When launching Writing Workshop with students, it is important to establish an environment and an expectation that students will use writing and writers notebooks as a way to capture their lives on paper. The unit, Living the Writer’s Life, was developed in 2003 to assist teachers in promoting this expectation with their students. Feedback from teachers on the use of the units has resulted in this new and updated version of Living the Writer’s Life.
Sections 1, 2, and 5 of the unit have been revised and shortened to ensure that students are experiencing the power of telling their stories, attending to conventions daily, and publishing their work in a more timely way. The crafting lessons in Sections 3 and 4 of the unit are no longer a part of Living the Writer’s Life, but may be moved into the second writing cycle when author’s techniques are highlighted (see Writing Cycles—Crafting and Revision).
Mini-Lesson Planning for the Revised Living the Writer's Life Unit suggests a possible timeline for the first two weeks of Writing Workshop. The rest of the mini-lessons included below are revised lessons that will allow for a more efficient and effective first writing cycle for students. The Davis and Hill book, No-Nonsense Guide to Writing (pages 52–53), can support teachers in thinking through the remainder of the five-week cycle through publication and celebration. As always, teachers are encouraged to be the final decision-makers about the lessons they will use with their students. Resources that teachers might want to consult as they do this unit include:
Mini-Lesson Planning for the Revised Living the Writers Life Unit
(click here to get a more-detailed Word or PDF of this schedule)
| Focus for the Week | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 |
| Week 1 | Focus Lesson B: Listening and Responding to Each Other |
*Procedural Mini-Lesson: Responding Meaningfully to Your Partner (asking focused questions, etc.) |
Focus Lesson E1: Waking Up Our Stories III (Using an Artifact) Focus Lesson E2: The Importance of Keeping a Writer’s Notebook Focus Lesson E3: Personalizing Our Writers’ Notebooks |
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| Week 2 | *Procedural Mini-Lesson: Setting Up Pages in Notebooks Focus Lesson F: Making Our Stories Catch Readers’ Attention and Imagination |
*Procedural Mini-Lesson: Settling Down to a Quiet Work Period, Routines Regarding No Interruptions, etc. Focus Lesson G: Writing from Our “Ideas to Write About” |
*Procedural Mini-Lesson: Continue Focus on Necessary Routines to Sustain Workshop Focus Lesson E1: Waking Up Our Stories III (Using an Artifact) |
*Procedural Mini-Lesson: Continue Focus on Necessary Routines to Sustain Workshop Focus Lesson H: Capturing Family Stories or Memories |
*Procedural Mini-Lesson: Continue Focus on Necessary Routines to Sustain Workshop |
Weeks 3–5 |
Additional Revised Lessons Focus Lesson 2.8: First Thoughts (PDF or Word) Focus Lesson 2.14: Building a Rubric—What Writers Do (PDF or Word) Focus Lesson 3.7: Building a Rubric on "What Makes Good Writing" (PDF or Word) Focus Lesson 4.1: Choosing a Seed (PDF or Word) |
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* Suggested topics for procedural mini-lessons
We welcome your feedback and contributions. If you are interested in submitting lessons or titles that have been successful with your students to add to the unit, please talk with your literacy coach or area literacy specialist about the process for submission. We wish you an exciting launch for your journey in writing this year!
If you have technical questions about this Web site, contact Joel' Bradley-Hess at
joel_bradley-hess@dpsk12.org or 720-423-3723.
Page last updated:
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
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