Writers'+Workshop

On Mondays and every "double block" (that is, the block after lunch on days when we have English twice) is our writing workshop. This is where we will do short mini-lessons on writing skills, then write, write, and write some more. You can use this time to come up with your own writing assignments, polish some of the ones I give you in class, or help classmates who are struggling with their writing.

There are many steps to the "writing process", but generally, you come up with an idea, tinker with it until you think it's the best you can do, then "publish" it (send it to a publisher, hand it in, mail the letter, or whatever). We'll do the same in class. You'll come up with tons of ideas in your Ideas Notebook, then put your works-in-progress in your Drafts Folder, where they stay until you've made them as close to perfect as you can stand. Finally, you'll hand them in with a Writing Self-Assessment, and see if they're publishable. **Students are expected to hand in roughly ONE PIECE EACH WEEK for their portfolio, or submit their drafts folder for a "checkup".**
 * You** must stay organized to be sure you have enough pieces submitted to earn the grade you are aiming for. Your pieces MUST be pre-approved to go into the folder; it's generally a good idea to give me a week to mark ANYTHING.

You can find the Portfolio Entry Ticket at the bottom of the page (or there are some in class); you won't be allowed to put anything in your writing portfolio unless it earns at least 4/6 on the snapshot rubric (or 20/30 on the full rubric). If you're not earning at least 67%, you're not done with the polishing process.

In general, the process goes like this:


 * Ideas Notebook ---> Drafts Folder --> Writing Portfolio **
 * (ideas).......................... (development)................ (finished pieces) **

Each piece will most likely have more than one draft in the Folder stage.

Your ** Ideas Notebook ** is a notebook of some kind in which you will jot down ideas for your own writing--questions that you ask yourself as you go through your everyday life that might be answered in a writing assignment. It should be paper-based (not an electronic file) and a convenient size for you. It should not be something you add paper to and take it out of (like a binder or duo-tang), but a scribbler or spiral-bound notebook like the ones you probably used in elementary school is inexpensive and easy to use.Your journal is private-no one may read anything in it without your permission. You can move ideas from your journal to your folder by writing a rough draft on lined paper and adding the title of the piece to the table of contents inside the folder's cover.

Your ** Drafts FOLDER ** is, literally, a folder that will live in my classroom with your name on it. It holds the rough drafts of your writing projects. Inside the cover of your folder is a sheet where you keep track of what you do in your Writers' Workshop blocks. The contents of the folder are yours, but I may flip through them from time to time. You may only move a piece of writing from your folder to your portfolio by handing a good copy in to me, with a completed Writing Self-Assessment (see bottom of page) attached. If the work is at an appropriate level for grade 9 (C+ or better), you may move it to the writing portfolio.

Finally, the ** WRITING PORTFOLIO ** is a collection of your personal writing that meets the "4" standard or better in all five of the criteria. It is a duo-tang (or two-pocket folder) that is kept separate from the writing folder with your best work in it. If you need to publish your work outside of school (mail a letter, submit a resume to a prospective emplyer, or enter a contest, for example), let me know and I will make a photocopy of your final draft for your portfolio, so you can send the original to its destination. In order to determine your writing mark at the end of Term 1 and at the end of Term 2, I will **ONLY** be checking the portfolio (so make sure you hand in your work at least one week before term end...or earlier, if you might need a chance to revise something).

Students will be given some standard writing assignments, but are welcome to work on their own writing topics and forms as well.

The Writing Self-Assessment is here Please be aware that it MUST be completed, on both sides, before the work can be considered.