Writing Workshop in Strawberry Creek

Today I watched a writing workshop in Strawberry Creek. While many workshop periods follow a formula of mini-lesson and then open work time for writing, editing, and conferring, this particular workshop moved from a mini-lesson on a particular rhetorical concept to a directed work period.

The first 20 minutes of the period featured a lesson on analogies. Jeff introduced the idea with the analogy go:green as ______ : red. Student ideas initially focused on surface similarities, such as the first letter of each word, before moving on to a nuanced understanding of the concept. The open-ended possibility of the conceptual linking was explored in further examples; for instance, wheel:bike as tire:_______ was answered by motorcycle, car, and truck - all of which have a claim to being right. The example meow:cat as _____:_______ further raised the issue of conceptual connection; when talking:humans was proposed as an answer, the class discussed the idea of onomatopeia and whether blah blah blah:humans would be a more accurate answer.

In the next phase of the period, Jeff introduced a worksheet for students to gather information for the bibliography of their science research reports. He reviewed the different information necessary from different types of sources (books with one author, books with many authors, articles, and websites being the four primary types used by students for this project), and also where and how to find that information within each source. Students then returned to their seats and compiled the necessary information. This is a great example of how our teachers use the writing workshop to explore writing ideas across the curriculum.