Making the Workshop Work in High School ELA???

[Amanda Goss]

I know there are wonderful books written about this topic (you are welcome to recommend your favorite titles) but I'm also wondering how do you negotiate the time in your classroom?

 

This I Believe…in no particular order

 

Students need to read books they choose – books that are on their independent reading level.

Students need to write from their lives for real audiences.

Students need to read classical literature – they need to be guided and shown why it is a “classic”

Students need to write about literature – it is the best form of assessing their understanding and it allows them to practice critical and analytical thinking/writing.

Students need to understand and recognize the choices a writer makes/and make those choices as a writer – thus the need for literary terms!

Students need to understand the grammar and mechanics of English in order to communicate effectively.

Students need to read/write/think about issues that matter in the world and in their lives.

 

I believe in SSR, workshop approach, and guided inquiry...but I still have questions about the use of time.  How do I utilize my time to accomplish all these things I believe are so important?  How do I break up my 90 minute block? My week? My six-weeks? My semester?

 

As a new teacher, I'm still working on my classroom routines and would love to hear how you make the workshop work?  (Especially if you work in a Texas High School on an A/B Block Schedule with 90 minute class periods)

 

 

[Barry Lane]

I like your beliefs, Amanda. I will share this with Gretchen and a few other pros.

[Gaetan Pappalardo]

It is normal for a new teacher to struggle with time. (You are not an alien. And, if a new teacher is not struggling with time, they are full of...well, you know.) You have so much to do and it seems like you have so little time. It will get better as you discover where you can "cut" and "paste." This takes years. But there is hope. I teach third grade. I also have a 90 minute block to teach writing and reading. However, I have the luxury of having the same kids all day, so I can make up some stuff at other times. I think a good starting point would be to cut down on the whole class writing lessons. (That's if you do a lot of them) I teach maybe 1 whole class lesson a week. The rest of the time is used for conferencing and writing. It took me a while to let go and do this, but it makes sense. Not all the students need a particular skill or craft and you're just wasting precious writing time for that student. When I changed, the amount of writing my students produced doubled. Just a thought. Good Luck.

[Bliss Bednar]

I have tried writing workshop in high schoool, and I has trouble making sure students weren't "working the system" and getting away with doing very little. With all that Texas requires me to cover, I had difficulty making sure it all got done with a workshop approach. I would like some suggestions as well.