Today is the last day for submissions to our last “Essential Reads” column of the year. We hope you’ll share your great suggestions here!

Thanks!

Continuing the theme on Writer’s Workshop, I’m mosying over to a side-topic related to this. And that’s the intersection of individualized learning, such as the quiet, individual writing time of WW, and facilities. In my elementary school library, we had little Parson’s coffee tables from IKEA. A few kids could sit on the floor, and they were just the right height for them to write on. Others sprawled out on the floor. Some used stools pulled up to bookshelves with a bit of empty space, which they could use as a writing space. Some liked clipboards and using them in upholstered chairs. Some preferred to work at a standard table. Others focused better writing on the computer. We even had one vintage wooden desk that fit just perfectly into a corner, where you could work all alone, back facing the rest of the library.

As you ponder your suggestions for our “Essential Reads” column on Writer’s Workshop, take a look around at your space. What messages does it send about meeting the individual where he or she is?

(And don’t get me wrong — I’m not perfect. Sometimes, my library said, “Welcome! This is your kind of space! Settle in and get in the flow!” and sometimes the students heard, “Welcome! This is your kind of space! Get really comfortable and forget that it’s school!” Live and learn.)

If I were ever placed back into the classroom, the thing I would look forward to most would be getting to teach writing again. For me, it was one of the most fulfilling areas in which to teach, and I tried to have writing stations and opportunities in the library wherever possible.

That’s why I’m glad that our final “Essential Reads” column of the year will focus on Writer’s Workshop. Like Reader’s Workshop, discussed earlier this year, Writer’s Workshop focuses on giving kids lots of time to write, interspersed with mini-lessons. In many Writer’s Workshop models, you’ll find that mentor texts are at the heart of writer’s workshop. In fact, some used copies of recommended texts that have gone out of print by Writer’s Workshop experts (such as those recommended by Lucy Calkins) can fetch as much as $200 online!

Mentor texts are published books — often picture books — that serve as exemplars about particular writing traits, such as voice, use of punctuation, or style. Sadly, the writing traits of mentor texts are rarely put into MARC records, so it is almost impossible to search any library catalog and find a book that does a great example with, say, simile.

Librarians can support Writer’s Workshop in many ways.

In flexibly-scheduled schools, they can push into classrooms and be another teacher available to give mini-lessons or conference with students.
They can scour online resources to find book lists (such as Franki Sibberson’s updated list of mentor texts for the topic of word choice) that they can pass on to teachers.
They can use those lists to annotate their subject headings so that, over time, mentor texts are searchable in the OPAC.

What great reads have you and your staff enjoyed in adopting Writer’s Workshop? What would make for great discussion questions on the topic in a PLC or staff meeting?

We hope you’ll share your ideas with SLM readers by submitting your ideas to the Essential Reads column below.

Thanks!