Lucy Calkins' Establish a Predictable Workshop Environment
(chapter 11 of "The Art of Teaching Writing")
Calkins immediately had my attention with the description of all the creativity she put into teaching creative writing, only to realize that what the students really needed was a predictable and consistent environment. The context is different, but sometimes I think my "creativity" undermines student learning.
I appreciated the Nancie Atwell story where Graves tells her that the reason she succeeds as a writing teacher is her organization. I used to think I was organized, but it would be hard to tell that at school. I really need to work on organization and predictability.
I am really trying to figure out how to find time for students to spend in quality writing during my classes. I need to do some more thinking to determine what the "trash" is in each class period that could be replaced with relevant writing. It's hard for me to picture using writing workshop on a regular basis the way Calkins describes it. I am rethinking everything about writing in the content areas and trying to process how it fits with the classes I teach. Figuring this out feels like a slow process, but, as was quoted from Eve Merriam's poem, "It takes a lot of slow to grow."
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