Ideas - the main message
Organization - the internal structure
Voice - the personal tone and flavour of the author's message
Word Choice - the vocabulary a writer chooses to convey meaning
Sentence Fluency - the rhythm and flow of the language
Conventions - the mechanical correctness
We will begin our Writer's Workshop with a mini lesson, followed by guided practice. Mini lessons focus on a specific trait of writing. Students apply what they have learned in the mini lesson to their everyday writing.
We will also have an "Author's Chair" where students can share their writing with the class. After sharing, students give each other "stars" and "wishes". Stars are compliments, such as "I love the way you projected your voice, so everyone could hear the story" and wishes are things you wish the author had done, such as "I wish you would have included more details about the main character". Stars and wishes are from the teacher at the start of the year and then from classroom friends later on.
