A Comparison:The Daily Five and Writer's Workshop

Overall objective
Improve Writing Instruction

Today's Learning Objective
Teachers will be able to identify similarities and differences betwen D5  practices and the Writer's Workshop approach.

Marzano's research in best practices has identified comparing and contrasting as a highly successful instructional strategy.  My goal in utilizing this best practice with the staff today was to help them recognize that they already have many of the tools to take our writing instruction to a new level.

Teachers list the similarities and differences between
D5/CAFE and their current Writer's Workshop

The Task 
Each grade level team was given a sheet of paper to make a comparison chart between Daily 5 and Writer's Workshop.  They could come up with a chart, a Venn diagram, or any other visual means to show the similarities and differences.  After each team completed the task, we discussed and recorded some of their ideas.

After each grade level made their own comparison charts, I recorded some of their ideas
for the whole group to see

It became quite apparent that there were far more similarities than differences.  The middle column shows how D5/CAFE and Writer's Workshop are similar.  Some of the similarities listed included:  conferencing, mini-lessons, building stamina, modeling, independent practice, read-alouds, and sharing.  Some of the differences included the amount of time built into their schedules for each--90 minutes for reading vs. 60 minutes for writing and during D5 the writing the students do is in response to texts.

It was my goal for the staff to see that many of the procedures they have taught their students and the practices they employ each day during their reading block will transfer quite nicely to the writer's workshop.  Realizing we have been on a 2.5 year journey to school-wide Daily 5 and CAFE, I know that there is still some work to do-- professional development, support and encouragement.  However, after today's comparison, I feel the staff believes that improving our writing block will be an easier path due to the foundation the D5/CAFE has provided.  Just one more reason to thank the sisters.  Thank you Gail and Joan! 

Kindergarten, Here I Come!

Last week, our school held it's second annual Kindergarten, Here I Come! event for incoming kindergarten students and their families.  This evening is dedicated to meeting our new students and their families and providing them with readiness activities that they can do over the summer to help prepare for kindergarten.  We began the event last year as a way to build a bridge between students' preschool experience and Kindergarten.  We have found that the outreach has proven to be a successful way of welcoming our students and their families and making them feel comfortable with our school. 

Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. M. explains a fine-motor activity
the families will complete in her classroom

We begin the event by having a meal in the cafeteria.  Families are encouraged to buddy up and sit with each other to network and get to know others.  We feel this relationship-building time is a key to helping our families meet others and develop friendships.  We then send siblings to the daycare room--another bonus for our families!  After all siblings are out of the cafeteria, we then dismiss our families to the first of four rotations through each of our four kindergarten classrooms.  Each rotation lasts approximately fifteen minutes.


During their visits to each classroom, the families have the opportunity to learn about our curriculum and complete activities with their child.  Some of the things we introduce are Daily 5 and CAFE--our school-wide philosophy and structure for teaching reading, fine-motor activities, counting, letter naming, writing, and other expectations of what their child should be able to do upon entering kindergarten.  Families leave with a file folder full of activities and several books for their child.

Mrs. B. explains a counting activity parents
can do with their child

We end the evening by having our parents complete an exit survey so that we can improve the event from year to year.  The majority of parents request more time with each rotation--a good indicator they are enjoying each activity!

We were very proud to note that over 2/3 of our future kindergarteners were in attendance at this year's event.  Building strong partnerships with the families now will undoubtedly have a positive effect on the students and their academic success.  What a fun and productive night!

Common Core Math Standards

Teachers learn more about
the common core math standards

The learning objective of our professional development time this week was to begin to understand the common core math standards with an emphasis on seeing the vertical alignment of the domains in grades K-5.  We began our sessions with a short video that gave some background on the common core standards and why they were developed.  As a staff, we discussed our current Indiana State Standards in Math and how difficult it is to "cover" everything.  Reflecting upon that last statement, I believe the word "cover" says a lot.  In the past, we have tried to "cover" all of the requirements of our state due to the high demands of standardized testing and the weight those scores carry.  It became a race to see if we could make it "through the textbook" or "through the entire set of standards."  Unfortunately, with an exceptionally high number of concepts to teach, not enough time was given to develop a deep understanding of the concepts before it would be time to move on to the next standard on the checklist.  This has led to our instruction becoming more about how many standards/concepts we can teach during our 36 week school year versus how much our students truly understand the mathematical concepts before moving on to the next topic. 

Through the process of unpacking the common core math standards, it became apparent that many of the concepts we are currently teaching at each grade level will remain the same.  However, it also became very apparent that we are going to need to kick our instruction up a few notches.  As someone in the video mentioned, the way our past state standards were written, they led to us to teaching "an inch deep and a mile wide."  With the move to the common core, the goal is to slow down and spend the time to really develop a deep understanding of mathematical concepts so that we are creating a solid foundation of mathematical reasoning.  We will need to focus our efforts on developing units of learning that will put more emphasis on the higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy.

Each standard was written on a sentence
strip and added to our standards chart to
create a visual of the progression of
learning from grades K-5

We also learned that it is going to be important for teachers to not only collaborate with their grade level teams, but for teams to collaborate across grade levels to ensure that students are able to build upon their learning from year to year.  The level of understanding that is expected with the new common core standards has definitely raised the bar for all educators.  We look forward to the challenge of developing ways to take our students to the next level.  We also look forward to the challenge of taking our instruction to the next level as well.  It's time to slow the pace and deepen the knowledge.  We are all in this together!

Creating a visual chart of standards from grades K-5 and

having each team present their standards with an explanation allowed the entire staff to see the vertical alignment of each domain

Strengthening Our Writing Muscle

5th grade teachers

"Writing taught once or twice a week is just frequently enough to remind children that they cannot write.  They are like athletes who never get in condition, yet have to play the game before cynical spectators." -- Donald Graves

This quote spoke volumes to me.  I ran across it as I was preparing an instructional improvement session for my staff.  I immediately began thinking about how we  "condition" our students and build their writing "muscle."  Any fitness enthusiast or coach would agree that a good conditioning program takes time, energy, practice, concerted effort, application, dedication, and consistency to build strength, stamina, and muscle.

Imagine the following scenario.

Bodybuilder A:  This bodybuilder lifts weights only once or twice a week and learns just the basic mechanics of weightlifting.  In isolation, she uses proper form but does not apply the moves in a cohesive, logical format.  There is no authentic feedback given to the bodybuilder, and she has no real purpose for her workouts.  She often gets distracted and off track and is inconsistent in her routine.   She hasn't spoken to anyone about her trips to the gym and does not interact with others while there. 

Bodybuilder B:  This bodybuilder has a purpose.  She is training for a competition and is excited about her journey.  She trains 5 days a week, pre-plans each day's workout, and learns not only the mechanics/techniques of effective lifting but applies them with concerted effort.  She gets constructive feedback from her peers and self-reflects.  She tells her friends about her workouts and reads the latest fitness magazines for inspiration and ideas.  She revises and edits her program based on what is working and the areas that need improvement.  She analyzes the effectiveness of her training regimen and begins to see incredible results. When it comes time for the competition, she has gone through many phases of preparation and gets the opportunity to share the fruits of her labor.  Whether she wins or not, she feels confident in her work and gets a great deal of satisfaction from reaching her goals.

Just imagine the strength, stamina, and muscle Bodybuilder B would gain from this type of conditioning!  The same holds true for our students.  In order to build their strength, increase their stamina, and gain muscle in their writing, they must follow a well-designed daily regimen. 

Building Strength
Too often, writing instruction is reduced to teaching mechanics and grammar in isolation.  While these skills are necessary and must be taught, they are sometimes reduced to worksheet-driven learning.  We can help build a writer's strength through exposure to rich meaningful texts and multiple genres that demonstrate the skills and strategies we are teaching.  Lessons should be followed by opportunities that allow students to apply what is being learned via their writing--authentic practice!

3rd grade teachers

Increasing Stamina
Imagine a beginning runner training for a marathon.  She will not be able to run the entire distance on day one, and it will take many days of conditioning to prepare and build the stamina necessary to endure the rigorous challenge.  Students also need to build their endurance in writing --their writing stamina.  This is the independent component of writer's workshop.  Students are encouraged to build their stamina by writing independently for 30-45 minutes a day. If this opportunity does not exist for our students, we are not giving them the chance to go the distance.



Gaining Muscle
As hard as it may be at times to convince myself to get up and get moving after a long day at work, I have never regretted a workout once it has been completed.  When I leave the gym, I feel amazing!  The endorphins are coursing through my veins.   Some of our students may also be tough to convince to "get moving" with their writing.  They may need extra encouragement and support.  However, once they begin writing and practice and improve,  they will feel the endorphins after sharing their piece of writing.  They will be so glad they began moving!  They will be gaining the muscle that is needed to express themselves via the written word.

Kindergarten teachers 

As my staff diligently worked on writing about one of their favorite memories, I was busy crafting my own piece.  The memory I chose was the moment I got the call from my superintendent offering me the position as principal.  It was truly a life-changing moment.  It was a moment that led me here--leading my amazing staff through another learning opportunity.  At the end of "class," some of my teachers shared their writing by reading it aloud to the group.  It became evident to me that I was in a room full of writers with incredible stories to share.  It is my hope that as we continue this journey of learning they will inspire their students to become writers through meaningful daily instruction. 



Students, get ready!  Your teachers are preparing to help you build the strength, stamina, and writing muscle we all know is lying beneath the surface.  Let's work out!

Destination: Building a Community of Writers

Now that I am feeling confident that our school-wide efforts with Daily 5 and CAFE are fully up and running smoothly, it is time to focus on our next area of improvement--writing instruction.  With the Common Core standards staring us directly in the eye, there will be much more emphasis placed on students applying their learning through writing.  In researching what may be the best path to take with our professional development, all roads continue to bring me back to Lucy Calkins' work.  The writer's workshop is a direct reflection of the philosophy and structure we have embraced in regard to our reading instruction.  Teachers are comfortable teaching mini-lessons, modeling strategies through read alouds, meeting with students in small groups or one-on-one, and setting up a structured environment in which students become independent learners and are actively practicing reading and writing on a daily basis.  It just makes sense that we would apply this philosophy to teaching writing.

In our district, we are fortunate to have daily staff development built into our schedule.  Our day begins with a 30 minute instructional improvement block.  I am able to schedule specific staff development topics that are pertinent to our overall instructional improvement.  Two weeks ago, I shared Lucy Calkins' philosophy for writing workshop by reading an excerpt from Launching the Writing Workshop in her Units of Study.  We then talked about the perceived roadblocks that were preventing us from providing the type of writing instruction we dreamed of.  Many of the roadblocks were related to time--not enough time/ the time of day we have to teach writing is not optimal.  However, one roadblock that I found to be particularly challenging as an admininstrator is that not all teachers are confident in their ability to teach writing.  Why?  Most teachers do not view themselves as writers.  Imagine trying to teach reading if you didn't see yourself as a reader.  Wouldn't that be difficult?

So how do I get more of my teachers to see themselves as writers?  The same way we would expect to develop this belief in our students.  I am planning on doing some writing instruction with them and letting them practice writing during our instructional improvement block.  We will delve into the format of writer's workshop and how it looks, sounds, and feels.  We will build our writing stamina and create I-Charts to assist us in creating an independent learning environment. We will practice writing our thoughts on paper, revising our writing, and sharing.  

Last week, I purchased composition notebooks for each teacher and had them bring personal items to decorate their writer's notebooks.  I give Beth Newingham credit for this idea.  The teacher resources section of her website has been a delightful find!  http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/  This week, my teachers will be bringing their writer's notebooks to instructional improvement block and will be delving into the world of writing.  I must say that I am extremely excited to begin this journey with them.  I'm ready to start moving some of those roadblocks! 

This blog will also provide me with an outlet to begin to see myself as a writer and lead my staff toward realizing their potential as writers.  Once they begin to see themselves as writers, we can begin to move toward our ultimate destination--building a school-wide community of writers!

Share your favorite writer's workshop resources with me via Twitter!  @MMEPrincipal