principles of Good Writing Instruction (Kate)

1:00-1:15 Break

1:15-3:00
Large Group (Beth and Andrea)

Connector

Space, Routines and Processes that Support Writing Instruction

What Not to Wear

Homework: Reflection-Word, Sentence, Phrase

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Click HERE for your homework :)

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1. Using your first informational unit, personalize the connections and rewrite the teaching points for Bend 1. You can use a planning method that works for you. (You will have time tomorrow to share out with a partner)

2. Read . . .

Chapter 5 Getting Started with Units of Study

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Cute as an Axoltyl (Amazon Link)

Axoltyl (Epic link, available during the school day)

Informational Video on Axolytl

National Geographic Webpage on Axolytl

Axolotl: Fun Facts About the World's Coolest Salamander - An Info-Picturebook for Kids (Amazon Link, free with Kindle Unlimited)

THE AXOLOTL Do Your Kids Know This?: A Children's Picture Book (Amazon Link, free with Kindle Unlimited)

My Life at the Bottom (Amazon Link, Narrative Nonfiction)

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Click HERE for your homework :)

This homework needs to be completed BEFORE the first day.

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The sign in link will be live on Friday morning at 8:00 AM.  It will close on Tuesday, June 20th @ 5:00 PM. 

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The sign in link will be live on Friday morning at 8:00 AM.  It will close on Tuesday, June 20th @ 5:00 PM. 

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HERE IS THE SIGN IN LINK

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Click HERE for your homework :)

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These classroom resources provide core curriculum and instruction while guiding your professional growth. Our authors expand upon the ideas introduced in their professional books, model effective instructional strategies, and provide "ready-to-use" resources - including teaching materials and lesson plans - written to support your daily instruction.

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Heinemann | Publisher of professional resources and provider of educational services for teachers

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Heinemann is a publisher of professional resources and a provider of educational services for teachers and educators from kindergarten through college.

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Click HERE for your homework :)

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CGI Animated Short Film "Joy and Heron" by Passion Pictures | CGMeetup

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From TCRWP (older readers/writers

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Using a Learning Progression to Support Self-Assessment and Writing about Themes in Literature: Small Group Work (3-5)

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Lucy Calkins and Colleagues at the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project present Using a Learning Progression to Support Self-Assessment and Writing about Themes in Literature: Small Group (3-5)

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Tweets by tcrwp

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Resources | Teachers College Advancing Literacy

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#Goals

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Using I spy books to teach describing words or Using True Words in Kindergarten 

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Using I spy books to teach describing words or Using True Words in Kindergarten 

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Sample Curriculum Map First Grade 22-23 (Kate)

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Sample Curriculum Map First Grade 22-23 (Kate)

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Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

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Teachers College Reading and Writing Project

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Using the Checklist to Launch A Small Group or Conference (Kate)

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Using the Checklist to Launch A Small Group or Conference (Kate)

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Using An Exemplar Text as an Example (Kate/Beth/Andrea) 

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Using An Exemplar Text as an Example (Kate/Beth/Andrea) 

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Tools for Small Groups and 1:1 Conferring

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Tools for Small Groups and 1:1 Conferring

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A demonstration notebook page

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A demonstration notebook page

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Microprogression

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Grade 4 Writing Sample-Informational Writing (Kate)

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Grade 4 Writing Sample-Informational Writing (Kate)

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Sample If/Then Scenarios (check your Heinemann resource) (Kate)

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Sample If/Then Scenarios (check your Heinemann resource) (Kate)