(WW1) Lesson Topic 1: What is Writing Workshop?

Writing workshop is a method of writing instruction that focuses on the goal of creating lifelong writers. Students have a great deal of choice in their topic and style of writing, but the writing process should be followed.

Writing Workshop is based on the idea that students learn to write best when they write frequently, for extended periods of time, on topics of their own choosing.

In this lesson, you are going to do just that! For the first time in your life, you are going to be able to write freely without having to focus on all of the technical aspects of writing.  You are also going to be given complete and total control over your topic.  

For those of you who need guidance and help, check out the following prompts to get you started:

1. Booker T. Washington wrote, "Success isn't measured by the position you reach in life. It's measured by the obstacles you overcome." Explain what this quote means to you.

2. There is an old Chinese Proverb that says, "I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand." Do you remember a time when someone had you do something so you would understand? Did a parent help you make something, or did a teacher encourage you to complete a task on your own? Describe this experience and explain why it helped you understand an important concept or process.

3. President Lyndon B. Johnson wrote, "You aren't learning anything when you are talking." Do you remember a time when you were trying to explain something but the other person kept interrupting and wouldn't listen? Explain what happened. How did you feel?

4. Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland, wrote, "I can't go back to yesterday - because I was a different person then." When you think about who you were just three years ago, have you changed? Explain how you have changed or explain how you have remained the same.

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