Developing units for writing workshop can be overwhelming for intermediate teachers. It takes a lot of time and effort to collect your stacks....writings by real authors from a variety of sources. Your stack is the foundation of your unit. It is where you study and discuss types of writings with your students. You may create your stacks from magazines, newspapers, or books from the library. You may find that your own classroom has materials just waiting to be "stacked".
One of the teachers that I work with discovered that her collection of books about different careers could be a great foundation for a writing unit. Mrs. Slusher and her fifth grader students read through a collection of articles and books on careers. They determined topics to cover in their own writing piece using the pieces from the stack as their model. Students used the following page to collect research about their chosen career:
Once the students had collected information, they wrote their final draft and "dressed" (colored) a turkey to match their choice. Thanks to The Cincinnati Enquirer's yearly turkey coloring contest, Mrs. Slusher had several turkey selections. Feel free to use them, too.
The students enjoyed learning about careers and decorating their turkeys. Here are a few examples of their work:
 |
Start looking through those boxes and shelves. You may just discover your next stack.
-Marybeth
