ABSTRACT:
As I tell my class to prepare to practice writing I always hear groans of displeasure from the students. My students do not enjoy writing and some students are easily frustrated when they try to write. Students have been forced to endure lesson after lesson on how to answer the Text Reading Comprehension questions (TRC) in order to pass the state mandated DIBELS/TRC assessments three times a year. Writing is the way students communicate, express themselves, question, persuade, synthesize and teach. (Fletcher, 2001) Writing is such an important skill that all students need to have and will utilize throughout their lifetimes. That is the reason that I decided to work on this creative synthesis project to answer the question, Will the implementation of writer's workshop increase students' motivation to write? As a classroom teacher of first and second grade students, I am always looking for different ways to get my students more excited about writing. I decided to research what writer's workshop was all about and implement it in the classroom with my students to see if this could possibly increase their motivation to write.
As I tell my class to prepare to practice writing I always hear groans of displeasure from the students. My students do not enjoy writing and some students are easily frustrated when they try to write. Students have been forced to endure lesson after lesson on how to answer the Text Reading Comprehension questions (TRC) in order to pass the state mandated DIBELS/TRC assessments three times a year. Writing is the way students communicate, express themselves, question, persuade, synthesize and teach. (Fletcher, 2001) Writing is such an important skill that all students need to have and will utilize throughout their lifetimes. That is the reason that I decided to work on this creative synthesis project to answer the question, Will the implementation of writer's workshop increase students' motivation to write? As a classroom teacher of first and second grade students, I am always looking for different ways to get my students more excited about writing. I decided to research what writer's workshop was all about and implement it in the classroom with my students to see if this could possibly increase their motivation to write.
FINDINGS:
Writers’ Workshop can help to increase students’ attitudes toward writing through teacher modeling, structure, independence, sharing, and publishing of their writing. (Fletcher, 2001; Jasmine 2007; Kissel, 2013) Does the implementation of Writer’s Workshop increase students’ attitudes towards writing? The preliminary findings of this research project show that for two out of three students Writer’s Workshop can indeed increase students’ attitudes toward writing. This research shows that students on grade level or below can have a negative attitude towards writing due to the demands of the State testing. However, for those students, Writer’s Workshop can offer an opportunity for students to choose topics that they know about to incorporate in their writing. Writer’s Workshop offers these students an opportunity to share and shine. It allows students to feel successful with their writing, in turn motivating them to write in and out of school, and increasing their attitudes toward writing.
For the future, more time will be needed to fully gain an understanding of the impact that Writer’s Workshop can have on students’ attitudes toward writing. This preliminary research only consisted of a two week study. This would be a great research project to monitor for at least a few months to an entire school year with a class. This project showed that Writer’s Workshop worked negatively for Student A, an above grade level student. It would be interesting to actually follow Student A or a group of above grade level students for a year and see how Writer’s Workshop would impact her attitude towards writing if given a longer amount of time. Also, it would be interesting to see the impact that Writer’s Workshop could on a group of below grade level students, if given longer than a few weeks to study.
Writers’ Workshop can help to increase students’ attitudes toward writing through teacher modeling, structure, independence, sharing, and publishing of their writing. (Fletcher, 2001; Jasmine 2007; Kissel, 2013) Does the implementation of Writer’s Workshop increase students’ attitudes towards writing? The preliminary findings of this research project show that for two out of three students Writer’s Workshop can indeed increase students’ attitudes toward writing. This research shows that students on grade level or below can have a negative attitude towards writing due to the demands of the State testing. However, for those students, Writer’s Workshop can offer an opportunity for students to choose topics that they know about to incorporate in their writing. Writer’s Workshop offers these students an opportunity to share and shine. It allows students to feel successful with their writing, in turn motivating them to write in and out of school, and increasing their attitudes toward writing.
For the future, more time will be needed to fully gain an understanding of the impact that Writer’s Workshop can have on students’ attitudes toward writing. This preliminary research only consisted of a two week study. This would be a great research project to monitor for at least a few months to an entire school year with a class. This project showed that Writer’s Workshop worked negatively for Student A, an above grade level student. It would be interesting to actually follow Student A or a group of above grade level students for a year and see how Writer’s Workshop would impact her attitude towards writing if given a longer amount of time. Also, it would be interesting to see the impact that Writer’s Workshop could on a group of below grade level students, if given longer than a few weeks to study.