Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide

by Ralph Fletcher, Joann Portalupi

Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide by Joann Portalupi. Heinemann,2001

Genres: Teaching, Education, Writing, Professional Development, Nonfiction, Textbooks, School

Paperback

First published September 14, 2001

About the author

Ralph Fletcher is a friend of young writers and readers as well as writing teachers. He has written or co-authored many books for writing teachers includng Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide, Teaching the Qualities of Writing, Lessons for the Writer's Notebook, Boy Writers: Reclaiming Their Voices, and Pyrotechnics on the Page: Playful Craft That Sparks Writing. Ralph has worked with teachers around the U.S. and abroad, helping them find wiser ways of teaching writing.

Ralph's many books for students include picture books (Twilight Comes Twice, Hello Harvest Moon, and The Sandman), novels (Fig Pudding, Flying Solo, and Spider Boy), poetry (A Writing Kind of Day and Moving Day), and a memoir, Marshfield Dreams: When I Was a Kid. His novel Uncle Daddy was awarded the Christopher medal in 2002. He has also written a popular series of books for young writers including Poetry Matters, Live Writing, and A Writer's Notebook. Ralph lives with his family in New Hampshire. He is a strong environmentalist who believes we all must work together to live in a more sustainable way. His other passions include travel, good food, dark chocolate, growing orchids, and sports.

Reviews

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a brief but detailed guide to conducting a writing workshop. Although it is better suited to a language arts classroom than a general English class like I teach, many strategies are still applicable for me.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clear, concise, and thorough explanation of how to get your Writing Workshop up and running.

[Marsha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite the fact it's not necessarily a current publication, it had some amazingly helpful tips for starting a writer's workshop!

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This practical, easily readable resource is the perfect tool for teachers who have never been privileged to witness or experience the writing workshop in the classroom. As a high school English teacher, I found that a few of the recommendations would not apply since it is written with K-8 in mind, but mostly I felt that I gained a clear picture of how a workshop could look and function. Fletcher and Portalupi use a straightforward, simple voice to communicate workshop details about the environment, incorporating mini-lessons and literature, managing and recording the work done, assessing, and troubleshooting. The book is a quick read that also includes a large set of appendices and further book recommendations.
I see this book as a simple foundation for the creation of workshop. I am fairly new to this approach and found myself taking copious notes on how I want the workshop to look in my classroom. Although I may not follow their design explicitly, I found that simply reading about it gave me opportunity to clarify what I believe should happen in my classroom. From here, I believe I can move on to resources that will focus more on the teaching and process of writing, rather than the classroom role. To build on this foundation, I’m looking to read Write Like This by Kelly Gallagher, which I know to include more high school specific ideas and activities.
Write Like This

Although geared toward middle school years, I’m also hoping to read a few of Nancie Atwell’s books to further my understanding of how workshop can look (she has excellent reading workshop resources as well). Fletcher and Portalupi recommend In The Middle: new understandings about writing, reading, and learning (1998), but since the publication of their book, Atwell has produced a few more books related to writing workshop.
Nancie Atwell

I appreciate the sentiment that runs throughout the book that workshop is all about the students—supporting and encouraging them, driven by them, and working for them. Fletcher and Portalupi say, "Writing workshop turns the table and puts kids in charge. This requires us to engage in responsive teaching rather than relying on preset lesson plans…But the core of a workshop—the heart, the marrow—is kids putting words on paper” (loc 124/2124, Kindle Edition). I know this may seem overly simplistic, but in a world of high stakes testing, fighting for TAG status, and an emphasis on GPA as a college success measure, writing can become a formidable, dreaded task for students at the high school level. Many of my students simply want (or think they want) the quick solution to writing college application essays, passing state tests, achieving Essential Skills requirements for graduation, or simply the ticket out of English class. But, I have often wondered if students could find their writing voice and produce work for an authentic audience, feel the power of their words and the joy of understanding themselves better through writing, if they might want and demand more. If they only knew what they have been missing, would they want to return to a teacher and product driven, isolated writing experience? I intend to find out by using Fletcher and Portalupi’s book as a guide for the creation of workshop this year.

In almost every chapter, the authors encourage teachers to direct or redirect the focus back to the student. As I jotted notes on their approach, I found myself beginning to collect a list of discussion topics I would like to present at mini-lessons in workshop. Some of these ideas are directly from their suggestions and others came to mind based on my own classroom experience. While having these discussions, my daily minutes recorder will take notes and students will then be involved in creating anchor charts with our collective observations. I hope to have the walls of my classroom covered with these student generated writing supports. Here are some of the topics:

• What is writing?
• What does it mean to be a writer?
• How do we use writing?
• How can good writing empower us?
• What conditions and tools help us write?
• What process do writers use (and how do they vary)?
• How do we know where we are in the process and when to move to a new stage?
• What are purposes for writing (why) and audiences for writing (who)?
• What are ways that we can revise writing?
• What decisions do writers make?
• What questions do writers ask? During Prewriting? During Revision? While Editing?
• What strategies have you seen a writer use that you would like to try?
• How is writer’s workshop different than a writing test?
• What writers or pieces of writing inspire you?
• How can we provide helpful feedback for other writers?
• What is the difference between revising and editing?

What questions/discussion topics would you add to this list?

Atwell, N. (1998). In the middle: new understandings about writing, reading, and learning (2nd ed.). Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook.

Fletcher, R. J., Portalupi, J. (2001). Writing Workshop: the essential guide. [Kindle iPad version 3.0.1. Retrieved from Amazon.com.

Gallagher, K. (2011). Write like this: teaching real-world writing through modeling & mentor texts. Portland, Me.: Stenhouse Publishers.

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guide to teaching writing in your classroom. It will require a lot of time, energy, and one-on-one lessons. Not sure how that will work in today's classroom, but in my Montessori classroom, I'll be able to adapt parts of this.

[Leslie Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Goodness this book is awesome and I will for sure refer to it during the school year. I almost feel like I should assign myself a chapter a month of rereading just to keep refreshed. This is an invaluable tool for writers workshop in any grade level.

[Lauri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Will read again and use continually.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Provides a good overview and tips for implementing a writer's workshop.

[Jennifer Kirksey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great and practical introduction into incorporating writer’s workshop into your classroom. While not in-depth and all encompassing, it offers teachers a place to start.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Getting some ideas in place to help with the upcoming school year.

[Lisajean · Rating 2 out of 5]

Best for elementary school classrooms.

[R Zavala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad writing, but not "new" material. Solid reminders.

[Lupe Monteon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely could read Fletcher any time!

[Emily Turkovich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really great read & easy to understand. Will definitely be revisiting it more throughout this school year.

[Deb Cornell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wouldn't have read it if I didn't need to for school.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the newest teacher within a school district that expects workshop style teaching, I need to get through as many texts like this one as I can.

This was a valuable resource to any new teacher. It does in small parts focus on elementary scenarios, but as an 8th grade English teacher, I found the bulk of the information to be relevant to my grade level, and short parts specifically geared for younger grades can be skipped over.

One thing that freaked me out a little bit was that there is no mention of genre-driven writing workshops until the last few pages of the book in the trouble-shooting section; I was SO RELIEVED to read that I can run a writer's workshop and still have control over the genres at different times throughout the year. I was starting to worry that I'd have to let them write 100% anything they want at all times, (of course with my mini-lesson and conferencing guidance), and wondering how I was going to find the time to workshop AND teach a research unit, for example. Genre-driven workshops solve that problem, and the end of the book clears that up, so don't worry!

I also was relieved by the section that addresses how writer's workshop works along with preparing for standardized testing. Now that NYS ELA standardized tests have been moved to May, I can workshop for the bulk of the year and tie in everything we've learned into a review session closer to the test.

I'm still not totally certain as how I'm going to assess writer's workshop with a pesky grade, as the book leaves that topic fairly open-ended. I think a self-evaluation paired with a clear rubric of what constitutes A-quality work, and so on, is the direction I'm headed in. I don't want to put any number whatsoever on the number of pieces or number of pages the students are expected to produce, because the essence of writer's workshop is that it is ongoing. As soon as I say that they need to complete a minimum of 3 pieces by a certain time, for example, that will immediately become many student's maximum submissions, even motivated students. So I'm still thinking about creative ways to get the most out of them without any quotas in mind.

This quick book is a great choice for any new English teacher, grades K - 8. Middle school teachers will find it very straightforward and easy to imagine using the techniques in their own classrooms.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Writing Workshop was first introduced to me when I was an undergrad. My college stressed subject integration as much as possible and options for when there were multiple grades in the same classroom with one teacher.

This book is a little more free with writing workshop then what I was originally taught. The authors stress student choice and letting the students write what they want. The basics of WW are there: a mini lesson, time to write and then sharing time. Students have folders they use for work. Teacher-student conference basics are also included, with appropriate topics for each grade level, however, unlike I had been told in the past, these authors want the teacher to come to the student for conferences because they feel that having other students overhear is a benefit for the other students who may be stuck on a similar problem.

The book also addresses using WW compared with structured, textbook-driven lessons like you might find in a normal classroom. There is a chapter which addresses concerns about standardized testing if you use WW. The authors feel if you let the students practice writing and they know the writing process, they should have no problems on the test. In part, I think this may be true because having corrected written essays on standardized tests, I can say that the students who scored well knew the writing process very well.

I don't know if the wide open spaces these authors promote would fly in a normal public school classroom. I think elements of their method would work but public schools are too constrained by state standards to be this open. I think it would work well in a private or parochial school or any school that is not bound by standards, especially in a multi-grade classroom. It is a pity because I think the authors have some great ideas and hopefully our public schools will be released from the shackles of standards and testing so teachers can do beneficial things for their students, like the ideas in this book about Writing Workshop.

[Michael Brockley · Rating 5 out of 5]

At 162 pages, Writing Workshop: The Essential Guide is an introduction in the facilitation of writing. The authors encourage teachers of writing to create an environment in which writing is welcomed. The focus shifts from red marks and curriculum-driven expectations to meaningful daily writing as determined by students. In short chapters, Fletcher and Portalupi guide the prospective writing teacher through the process of establishing a writing workshop in a classroom. The authors stress throughout the book that the writing workshop is geared toward guiding the students to discover and refine their writing process rather than upon the traditional teacher-driven assignment to write "What I Did During Summer Vacation." In short, writing is about process, not product. Fletcher, et al have chapters that address grading, the incorporation of reading in the writing workshop and the integration of skills instruction. Each "getting started" chapter is concluded with a bullet-format review. The troubleshooting chapter seemed practical as did the following chapter which features a "Timeline for the Year." Finally, the appendix contains reproducible forms which might be useful for the aspiring writing workshop teacher. These include a developmental spelling stages chart, "Skills to Include on an Editing Checklist" and suggestions for assessing primary, elementary and intermediate students.

[Shannon Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just what I needed since I'm wanting to desperately improve my teaching of writing with my 6th graders. Although I might not implement a TRUE writer's workshop there are several things from this book that I have taken to heart and will try:

1.Mini-lessons based on what the students need-whole class, small group, individual
2.Small group and individual conferences-I might swap back and forth on these each week because of time
3. Lots of mentor texts!!!
4. I also want to put the kids in response groups where each group member read their writing and the other members respond to their writing by talking to them about it
5. I'm not sure how I will weave choice into our writing time since we have the common core standards that have to be met. I'm thinking that maybe we will work with a different genre each 6 weeks or maybe spend 12 weeks on each one. Then after teaching the genre structure give the students choice on topic.
6. Grading-still not sure. Want to have them select what they want to turn in for a grade?? Also, maybe formally publish to wider audience once each 6 weeks??

OK-Now that I have written out a rough plan for my writing next year.... :)

[Nordy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Ralph Fletcher's What a Writer Needs This book also had some great information and I'm sure that it is very affective for k-6 teachers. They are, after all, the intended audience.

But the book was not helpful for me at all. I am trying to figure out how to adapt this reading/writing workshop approach to a Sophomore and Senior English class, because our district is implimenting this 6-12. As our high school's demonstration classroom teacher, I need to apply it to my courses and then have other teachers in my room to see how it is done.

So, I bought a bunch of books on the reading/writing workshop in order to educate myself. And I can not find one single book on how to apply this to the high school setting. I'm open to suggestions.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has lots of practical advise on how to start and use a Writer’s Workshop in your classroom. It gives you basic formats and at the end of each chapter there are points for using the workshop in the classroom. It is an easy read and provides teachers with the basics. The book is a great starting point if you are beginning your writer’s workshop.
The book also provides a lesson for the first few days, a lesson for the first week, scope and sequence, conferencing tips, and assessments.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is geared more toward young writers (K through 8), but I still found four concrete ideas to incorporate into my college Creative Writing course with my students.

I was able to flip through the entire book in under an hour. If you are a teacher who is especially knowledgable of the writing process, you can skip much of it. But the "Making it Work in the Classroom" ideas at the end of each chapter are the "take aways" that I found helpful.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm participating in the National Writing Project for my district. We were given this book as a guidebook during the workshop.

I think there some good ideas here but I teach middle school. The intended audience, I believe, is elementary. While the book refers to modifications which could be made for 6th-8th grades, student data comes from 5th graders at the most.

If I feel that I'm not the intended audience, I wonder how the high school teachers in our workshop feel about the book.

[The Reading Countess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in a PLC ELA group, Fletcher's book is reassuring in my hands. Although I adore anything Fletcher pens, I wonder why this text was selected to be read by the ELA leadership in my district. The publication date (2001) makes me wonder about the choice.

Fletcher never disappoints, though, no matter the date of publication.

[Sukhi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book that introduces, reviews, and presents information on Writing Workshop. I'm planning on rereading this book to help develop my teaching of writing. Fletcher's writing is clear, concise, and simple. It gets to the point of what workshops are meant to be, how they function, how they can be managed, and what teachers should do during them. Perfect for beginners, and refreshers!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for someone who is new to writing workshop. I think this will be a great staff development book for my school this year, so, as a staff, we can begin to talk about best practices as it applies to writing workshop.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is short and simple, and very practical. It helps teachers begin using the writing workshop method from step one, from setting up your schedule and space to troubleshooting after you've tried it for a while.

[Chris Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has practical value for teachers looking to set up a writing workshop in their ELA classrooms. Sadly, this book is in need of revision as it was written prior to the high-stakes testing era.

[Marcy Wynhoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for work, even though I could teach it! That being said it is a good book to bring people to the discussion of WW and a good book for those who haven't started or had it in ed school!!
Oh dear..what's happening with masters in Ed programs...

[Annette Steele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought this book LAST summer (09) and finally read it this spring. Very helpful and do-able suggestions for a classroom writing workshop. Now that I will HAVE a classroom on a regular basis I plan on implementing these ideas in the fall.