How to Implement a Writers' Workshop in the Classroom

Encouraging writing in the classroom can improve writing skills for life.

Focusing intently on developing writing skills can make students more effective in many areas of the classroom, increasing imagination, improving grammar and bolstering communication abilities. A challenge to the instructor is to meet each child where they are with their writing skills, choosing activities that will allow more skilled writers to fly forward while giving others a chance to carefully craft skills that they will use for the rest of their lives.

Instructions

1. Study technique. The culture of writing has been shaped by the work of many contemporary authors, so be sure to include the work of masters to fill the classroom with excitement about the possibilities. Authors chosen may include Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author of "Love in the Time of Cholera," Albert Camus, Toni Morrison, Haruki Murakami, Salman Rushdie, Philip Roth, J. K. Rowling, J. D. Salinger and George Orwell. Studying the basic techniques of plot, grammar, character, setting, theme and style will be complemented by the works of those who have been recognized as skilled and influential authors.

2. Alternate writing projects. When a younger person is approaching writing, it can be tempting to "write what they know" -- and only that. Instead of letting autobiographies narrowly spring up, the former director of NYU's creative writing program suggests encouraging the students to write in the shoes of anyone else, to separate their writing from their personality and their own experience. Allow some autobiographical and familiar writing to take place, but also plan for short stories and even novellas to be written in a different voice.

3. Create a system of critique. Allowing students to critique each other creates a system of guidance and support, keeping projects on track and encouraging students to critically and kindly analyze what they see around them. Peer review can make students more sensitive to their audience and improve their critical reading skills, and it can especially encourage stronger and better revisions from students.

4. Provide a list of topics that should be critiqued, so your students are prepared to analyze works on a deeper level than spelling or grammar. Written feedback creates a strong base of reference, something that students can refer back to time and time again to see how their project has progressed in the eyes of their peers. The authors of "Developing Authority in Student Writing through Written Peer Critique in the Disciplines" suggest that at minimum, content, strengths, and areas of improvement should be addressed during critiques.

References

• The Writing Instructor: Developing Authority in Student Writing through Written Peer Critique in the Disciplines; Barbara Schneider and Jo-Anne Andre
• The Writer's Studios: About the Writer's Studio Workshops
• Elementary Writing: The official blog of Make Literature Online project