

Writer’s Workshop for First Grade
Writer's Workshop…. those two words can make any first grade teacher cringe.
I don't know why, but the idea of writer's workshop just feels so daunting to me.
I've read the research and I know that it's best practice.
I've seen the HUGE benefits of using it in my own classroom.
And still, it feels like a lot.
That's why I'm here to share with you my best systems and tricks for easily and smoothly conducting Writer's Workshop in my own first grade classroom.
Writer's workshop doesn't have to be difficult or time consuming… in fact, it shouldn't be!
I've written about Writer's Workshop for First Grade in several different blog posts and I have outlined and linked them for you below!
I also linked my two favorite products to use during writer's workshop: Year Long Writing Templates and Writer's Workshop Conference Forms .
You've got this!

The Writing Process inside Writer's Workshop
I think as adult writers we often forget that the process of transferring ideas into writing is incredible hard for emerging writers. To make it easier, focus on their IDEAS, not their handwriting or conventions.
How do you do that? Simply and focus on the process…
The Four Steps of the Writing Process:
How to Prep for Writer's Workshop
Before school even starts, here are a few decisions you need to make about how you want to spend your writing time with your students. Your answers to these questions will help shape your entire Writer's Workshop structure.
- How long will your writing block be?
- How are you going to divide it up?
- Will you call groups back or will you walk around the room?
- How will students organize their writing?
- Where will students keep their writing?
- What are procedures for starting a new story?
- Where do they get new writing paper?
- When can students work on their writing? (writing time only, writing stations, free time, etc.)
- What kind of writing templates are you going to use?
- How do students need to “title” their writing (name, date, story title)?
- How will you organize your conference notes?
- How many times a week do you want to see each student?
- How will you track which students you have seen/need to see?
You can read how I address these issues during my own Writer's Workshop here:

Student Conferences during Writer's Workshop
Students need immediate and corrective feedback. And yes, there is a right and a wrong way to provide feedback.
I know it is way easier to simply say “no, that isn't right”, but what does a student really learn from that? Nothing.
Instead, provide feedback to the student that lets them know their answer is incorrect, but lead them to learning why that answer wasn't right. Try something like “Well, if we were asking a question we would use a question mark, but read this sentence to me. What type of punctuation do you need?”
Why is feedback so important? It takes 16 to 21 days to reverse a misconception.
When giving feedback to a student during a writing conference, I like to use the 2 to 1 method.
I have the student share their writing with me, then I point out two things I really liked during their writing (I usually try to find a skill we've recently had a mini-lesson on) and then I share ONE thing that I want them to try or keep in mind for next time.
Let's be honest, there are about ten things on every writing that are going to drive you insane.
But remember that your writers are only 6 or 7 years old. You can't expect them to retain ten lessons or skills in one day. Find one thing that you think will benefit them the most and work on that ONE thing.
You need to have a plan for:
- how to track conferences and organize your data
- a cheat sheet for advanced writers
- a cheat sheet for beginning writers
Tips for Writer's Workshop
Here are 3 mistakes to avoid when setting up your writer's workshop:
- Not letting your students choose their own topic
- Reading the entire mentor text during your mini-lesson
- Not setting clear expectations
You can read more about how to avoid these mistakes here:

More First Grade Favorites:

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Kristen Sullins
I am a current Elementary Librarian and Enrichment Teacher, mother of two, follower of Christ and Texas native. In my own classroom, I love to save time by finding unique ways to integrate writing, social studies and science into all parts of my day. I also love all things organization!
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Starting Writer’s Workshop in First Grade!
August 30, 2014.

These sentence completion sheets are just one example of many included in the pack. I love them because it lets me see who can complete the prompt in a way that makes sense and it also allows my students to trace the beginning and see what good handwriting should look like before they continue. We completed this one and “Good Friends” (I can be a good friend by…) on days 1 and 2 of writer’s workshop.
Another writing activity we will complete is a picture prompt:

I will give students a sheet with a cartoon image and they are told to write what might be happening in the story. I also include some relevant words at the bottom for my students to reference. This helps get them started and not be held back by spelling and ideas, but instead it lets me see the basics of their writing. It establishes a starting point for each of my students to work from throughout the year!
I also include these activities at my writing center along with some mini-books that students can complete:

Now that my students know the routines and procedures of writer’s workshop in our classroom, we will be able to seamlessly dive into small moments and start writing some fabulous personal narratives!

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We started using Lucy this past year and was a tough first few months! But we figured it out, and the writing that came out of it – I can't wait to see what the kids do this year now we all have a year under or belts! Thanks for sharing Michelle
We are just starting Lucy this year and it seems a bit overwhelming but I'm so excited to see what writers they become!! I wasn't sure where to start and this gave me some good ideas for routines and expectations to teach!
Kristin [email protected]
I love Kagan CDs! I dno't have that one… I think I need it 😉 And I'm doing your writing next week in my class!! But first I need to do that poster with my group…great idea! I'm sharing your giveaway later on FB 🙂 ♥ Jen Teacher by the Beach A Splash of Life Blog
Love this! How can we get a copy of the poster?
I am teaching K-1writing this year for the first time. I love your poster!! How can I get one. I will be purchasing your materials right away. Also, I want the CD’s! GREAT ideas!
Becky Meleney
So many great ideas here…CD, writing prompts, poster example, and writing center. Just in time for a fantastic September. Hope you have a wonderful weekend! Alyce
Is your poster available for sale?
This unit looks great. I like the leveled activities since some of my kids need more support. Love your blog!
I just moved down to 1st Grade after teaching 2nd for 8 years. This would be awesome!! 🙂 🙂
Your writing workshop sounds like mine! 🙂 I love using the Kagan CD's for music in the classroom. It is so appropriate, calming, and great for productive work! Do you have the poster in your TPT? I would love to grab it as a visually or even just projected on my smart board for my kids as a reminder before writing starts or even leave it up throughout writing. I model my writing workshop after Lucy but I have to follow our scope and sequence for the year. We are starting with labeling pictures, captions, and then moving into personal narratives. I love teaching writing but it is hard at the beginning of the year. Rambling About Reading
Our school uses Step up to Writing and it IS NOT kindergarten friendly! I am blessed to have a principal who taught k and agrees. She is letting us (k team) look for something else. I have always wanted to do more with Lucy's program. I also turn off the lights and turn on music. Only I use pandora radio and The Piano Man station. LOVE it!
I love how neat and tidy your writing area looks!!
just what beginners in grade 1 need , smart thinking 🙂
Love Love LOVE!
What do you use for your 1-2-3 buckets. Love that idea!
Thank you for sharing your ideas, Susan. Ialso love the CD idea!
Can wait to use
Waiting to use this worksheet with my autism class
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A beginner’s guide to writing workshop in kindergarten & first grade.
In terms of both support and resources, writing seems to take a back seat to reading in many districts. Some teachers are given curriculum that’s either overwhelming, not developmentally appropriate or nothing at all. So, today I want to go through each component of the Writing Workshop in detail to help you implement it in your classroom. There are many benefits to incorporating Writing Workshop into your classroom, especially in Kindergarten and First Grade!

If you are not familiar with this model, Writing Workshop is a method of teaching writing that consists of four main components; a mini-lesson, independent writing time, and sharing, as well as conferring with students about their writing. Its goal is to expose children to different genres, and teach them how to compose a writing piece in each genre, while learning about the writing process.
It’s a very flexible system that you can use with the resources you have. This post will be geared towards those who may be new to teaching or new to this way of teaching writing.
The Mini-Lesson
Each writing workshop begins with a mini-lesson. The purpose of the mini-lesson is to focus only on one topic, skill, or strategy at a time. The lessons should only take between 5 to 15 minutes.
Typically, mentor texts are used to provide students with concrete examples of what they are being asked to produce. It also allows them to see what strategies their favorite authors are using in their books.
Student writing is powerful as mentor texts as well! I love using student examples so kids can see realistic, tangible versions of what they should produce when writing.

Your mini-lessons allow you to scaffold the writing process for your students. The process of writing becomes less daunting when it’s broken down into small manageable steps. The mini-lesson are also the time where you will want to model what your students will work on and what the expectations are.
Some Mini-Lesson Ideas to Launch a Genre:
- What is _____? ( personal narrative, how-to, informational)
- Brainstorm topic ideas
- Oral storytelling – practice telling a partner your story before writing/drawing.
- Write the Words – this can include labels and sentences
Revision Mini-Lesson Ideas :
- Adding details
- Show, not tell
- Word Choice
- Using comparisons
After the mini-lesson, you’ll ask students to use the strategy in their own writing. Often, before sending them off to work on their own pieces, I give them a quick task to try the strategy out.
For example, in first grade, if we are learning to show a character’s feeling rather than tell it, I give students a slip of paper with the sentence: He was mad . They convert it into a showing sentence, ex: He stomped his feet and slammed the door.
In kindergarten, if we are learning to add expressions to the people in our pictures, we practice drawing some faces showing different expressions.
These quick tasks ensure students are working on the mini-lesson strategy. After these quick tasks, they continue to work independently on their own writing pieces.
Writing Time
The most beneficial aspect of the Writing Workshop is students getting the opportunity to write about a topic of their choice (within a set genre) for extended periods of time.
The goal is for students to be able to write independently for about 15-30 minutes, depending on grade level. Note that is the GOAL time and you will have to slowly build up to that. I recommend starting with just five minutes of independent writing and gradually adding a minute daily. You can make it a fun challenge to beat their previous time!

If you would like to use goal tracking sheets I’ll have a FREE set at the end of this blog post. You can use them whole group or for individual students who may struggle more than others. I find using goal trackers to be extremely helpful for my students. I have a Goal Trackers System that also has certificates you can give to students once they reach their goal.
For Writing Workshop, each student should have a writing folder that will hold all of their writing pieces. Some students may work on multiple pieces during a session while others may only have one. This time is open to differentiation and is quite flexible for students.
Now, when you are first beginning Writing Workshop with your students, you will want to use this time to observe students working. You can get an idea of which individual students may need more support and also any changes in terms of classroom supplies and expectations.
After students have had time to practice writing on their own, dedicate a mini-lesson to what challenges they ran into and what they can do next time. I have a blog post dedicated to helping your students work more independently during this time .
Once students have settled into their routine you can use this independent work time to confer with students. The main goal for this time is to have students share what they are working on and guide them toward using ONE strategy to improve their writing.

This is a great time to have students set a writing goal . Again this time is flexible. You may want to meet with students in small groups or individually. I will have a more in-depth blog post dedicated to this time in the near future!
Quick Share
A quick share may also take place during your writing workshop. While students are working independently, you’ll want to quickly share a sample of student writing that incorporates the focus of the mini-lesson. This serves as a great reminder to students on what they should specifically be working on.
Allowing students time to share their work is the last component of the writing workshop. Usually, this component takes about 5 minutes, but at first, will take longer. You will want to practice with students how to share their work with the class. This is great public speaking practice for younger students.

If you have more time, you can pick a set number of students to share each day. I would keep a running list of who has shared to make sure each student gets a turn. You could allow students to give feedback and ask questions. If you are short on time, you could have students turn and share their work with a partner.
DONE-FOR-YOU Lessons
If you’re not sure how to get started, I have an entire writing unit for kindergarten. It has 22 lessons, teacher notes, student material, pacing calendars, conference forms, rubric, and more.
Check it out in my Tejeda’s Tots shop or on in my TpT store:

- Don’t be afraid to incorporate different types of writing activities throughout the week outside of the writing workshop. Shared and interactive writing are great opportunities for modeling writing and providing practice.
- Introduce and model inventive spelling and spelling strategie s to help students work independently.
- Host a writing celebration once you finish a unit with your students!
I hope you have found this post helpful. If you need more support or advice covering specific writing units I have blog posts on Personal Narratives and How-to Books . Also please feel free to leave any questions you have in the comments below.
Don’t forget your FREE Writing Stamina Goal Trackers!

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Writing Workshop
Writing Workshop in a First Grade Classroom - How We Plan Our Stories
Writing Workshop in a First Grade Classroom - How We Plan Our Stories Director’s Cut
The teacher introduces her class to a new strategy they can use to help them plan out the events of their stories before they start writing
This version of the How We Plan Our Stories lesson for additional "look fors" and tips.
Writing Workshop is an instructional practice designed to help children become confident and capable writers. During Writing Workshop, children have time to work independently and with their peers. They engage in the writing process by selecting topics, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing their original work. They receive explicit instruction in the craft of writing from exploring genre, to organizing their pieces, to word choice, style, and mechanics.
The workshop structure encourages children to think of themselves as writers and take their writing seriously. It gives children the skills to express their important thoughts and celebrates the fact that their stories and ideas matter and are worth expressing.

What is Writing Workshop?
Writing Workshop is an organizational framework for teaching writing. The framework consists of three components: the mini-lesson, work time, and share time . The Writing Workshop structure is an efficient and effective way to deliver writing instruction to meet the needs of all learners.
Each Writing Workshop session begins with a mini-lesson, during which you explicitly teach the children a specific writing skill or strategy over the course of five to 15 minutes. Use the mini-lesson to address the writing needs of your children as determined by your curriculum, state and local standards, and most importantly, formative assessment. Your conference notes and the children’s writing help you identify a primary literacy objective for the mini-lesson. During the mini-lesson, explain what you are teaching and how it will help the children become better writers. Model and demonstrate the use of the skill or strategy, thinking aloud throughout the process. Give the children a chance to try out the skill or strategy right there on the carpet.
The mini-lesson is immediately followed by work time, the component that is the heart of Writing Workshop and occupies its largest block of time. During work time, the children write – both independently and with partners. They apply what they’ve learned from the current and past mini-lessons to their writing. It is during work time that you can differentiate your writing instruction. To do this, conduct one-to-one writing conferences with children, taking careful notes throughout each conference. You might also work with small groups of children who have similar instructional needs in writing. Increase the amount of writing time as the children’s stamina increases.
Share time comes at the end of the workshop. During share time, two or three children share their writing with the class. Writing deserves an audience, and share time is one of the ways to provide it. The “authors” might show how they’ve applied the day’s mini lesson to their own writing. They might show what they’ve learned about writing or about themselves as writers. Usually only a few sentences will be shared, but sometimes a child will share a completed piece of writing. Share time is motivating for the children, and it provides peer models for them.
Why Writing Workshop?
Being a capable, confident writer is a necessary skill for children to be successful in school and in life. As they progress through the grades, they’ll need to write summaries, reports, critiques, and essays. To be functioning adults, they’ll need to write in both their working lives (e.g., letters, memoranda, and reports) and their daily lives outside of the workplace (e.g., shopping lists, emails, and notes). Through daily writing in a workshop, children can learn to effectively communicate in writing.
Writing Workshop is uniquely structured to help children develop positive attitudes about writing and progress as writers. Through writing, children have voice and agency – a way to express their ideas. This can be a deep source of satisfaction. The Writing Workshop structure provides manageable amounts of direct, explicit instruction that meets the developmental needs of our K-3 children: a lot of support, targeted feedback, and an audience for the children’s writing. Most importantly, the Writing Workshop gives children plenty of writing time. Children can only grow as writers if they have repeated practice and opportunities to write independently.

Children are often eager to express their thoughts, ideas, and experiences. Sharing what we know and telling stories is an important part of learning and living in a community. Writing provides a suitable venue for children to share their thinking and ideas. As an additional bonus, writing helps children make sense of, clarify, and develop new learning and thinking. Our carefully planned lessons can facilitate children’s ability to have the voice that they crave. In a Writing Workshop, unlike in settings where K-3 children often copy the teacher’s writing, the children are the authors.
Finally, audience is a critical component of writing. That is, writing is meant to be read. An audience is often found for some of the children during work time, when pairs or small groups of children will read their writing to each other. But most of all, this is the primary focus of share time, the final component of the Writing Workshop. Each day during share time, two to three children have an opportunity to sit in the “author’s chair” and share what they’ve written with others. In classrooms not using the workshop model, the teacher is often the only one who is an audience for writing, sharply reducing the opportunities for children to read their writing to others. This turns writing into a “written assignment” rather than a true mode of communication.
Writing and Reading Connection
Writing and reading are reciprocal processes: reading affects writing, and writing affects reading.
When children read a lot, they become better writers. Each reading experience represents another encounter with writing, which builds knowledge of writing and helps children to understand what good writing looks like and sounds like. This in turn helps to make them more critical readers of their own writing. Reading books across genres helps children learn story grammar, narrative structures, and informational text structures. Then they apply this knowledge to their own writing. Favorite books that are read and reread become mentors for children’s writing.
Writing helps to build and develop reading skills. Our kindergarten and first grade children are actively involved in developing phonemic awareness and phonics skills. When they are working through the spelling of a word during their writing, often using developmental spelling, they are actively applying phonics skills. This has a powerful impact and is much more effective than isolated practice using worksheets. When children access the word wall to use a high frequency word in their writing, they are getting additional exposure to the word. The act of writing the word, which gets reinforced when they encounter it again while rereading their writing, helps the word become part of their sight word vocabulary.
Leverage the reading-writing connection in your read alouds, Reading and Writing Workshop mini-lessons, and shared writing. During read alouds, make a point of talking about the author’s craft and the characteristics of different genres. Draw children’s attention to word choice, style, and the structure of different texts you read and create together. Gradually build anchor charts to capture what you are discovering about writing together and connect the ideas you are learning about to children’s own writing. Highlight the efforts of children who are experimenting with different writing styles and genres during share time.
Find books to use in your mini-lessons to support children’s instructional needs in writing. For example, if your children are ready for a lesson in punctuation, read Yo! Yes? by Chris Raschka. If the children are overusing the same words in their writing, read aloud Come On Rain! by Karen Hesse. Explicitly teach children to chunk words for both reading and writing by using a book like One Duck Stuck by Phyllis Root.
Collaboratively write a text with the children using the shared writing approach. You are doing the actual writing, but the children are contributing ideas and “helping” with the spelling and conventions to the extent of their abilities. Shared writing produces readable text for all children. Display the text of your completed shared writing lesson and encourage the children to read it when they “read the room.”
Different Types of Writing Instruction
The components of a balanced writing program include modeled writing, shared or interactive writing, guided writing, and independent writing. These four components are based on the principal of the gradual release of responsibility developed by Pearson and Gallagher in 1993.
During modeled writing, you are demonstrating how writing works. You write in front of the children, thinking aloud throughout the entire process. Be sure that all the children can see the writing. Modeled writing is likely to occur in mini-lessons and, of course, Message Time Plus. Shared writing is a practice in which the teacher and the children share the responsibility for writing a text. The children’s role is to verbalize the ideas in the text and to contribute to the spelling and writing conventions to the extent of their abilities. The teacher holds the pen and does the physical writing. The writing is usually done on chart paper and written large enough for all the children to see. The level of child responsibility in shared writing can be increased by employing interactive writing instead. Interactive writing follows the same structure as shared writing, except that the children and the teacher “share the pen.” The teacher selects individual children to come up to write a word or even a letter in the message. When shared writing or interactive writing is completed, the teacher and children usually do a shared reading of the text.

Guided writing is a notable shift in teacher/child responsibility. In guided writing, the child “holds the pen” and is responsible for doing all of the writing. The teacher’s role is that of support. Teachers coach, scaffold, and support children while they are writing. Guided writing usually occurs during one-on-one writing conferences and small group writing sessions.
Finally, independent writing is when children apply all of the important lessons that we have taught them to their own writing. The teacher’s role in independent writing is just to supply time and resources for writing. Independent writing occurs during the work time component of Writing Workshop, in class writing centers, and during journal writing.
Reflect on Your Writing Workshop
Like any instructional practice, Writing Workshop will benefit from your reflection. Take some time to think about your current writing instruction. What are you doing that is effective? Where do you want to improve your practice?
Reflect on your Writing Workshop
Use this printable version to reflect on your current practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
My children don’t like to go back and revise their work. how do i help them improve their pieces.
Children who can write narratives with beginnings, middles, and ends (transitional writers) are ready to add revision to their writing process. Make sure children understand the difference between editing and revision. Explain that editing is about making sure a reader can understand the piece by reviewing the mechanics and conventions. Revising is about making a good piece of writing even stronger. Devote a number of mini-lessons to revision. Through shared writing, co-create a text. Spend two or three sessions revising it (better opener, vivid verbs, awesome adjectives, no tired words, etc.). Compare the first draft to the finished piece. Try devoting one workshop session a week to revision (Revision Wednesday?). For share time, pre-select children who made a special effort to revise their writing. Have them share the “before” and “after” of their pieces.
I model my writing for my children, and then they just copy what I wrote. How can I help them come up with their own ideas?
It’s normal for children to copy writing. It’s part of how they learn! As they gain confidence in their own abilities, and become eager to share their own ideas, they will branch out from the “safety” of copying. You can help children gain confidence by celebrating children’s attempts, showing interest in their lives, and encouraging them to use their own invented spelling.
You can also help children by having them brainstorm a list of topics and display it, so the children can refer to the list. Have the children “turn and talk” to tell their partners what they plan to write. Ask the children who exhibit exceptional difficulty coming up with ideas to stay on the rug for an extra minute or two. Check in with each of the children to make sure they have decided upon an idea. You might even ask them to tell the first sentence of their piece.
How does spelling and grammar instruction fit into Writing Workshop?
Writing Workshop lends itself to the teaching of spelling and grammar because these lessons are taught within the context of actual writing for an authentic purpose rather than through isolated skill practice. Identify which lessons your children need by examining their writing. Then teach mini-lessons to target and address the children’s instructional needs. Co-create anchor charts with the children to help them remember high utility grammar and spelling strategies and concepts. Teach children to use the resources in the room to check their spelling.
My children are still working on forming letters and writing their names. Can I still do Writing Workshop?
Absolutely! It sounds like your children are in the pre-emergent and emergent stages of writing. One of the things that helps them to grow as writers is many experiences with writing. In your mini-lessons and your daily Message Time Plus lessons, explicitly teach lessons like directionality, word boundaries, and matching sounds with symbols. Be sure to have individual-sized alphabet charts for the children to refer to while they are writing. Encourage them to draw a picture and label it. Many children will start out by labeling their picture with a single letter, but their labels will become more advanced over time. Have one-on-one conferences to zero in on individual needs. Don’t forget share time, an opportunity for the children to show each other what they have accomplished.
Do I need to review and grade everything that my children produce?
Looking at children’s writing is going to give you the information that you need to provide targeted instruction. So, although you don’t need to grade everything, you really do have to find a way to see as much of their writing as you can. Consider providing each child with a writing folder. Have the children keep all of their writing from Writing Workshop in their folders. Create a schedule that allows you to examine writing folders at regular intervals. The number of papers in a folder indicates the volume of writing that the child is producing. Select one piece to assess with a rubric. Be sure to share the rubric with the children, so they will know how they are being assessed. Using this method, you should be able to assess one piece of writing a week for each child. That is usually enough to document the children’s growth over time. You can also try asking the children to select one piece from their writing folders to submit for assessment. Clear out the writing folders after each unit or once a month. Make sure to preserve the pieces that you assessed with the rubric.
How do I manage independent writing time so that everyone is “on task”?
To ensure a productive independent writing time, the children must know the routines and procedures of Writing Workshop. Teach procedural lessons, practice and rehearse, and co-create anchor charts. Resist attempting conferences or convening small writing groups until the children know the routines. You must also be aware of the children’s stamina for writing. This is simple to assess. Have them write, and note the starting time. When they become distracted, begin looking around, or start asking to go to the drinking fountain, they’ve reached their limit. Note how long they were able to write. Be assured that their stamina will increase over time. Nevertheless, the amount of time you allocate for independent writing must always be appropriate for their current level of stamina for writing. Walk around between conferences to be aware of what is happening. Make adjustments and offer options for children who need extra support. Finally, have the children self-assess and make goals or plans for improving their productivity during independent writing time.
What do I do with children when I meet with them one-on-one in a writing conference?
The architecture of the writing conference is research, decide, compliment, teach (Calkins, 2006). During the research part of the conference, you will need to find out what the writer needs. This can be discovered by having the child read their writing to you and have a conversation with the child. Then find something to compliment (i.e., point out something that the child is doing well) and decide what you are going to teach. Remember to teach only one thing. Try to find a concept that the child has partially mastered, and teach that concept. Close the conference by reiterating the teaching point and linking it to the child’s ongoing work.
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It is really a great way to interact with the children and share what we think about the stories…..The workshop structure encourages children to think of themselves as writers and take their writing seriously. It gives children the skills to express their important thoughts and celebrates the fact that their stories and ideas matter and are worth expressing. This is so true and I enjoyed using these methods to help me to teach them…..Thank you so much Cli3 and my coaches for their instruction and hard work to help our school, community and class!
I teach Language Arts/Writing to EVERY student in our K-6 school (including ELL and SPED) and I am constricted to only one 40 minute period every 4 days with each classroom. I am seeking ways to most effectively implement the philosophies outlined in the CLI research which will best serve the students I teach. I am open to suggestions. I am also interested to see if anyone else has a position such as mine. Thanks so much.
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How to Start Teaching Writer’s Workshop in Kindergarten & First Grade
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Do you struggle with how to get started? Writer’s Workshop in kindergarten and first grade classrooms is one of the most powerful components.
In Writing Workshop in kindergarten and first grade, students are encoding words that come from their thoughts and feelings, which is a much easier skill than decoding. Successful writers become successful readers!
So, how do you get started? The answer is simple. Just jump right in!! I usually start at the beginning of the second week of school. I don’t wait until students know a certain number of letters and sounds because I’m not really expecting them to write, Yet! Our first unit is all about being illustrators and helping students understand that our pictures tell a story. Think about all of the wonderful wordless picture books that you’ve “read.” Were you able to make meaning from them? Absolutely!!! Starting off with drawing pictures and orally telling the story sets students up for success and they all start realizing, HEY!! I’m an author!
What is Writer’s Workshop in Kindergarten?
Writer’s Workshop is a daily part of your schedule, and it follows a consistent routine.
During the minilesson, the teacher is modeling what good writers do as she draws her picture and writes the words. During this first unit, the main emphasis is on drawing our pictures. However, we do start labeling our pictures and stretching out words by writing the sounds we hear as well. The idea is that we are meeting the needs of ALL of our learners. We have some who will only be able to draw pictures, some who will draw and label, and some students who are also ready to write sentences. We celebrate our students right where they are! Note: First grade will look a little bit different, and I’ll get to that as well. So if you teach first grade, don’t leave. This post is for you as well.

Independent Writing Time
After the minilesson, we send our students off to write. In the beginning, we are working on building our writing stamina so the independent writing time may only last a few minutes.
But, that’s okay! Your little authors will have time to write every day, so if they don’t finish their writing, they can pick right back up where they left off.
Here are a few kindergarten examples from our first writing lesson.

The one on the left says, I am happy because I am five years old. Zoey came to my birthday party. Do you see how she added in labels? She has the Y to label herself and a Z for Zoey.
She also has a B for birthday and lots of 5s to represent her birthday. During the conferring time (which I’ll explain in a few minutes) I asked her what the writing to the left of her meant.
She said, “I’m 200% happy!!!” Mind.blown. I love it!! Look at the story on the right. Can you tell what this one is about? If you are from Florida, I’ll bet you got it right away! The beach!
This story is about going to the beach. She said, “I went to the beach with my family. We went boogie boarding.” Notice that she has labels to label herself and one of the other people in the picture. She also has sand, a palm tree, and three lounge chairs. Two of the people are holding boogie boards, and one is holding a towel. So many details in her picture! Neither of these students added words, but they are already successful writers. Words will come later. We celebrate where they are.

Here are two more kindergarten samples from day one. The one on the left reads, I love castles . She drew a castle with lots of details, and she was able to spell love conventionally.
She stretched out the sounds she heard and castle and wrote the letters those sounds represented. The one on the right reads, I like my animals. She also labeled all of her animals with the beginning sound in each of their names. This is WHY we don’t just draw a picture in our minilesson and stop. We want to meet the needs of all our kids, so it’s important also to model how to write words by recording the sounds we hear. If we had ONLY drawn pictures, then chances are Karlie and Elise would have also ONLY drawn pictures. Celebrate them where they are, but don’t hold them back with low expectations.
The most important thing to notice here is that all of these stories are about different topics. That is because we don’t give students a topic or a writing prompt. We want them to see themselves as real authors. They choose their topics. I love this quote from Shelly Harwayne, “We want children to notice, pay attention, marvel, and be fascinated with the world around them, both in school and outside of school. We also want them to appreciate that what captures their hearts, tickles their senses, and fills their minds, belongs in their writing.” If children are given choice about what they are writing about, they will be a lot more excited about writing. As they experience new things or go new places, they will begin to think, “Hey, I can write about that!”
While students are writing, I’m conferring with them. This gives me an opportunity to hear first-hand what they are thinking about as they write and help nudge them toward that next step in writing. I meet with a few students each day. When I go to them I always start with, What are you working on as a writer today? I listen closely to what the students tell me, and I look closely at their writing. Then, I notice and name what I see them doing well. I celebrate them and work on building that self-confidence. I think about what they need to work on, and I might say something like, “Can I show something else that writers do?” That’s the intro to my teach portion of the conference where I teach them something quick that will help make their writing even better. For example, I might talk to them about adding details to their drawings. We would have a conversation about what they could add and then I would encourage them to add the details. I then end with, “Today and every day when you are writing remember that you can add details to help make your story even better.”

Above is a picture of my conferring notebook. I use two notebooks because I have a section for each student in my class. The first half of the alphabet is in this notebook and the second half is in the other. I section off about ten pages per student so that I have plenty of room to write notes each time I confer with my students. These notes are great when it comes time for parent-teacher conferences.

During the conference time, we talk about what they are doing well and we set a goal for something that they can work on to help them become an EVEN better writer. Each of our writing units has its own Writing Goals chart.
Writer’s Workshop in Kindergarten: Sharing Time
This is the third part of our Writer’s Workshop, and it is so important. Writers write stories so that they can be shared. During this 5 minute block of time, our Peanut Butter & Jelly partners get together and share their stories with each other. After we’ve shared with our partners, I also choose one or two students to share their writing with the whole class.

So, there you have it! That is the structure of our Writer’s Workshop in kindergarten. This has always been the favorite part of my students day, and it’s part of mine as well. I love reading and listening to their stories, and it gives me a window into their world. Little ones have a lot to say in their writing, and we need to give them that time and freedom of choice to express themselves.
Hey, What about Writer’s Workshop in First-Grade?
Don’t worry; I didn’t forget about you. In fact, as you’ve probably noticed all of the above fits you perfectly. First grade follows the same structure; our expectations are just a little different. We know that most of them are already able to put their thinking into words on the paper. The mini-lesson is still the same, but we emphasize the writing of sentences more than we do in kindergarten. Kindergarten writing paper just has a few lines, while the first-grade paper has many. Here are a few examples from the same first lesson in Writer’s Workshop in first grade.

The writing on the left reads, It’s my birthday. This morning I got four things, a Pokeball, and a Pokemon hose, and Tom Toms. After school, I am getting more gifts.
Notice that she has a great picture, but she spent most of her time on writing the words.
The picture on the left reads, My dog is under the counter and my other dog is in the bathtub.
A great teaching point for conferring with these students would be, adding punctuation to help the reader be able to read their story more easily.

This student did a beautiful job on her illustrations, and there is so much detail! A mother duck lives in her neighborhood and it just had ducklings.
Her writing reads, I like ducks and I love ducks. All students come to us with a variety of strengths and weaknesses. Writer’s Workshop in kindergarten and first grade is a time for us to celebrate that!
Know your students and teach them where they are. In just a matter of time, they will exceed your expectations because YOU are giving them the freedom to write about things they want to write about.
Writing Units
If you are ready to give Writer’s Workshop in kindergarten and first grade a try, but you just aren’t sure where to start don’t worry we’ve got you covered. Deedee Wills and I created Writing units about six years ago, and we have both used them with great success in both kindergarten and first-grade. Here’s what’s included in every writing unit.

You can check out Unit 1 to read the reviews and see what others are saying. Just click on the image below and it will take you to the resource. These are also included in a money-saving bundle if you prefer that option.

Thank you so much for reading this post. Happy Writing!!

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How to Launch Writing Workshop In First Or Second Grade
- July 9, 2016
After teaching Pre-K and Kindergarten (working with students who had little/no writing experience), I moved up to 1st/2nd grade.
I was excited to work with more advanced writers! They came to me with writing experience! Woohoo!
But I quickly learned two things:
- Having experience is good!
- Having experience is bad!
So what do I mean by this seemingly-contradictory statement?
I mean that launching your writing workshop in first or second grade can be so much fun (and not to mention much easier than launching it in Kinder!) because most of your kids come to you knowing what writing is. You can begin showing them – fairly quickly – how to share their stories and express themselves through writing. You don’t have to teach them not to eat the crayons (well, hopefully…).
I also mean that launching writing workshop in first or second grade can be more challenging than doing so in Kinder. Some of our little ones come to us with “writing baggage.” They may believe that writing is boring or tedious. They may not feel confident in their own abilities. Or they may have grown used to an approach that’s different from the one you intend to use with them.
But be it good or bad or somewhere in between, most of our 1st and 2nd graders show up with a “writing past.” And in today’s post, I’ll walk you through how I launch my first or second grade writing workshop. I’ll describe how I take into account students’ writing pasts, while simultaneously establishing fresh expectations and setting the tone for a positive and productive year in writing workshop!

Photo Credit, Larisa Lofitskaya, Shutterstock
Starting At The Very Beginning
Even if we know that our first or second grade students have had wonderful writing teachers in the past and are familiar with the writing workshop routines, we still need to start with the basics.
On the day that I start writing workshop (usually the second or third day of school), I take time to explain what the writing workshop is, as well as the purpose of writing. I explain the daily schedule (minilesson, independent writing time, and sharing time) and tell them that I intend to give them LOTS of time to write, as well as to choose topics to write about that are important to them. I ask students to discuss why people write. I also talk about how important practice is “getting good” at writing, and also feeling good about yourself as a writer.
Then, I begin to teach students the procedures and routines of writing workshop. I teach just a few things each day, however – I do not explain everything at once! Even kids who have previous writing experience do better when I introduce just one small routine at a time.
During the first week or two, I like to choose one “teaching point” for our minilesson. I model the skill or procedure, I have a student or a couple of students practice it (or the whole class, if possible), and then I focus on reinforcing that skill or procedure while students write independently.
I also like to incorporate “mid-workshop teaching points.” I teach the primary minilesson and then have students write for a bit. About halfway through independent writing time, I ask for their attention. I teach another skill or procedure of the workshop (preferably related to the first lesson of the day). Then, students go back to writing. Not only does this allow me to teach more than one skill a day, but it also gives students a break as they learn to build (or re-build) writing stamina.
So what are these minilessons I teach? Here are some examples:
- How to use writing tools (pencils, crayons, colored pencils) safely
- How to access and store writing tools in our classroom
- How to access and store writing paper in our classroom
- How to use our writing folders (click HERE to read more about how I use writing folders in my classroom)
- How to get help while writing
- How to participate in a writing conference with the teacher
- Where to get ideas for writing
- How to spell words independently
For complete minilessons (on launching your workshop and writing throughout the year), read more about my writing units here .

Setting High Expectations From The Start
At the beginning of the school year, our students try to test the waters. They want to see how much they can “get away with.” I don’t mean this in a negative way, or that they are being naughty! Our kids honestly need to know how much work they are expected to do in our classrooms. (Don’t we have the same need in our own jobs? When I start at a new school, I need to figure out if I have bus duty every day – because if I don’t, you can bet that I’m only going to be out there on my assigned weeks!!)
Anyway. Those first few weeks of school are SO crucial in establishing high expectations for our students (both in general, and when it comes to writing).
To help students understand just how much I expect of them, for the first month of school, I do not :
- Spell words for students
- Provide super specific writing prompts
- Give students sentence frames or sentence starters to complete during writing workshop
Creating Spelling Independence
I often have many students ask me how to spell words on the first day or days of school. Instead of just giving them words, I begin teaching strategies, like…
- Stretch out a word and listen for the sounds
- Use an alphabet chart to find the letter that represents a sound
- Use a word wall or personal dictionary
- Think about a similar word or spelling pattern you know
- Give it a go and then move on
If we aren’t careful, kids will begin to expect us to spell all tricky words for them! That’s why I have a strict “no spelling words” policy for the first weeks of school. Because I’m definitely not going to get anything productive done if I spend writing workshop time running between students and spelling words for them!
Avoiding Dependence On Prompts
On the first day of school, I might ask kids to write about their summers, or tell me a little about themselves through writing. But then the prompts stop. Completely.
Throughout the year, when I teach writing workshop, I specify a genre and ask students to choose topics within that genre (read more about how I do that here ).
So if I start out the year by giving kids prompts like, “What is your favorite part of the school day?” or “Write about a time when you felt very sad,” they become dependent upon those prompts. And when I don’t provide a prompt, that really stresses them out.
For this reason, I don’t provide any specific prompts for at least the first month of school. I’m not saying that I never give prompts – because I definitely do! But I want students to first learn how to brainstorm ideas and choose a topic independently. Once they can do so, I know that it’s okay to give them prompts here or there.
Avoiding Dependence on Sentence Frames and Sentence Starters
Just as I do with prompts, I work hard to prevent students from becoming dependent upon sentence frames or sentence starters (i.e. finishing the sentence, “I am happy when…”).
I’m ELL certified, so I totally understand the values of sentence frames and sentence starters (especially for partner talk and ELL students). But if I start out the year by giving students these supports all the time, they will come to expect those supports.
I avoid providing sentence frames and sentence starters for a month or so of school. Then, if students would benefit from using these tools as a support, I introduce them.
Building Stamina
Although I maintain high expectations for student independence, there are two areas where I don’t have high expectations at the beginning of the year:
- The amount of time students write independently
- The amount of writing students produce
Just like kids have to build reading stamina, they also have to build writing stamina. They are probably not used to writing for half an hour at a time – or maybe not even five minutes at a time! They need to learn to sustain their attention, remain on task, and even physically hold and use a pencil for an extended amount of time.
So I start small! I explain that we will start with just 5-10 minutes and build from there. I use a timer and increase the amount of time students write independently by 2-3 minutes each day. Graphing progress over time is fun, too!
If students are having trouble staying on task during independent writing, then I reduce writing time or break it up into two chunks. Taking a step back can help us move many steps forward in the end.
I also like to get my students invested in and excited about the amount of time they stay on task during independent writing time. We celebrate “milestones” like 15 or 30 minutes!
Similarly, I don’t demand that students produce lots of writing at the beginning of the school year. Drawing and labeling is a fine start – particularly with first graders. Over time, I teach students how to expand their writing. It’s a delicate balance, though – I never want to emphasize quantity over quality.
Addressing Students’ Writing Pasts
Students’ writing pasts will inevitably show up during those first days and weeks of school. We can often tell immediately which kids have had positive experiences with writing, and which kids need to grow their love for writing.
I try to set a positive tone with positive discussions during the first few days of workshop. I love to ask kids things like, “What do you love writing/drawing about?” or “Where is a cozy place that you’d love to write?” or “What are you most proud about your own writing?” Partner conversations and whole class discussions can go a long way in getting kids excited about writing.
However, when a child does make a negative comment (like, “I don’t like to write,” or “I can’t write”), I first try to acknowledge his feelings – instead of arguing or contradicting him. I then move on – and quickly. I want to acknowledge students’ feelings without dwelling on them. Because the beginning of the school year is an excellent opportunity for a fresh start!
Here’s an example of how I might respond to a students negative remark about writing:
“I understand. Sometimes kids feel like they don’t like writing at the beginning of the school year. But I promise that we will do lots of FUN writing, and you will start to feel good about yourself as a writer. Now let’s take a look at your story – is there a funny part you want to tell me about?”
If a child continues to make negative comments or complain, I eventually ignore it. I try to refocus the child’s attention on something (anything!) positive about the writing task at hand. If a child is having difficulty, I teach strategies and give compliments about what he is doing well.
I know there are always extreme cases, but these strategies have worked for me with every child – every year. When I focus on the positives, I find that most kids tend to do the same. I work hard to create a classroom culture that values writing, and where prolific writing is the norm rather than the exception.
What’s Next?
Launching writing workshop without the guidance of lesson plans is like trying to get dressed in the dark – you’re not quite sure how it’s going to turn out, and it might not be pretty! ?
If you’d like to get access to complete lesson plans so you can launch with confidence AND save yourself a ton of time, check out any of my bundles by clicking on the images below.
These bundles have “done for you” lesson plans to help ease your students into the writing workshop routines AND learn to love writing!
One teacher said: “I wish I could rate this higher! This writing curriculum has not only increased my students’ love of writing, it has increased my love of teaching writing. The lessons are simple yet rigorous.”
Check out my Kindergarten, first grade, and second grade writing bundles here:

Happy teaching!
Related Posts:

I am loving your stuff. I have been teaching intermediate grades for 23 years and was just transferred to 1st grade. I need all the help I can get!
Oh wow, Dana – that’s a big change! I’m sure you will do great though! I have lots of posts from the last 3-4 years – use the categories on the right side to find more posts and freebies 🙂
Teaching writing is something I struggle with. The tips above are great. I spent a chunk of time this summer coming up with fun prompts, but your point about depending on them hit home – I had a student a few years ago who panicked when he had to come up with something original. Thank you for your help!
I personally do not spell words for students because I want them to use a strategy, but my grade level does since they want them to see the patterns and not develop habits. Is there a benefit to both? I am new to second. Thanks!
Hi there! I think it depends on how often the teacher is spelling words for kids. If kids are constantly coming up and asking, I’m not sure how the teacher would have time to do any other sort of helping or teaching during independent writing time – or any other activity that involves writing? But if it’s a matter of correcting words occasionally, or having students go thru their writing and check for word patterns they might need to use, or helping kids fix up their writing before publishing, then I do think that can be helpful. 🙂
Would you consider adding a twitter link to your blog? I love it and want to share it with my colleagues! We use twitter as a professional learning tool in our district and want to share your ideas with others!
Hi Laura! Thanks for the suggestion! I am not sure how to do it but will definitely look into it 🙂
I attended your webinar for Launching Your K-2 Writing Workshop and got so many ideas. I’m interested in using stapled 3 page booklets that you suggested. Would you happen to have a picture of what you use? I’m trying to picture it to figure out what I can use.
Sure, Megan! Emailing you now 🙂
I tried to watch your video on webinar but did not know how to get on to watch the video. please tell me how to get on webinar to watch the video. thanks
Hi Gloria! When you sign up for a webinar, you’ll receive a link via email. You just click the link at the time of the webinar, and then it takes you to the correct page. Using a desktop or laptop computer and the Chrome browser works best!
I would like to be included in your webinars.
Hey Jennifer! The sign-ups for my summer webinars are here:
https://learningattheprimarypond.com/upcoming-free-workshops-learning-primary-pond/
Hope you can join us!!
Are you doing another webinar anytime soon?
Hey Lisa, yes! 🙂 I update the live webinar dates here: https://learningattheprimarypond.com/upcoming-free-workshops-learning-primary-pond/

I’m Alison, a literacy specialist. I love getting kids excited about reading and writing – and sharing teaching ideas with other teachers!
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Starting Writer’s Workshop in First Grade
This month we launched Writing Workshop!

In our first grade classroom, we begin with expository All About writing but we talk about what Writer’s Workshop looks like throughout the unit. We review expectations, procedures, and practice getting into the writing routine and building stamina as part of this unit.
In the beginning of the year, we stop writing and gather on the carpet a few times after starting writing. For example, I may teach students about the genre we are working on and send them off to write. When I notice a few of my students losing speed or focus, I call them to the carpet. Then, we may review a workshop procedure like, what we do when we’ve finished a piece or what to do when your pencil is dull. Students do not have a lot of stamina at the beginning of first grade so this is a great way to review expectations, model, and practice. These little breaks give students a break from writing and help the writing block last longer.
Are you wondering why we begin with All Abouts? Students love to talk about themselves and all of the things they love. I have had way more success starting Writer’s Workshop with All Abouts than any other genre.
All abouts are the perfect unit to begin the year. Because it’s the first unit I keep it very simple. I ask kids what they are experts at and that’s what they write about. We begin with writing all about ourselves. Then, we move onto family. The third writing is typically about a friend, pet, or school. Next, we move onto things that we love. For example, I have students write about sports they play, foods they love, hobbies, or other topics they are interested in.

After All Abouts, we move onto opinion writing. Opinions are another easy genre to do with young students. They love to tell you whether they like something or not. I usually try to stick to a simple model. State your opinion. Give a reason why. Give a second reason why. Give a third reason why. End with your opinion.
Beginning the year this way leads to a lot of growth. You will be amazed at what your first graders can do by the end of the first few months of school! I love to watch their progress.

A great way to really see students progress is using Writing Journals. Writing journals are a composition notebook where students write weekly.

We organize writing journals by month. I frequently have students right at baseline writing in their writing Journal as well as an end of unit writing piece. When students finish early, I also give them the choice to write in their writing journals. This makes it great body of evidence to share with parents and celebrate student success.
If you want to try out writing journals in your classroom, you can get my templates here on Tpt and here in my blog shop. If you choose to get it from my blog shop, use code ILOVE1STFALL2020 at check out for 20% off your total purchase.

I hope you try to start writing workshop in your first grade classroom. It is the best way to teach writing and I know you will see a ton of growth!

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Mini Lessons for Introducing Writer's Workshop

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Hands-on learning made fun
September 1, 2020
First Grade Writing: Personal Narrative

Without a doubt, teaching a child how to write in first grade is one of the most challenging aspects of teaching. In fact, this is perhaps the biggest struggle for many teachers in my private Facebook group. While we are talking about this struggle, let’s be honest: not all kids love to write. However, when implemented effectively, teaching a 1st grader how to write can be incredibly rewarding! There is so much growth by the end of the school year. In order for this growth to happen, students need opportunities to write every single day. Explicit writing instruction must take place for students to progress.
I am incredibly excited to share with you my brand new First Grade Writing Curriculum! EVERYTHING you need to teach writing is covered in this curriculum. Each unit has 22 days of scripted lesson plans. All of the hard work has been done for you!

FIRST GRADE WRITING CURRICULUM SCOPE:
- Unit 1: Personal Narrative: Small Moments
- Unit 2: Non-Realistic Fiction: Showing Not Telling
- Unit 3: Writing to Teach & Inform: Engaging Teaching Texts
- Unit 4: Poetry: Exploring Poetry
- Unit 5: Realistic-Fiction: Developing Characters
- Unit 6: Opinion & persuasive Writing: Writing Reviews
- Unit 7: Non-Fiction Chapter Books: Organization Information

LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT UNIT 1 IN THE 1ST GRADE WRITING CURRICULUM!

This First Grade Writing Curriculum uses a Writers Workshop type model. This means that there will be a mini-lesson, status updates (pre-writing, drafting, revising, editing, evaluating, or publishing), writing, and sharing! That might sound like a lot, but don’t worry… I have you covered on how to effectively implement this curriculum in your classroom or homeschool!
WHAT IS WRITERS WORKSHOP?
Writers Workshop is a framework for writing instruction and practice. The following will be covered in the Writing Process:
- Research- Learn about a style of writing or topic. Read and look at great books to get ideas
- Planning: Decide on a topic and plan out your ideas.
- Writing: Use your plan to help you write your story.
- Revising: Improve your writing by adding details.
- Proofreading: Check your work. Use your resources to help you.
- Feedback: Ask others to read your story and give you ideas of how to improve it!
- Editing: Use the feedback you got from others to help make your story even better!
- Publishing: Make a neat copy of your book that is ready to share with the world!
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN UNIT 1: PERSONAL NARRATIVE?
- Tips for Getting Started (Classroom and Material Organization and Procedures)
- Developmental Writing Stages
- Unit Text (Mentor Text) Guides
- Conferencing Guides
- Conferencing Planner
- Conferencing Tracker
- Assessment Guide
- Rubrics and Rubric Guide
- Multiple Writing Templates
- Publishing Party Guide
- Publishing Party Supplies
- Unit Posters
- Personal Writing Things We Can Write About
- The Writing Process Chart
- Writing Checklists
- Peer Editing Checklist
- Young Author Award
- Writing Folder Covers
- Pencil Organization Labels
- Writers Library Labels
- Alphabet Chart (full and mini size)
- Letter Formation Chart (full and mini size)
- Personal Narratives Charts:
- Beginning, Middle, and End
- Words We Use
- Small Moments Posters
- Zooming in on Small Moments
- Detailed Picture Poster
- Detailed Word Posters
- Cover of a Book Poster
- Writer’s Checklist (2 posters)
- I Can Write About…
- Adding Details to our Writing Poster
- Writing Checklist
- Alphabet Sounds Chart (full and mini size)
- Word Wall Personal Book (sight word copy and EDITABLE copy!)
- We Are Authors Banner
- 2 Wordless Picture Books
- Black and White Version Included
Let’s Start with the Lesson Plans:
These easy-to-follow lesson plans set you up for success. They are broken up into 6 simple parts:
Focus- The skill, strategy, or idea students will be focusing on this lesson.
Warm Up- A quick activity that has students review and practice previous skills.
Mini Lesson- Teach, model, and discuss the new skill in today’s lesson.
Practice- The hands-on portion of the lesson where students apply what they have learned in the mini lesson to their own writing. During this time you will conference individually with students.
Mid-Practice Teaching Point- A quick reminder and chance to highlight the great work students are doing.
Share- Lesson wrap-up where students analyze, reflect on, and share their work.

LESSON SCHEDULE:
I have also laid out what a lesson might look like with a 60 minute , 45 minute , and 30 minute time block . We all have different schedules, and this writing curriculum is designed to meet your needs! Do what works best for YOU!

Also included are some tips for getting started! With this cohesive curriculum, I have set you up for success! All the work has been done for you. Just print out your materials and open up your lesson plans! Of course you will want to monitor students progress, and change your plans appropriately.
HERE IS AN OVERVIEW OF THE SCOPE FOR UNIT 1:

ORGANIZATION:
Each child will get his/her own writing folder. This folder will be the place where they keep all of their writing templates, charts, and materials.

Inside of each folder, you can include the Alphabet Formation Cards, Letter Formation Chart, Phonics Helpers, and any other resources about the unit.

MENTOR TEXTS:
Mentor texts are an important component to each unit in the Writing Curriculum.
What are Mentor Texts? Mentor text(s) are 1-2 example texts that illustrate the writing style we are focusing on for the unit.
For the First Grade Personal Narrative, here are some examples of mentor texts you can use in your Writers Library :
- “Salt Hands” by Jane Chelsea Aragon
- “Blackout” by John Rocco
- “Owl Moon” by Jane Yolan
- “The Big Big Sea” by Martin Waddell
- “Yard Sale” by Eve Bunting
- “Roller-coaster” by Marla Frazee

A Writers Library is a larger collection of on-topic texts that students can read and reference throughout the unit. Consider keeping these books in a special location where students can access them throughout the unit.
“Rocket Writes a Story” by Tad Hills is a great way to introduce students to the idea of being a writer. Consider using it in Lesson 2 to help students start brainstorming ideas and thinking of themselves as writers.

Posters help students understand what a personal narrative is and that their narratives will have a beginning, middle, and end.

A Writer’s Checklist can be used during small groups to help students edit their writing once they get to that stage.

The Writing Process poster will help keep students on track as you move from lesson to lesson. This will highlight where they are in the writing process and what is coming next.

Grammar and Punctuation Posters will help students apply grade level appropriate phonics rules and implement correct punctuation. These skills can be targeted in small groups based on students’ needs.

All posters are available in a mini version for students to use as a resource ring. They can be placed inside their writing folder.

Personal Word Wall folders can be used for keeping track of sight words. I have also included an editable version.


PLANNING STAGE:
During Lesson 2 , students will start planning their narratives. They will fill in their own heart with things they like to do, places they like to go, and people they like to spend time with! Students will use these hearts to help plan their writing.

The unit includes templates to get students started by mapping out their personal narrative with pictures.

Choose the template of your choice from the Level B Writing Templates.

DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES OF WRITING APPROPRIATE FOR FIRST GRADE:
While all students develop differently, most student writing progresses along these developmental writing stages. Therefore, use this chart to determine a student’s current writing level and identify next steps and goals. Keep in mind, it is normal for students to progress through some stages quickly and linger at others. The most important thing is that we meet students where they are and move them forward in the process.

- Pre-Writing Stage:
- Random Scribbling
- Linear Scribbling. Scribbling moves from left to right
- Letter-like Symbols
- Random Letters. Letters do not correspond to sounds.
- Beginning Writing Stage:
- Letter Strings- child can “read” writing.
- Letter Groups
- Labeling Pictures
- Copying Print (Writer can’t read their writing.
- Sound Writing:
- Beginning Sounds
- Beginning and Ending Sounds
- Medial Sounds
- Fluent Writing
- Phrase Writing
- Mixed Sound and Recall Spelling
- Sentence Writing
- All Syllables are Represented
- Paragraph Writing

Conference is the heart of Writer’s Workshop! This is where you will work with your small groups and get a good feel of where they are in their writing. Certainly keep in mind that you’re conferring with them. It’s an opportunity to provide individualized instruction, assess students writing, reinforce skills taught during the mini-lessons.
HIGHLIGHTING STRENGTHS
When you confer with your students, you can identify their strengths and notice what they are doing well. Specifically, these moments are great opportunities to celebrate those moments and help build self-confidence. As a result, students’ writing stamina grows as students learn what they are doing correctly.
IMPROVING WEAKNESSES
Conferencing also gives the chance for students to think about where they can improve their writing. Certainly you can easily make this your teaching point. You may want to pose questions during this time. For example, what else do good writers do? Suggestions could include adding more details. Or they might need to make sure their writing has a beginning, middle and end. Perhaps the student is working on labeling. Whatever the case, conferencing time is a time to set goals for something they can work on to improve their writing so they can become even better writers.
SCAFFOLDING
In light of the vigorous process, I have included Wordless Picture Books to help make this process more effective! Use the Wordless Picture Books to address specific writing goals with each group of students. Some may be working on labeling. Some might work on detailed pictures. By the end of the year, you will see students progress in the Developmental Stages of Writing and move onto write complete paragrahs and stories.

Laminate the Wordless Picture Books and use them model what good writing looks like while meeting with your small groups.
Editing also plays an important role in the writing process. Students will both self-edit and have a peer editing their work. These grade appropriate editing skills will focus on the basics: writing their name, telling a story with a beginning, middle and end, including detailed pictures, and proper spacing. Each unit will focus on specific goals when editing. These teaching goals will be geared towards the writing unit.

Rubrics provide a structured way to measure student writing ability. Use these rubrics to grade pre-unit on demands, post-unit on demands, and final writing pieces as needed. Most teachers find that grading all three writing pieces is not necessary.
Conveniently, there are several options of rubrics provided so you can select the rubric(s) that best fits your needs.

PUBLISHING PARTY :

Now it’s time for students to share their writing in Lesson 22 ! This is such an important component to Writer’s Workshop, especially in First Grade! Finally, the time has come to have a Publishing Party! Students have worked hard to complete 2 personal narratives, a perfect reason to celebrate their accomplishments!
Publishing parties look different in each room. The main thing is that each student gets a chance to share their work! For a small class, you could have students share one at a time. On the other hand, for a larger class you could have students share in small groups or sit at their desks while guests rotate around and see all of the books.
PLAN AHEAD:
Mark your publishing party on your class calendar at the beginning of the unit to help your students get excited. Additionally, during revision and publishing days remind your students that they are authors and an audience is coming to hear their stories!
The main goal of a publishing party is for students to celebrate and share their accomplishments as a writer . A variety of party supplies and props are provided including crowns, compliment pages, signs, party invitations, an “I’m an Author” banner and name tags. Use these to make your party something your students and families look forward to each unit. Let’s get this party started!

I hope this helps you with teaching first grade writing!
Click Here to see the Kindergarten Writing Curriculum!

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Reader Interactions
September 2, 2020 at 3:08 am
Hi do you have the 1 st grade writing curriculum in Spanish?
September 2, 2020 at 4:30 am
This is so cute! I love the charts and ideas. Do you have something like this for Kindergarten?
November 13, 2021 at 4:01 pm
Hello I just purchased this wonderful product for my first graders. I want to print and laminate the clothes pin clip images but I’m a bit confused, because they do not exactly match with the writing process poster images. Could you please guide me? I appreciate it Thanks.
September 18, 2022 at 12:00 pm
Thank you for making this wonderful material so teaching feels easier 🙂 I just wanted to tell you I purchased the writing material unit 1 and download the file but when I opened it, it says the archive is either in unknown or damage. I’ll try many times to download again but still I can’t open it 🙁
can you pls help me with this? thank you in advanced and God bless you!
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First Grade Writing: Free Downloads
Looking for something super simple for your first grade writing centers? Download these FREE seasonal writing templates for your writing center!

These fun writing topper templates are a great way to offer differentiation and interest in your writing centers!
I created a set to use through the school year for seasonal topics.
They are free to download and try with your students!
TEACHER PREP DIRECTIONS:
These centers require very little prep! Just copy the topper and writing template you’ve chosen for each student. Students will need crayons, scissors and a glue stick to assemble. That’s it!
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Students just color, cut out, and glue the cute topper above their writing templates to make an adorable art display. I will be adding new toppers as I make them, and they are all free to download and use right away with your students. Enjoy!
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The Brown Bag Teacher
Teach the Children. Love the Children. Change the World.
August 29, 2015
Scaffolding Beginning Writers
Questions you will get when scaffolding beginning writers, how do i write in a journal.
- Open to the closest empty page
- Date in the upper right-hand corner
- Picture on the bottom or top (please decide before writing)
- Your letters should fit on two lines. Lowercase letters fit below the first line.
- Leave a 1-line space between your writing
How Do I Spell???
On Day 3, our mini-lesson is all about the chorus on “I don’t know how to spell. How do you spell? What letter comes next?” Give into these demands and your writing conferences turn into a Spelling Bee instead of a conversation.
In front of the whole class I model writing a narrative by stretching out words. Then, I underline words I am unsure of. I teach my students that an underline means – “Hey Ms. W. I tried really hard to stretch out this word, but I still don’t think it’s right.” If it is a sight word, a sound is obviously missing, or a phonics pattern we’re learning, I’ll ask students about it. If not, I leave it for now. Underlining is a sanity saver!
One of the most daunting parts of writing is the forgotten word. I love when students read their writing to me, only to realize they left out the word “Phil”. From the very beginning, I teach my students to insert ‘carrots’ (this little friend added some arrow pizzaz) to indicate words need to be added. For long sentences or details that are added, I teach students to use an astrik and add it at the bottom of their paper. It keeps us from panicking and it reminds students they should be rereading their work.
How Do I Make Writing ‘Real’?
Real-world experiences matter when writing. They provide students with the confidence to write, the context for why we are writing, and a scaffold for how to start.
How Do I Use a Sentence Stem?
How do i assess my writing.
With writing journals, I do struggle with a way to evaluate and encourage students to add more details. This week one of our mini-lessons was all about adding details to our illustrations and writings. I had 4 pre-written/pre-illustrated versions of the same story. Students helped me to rate the writings (1-4 stars). We talked about what questions we had as we read the stories, what was missing from the illustrations, and which story we would rather read. Then, we went back to our seats and looked at some of our old writings from the first 2 weeks of school. Additionally, We went back, adding details to our writings and our illustrations to make their 3 and 4 star works of art! It was a simple mini-lesson, that we’ll reference often. (You can snag these sentences and writing paper for here free or snag it as a part of my Beginning of the Year writing bundle here.)
How Do I Share My Writing?
In these beginning weeks of writing, I also explicitly teach my students how to share their writing and give feedback to their friends. We save the last 7-8 minutes of our writing block for sharing. This is the biggest motivator for my kids; they LOVE sharing their writing. Typically 4-5 students share each afternoon, so every child has the opportunity to share each week. This is so much easier to do once you have a positive relationship with students.
Our sharing routine looks like this –
- Encouragement/Building Community Teacher : “I choose __________.” (in a sing-song voice) Students: “Let’s go __________!” (in a sing-song voice that matches mine)
- Sharing the Work: The student puts his/her work under the document camera so it projects on the screen, and wears the microphone to share.
- Specific Feedback : Then, the friend who just read his/her work chooses 2 friends from the class to give a specific compliment (“I love how you told me ___________.” “You did a great job of _______________.” “I really liked how you _________________.”
- Class Cheer: The presenter may then choose a class cheer to receive. We use Kagan Cheers and love them. Our favorites? Trucker, roller coaster, seal of approval. 🙂
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Reader Interactions

August 29, 2015 at 2:04 pm
I would love to use a student microphone. I can only imagine how much they must love speaking into it. What kind do you use?
Mona First Grade Schoolhouse

October 17, 2021 at 10:28 pm
I am a first year first grade teacher. I have struggled with writer’s workshop. Out of the 12 students I have, only 4 of them can write independently. The rest struggle with Spelling words which translates to having a hard time with making sentences. I have been working really hard with them on sight words and sounding out words, but they are still struggling, I am trying to figure out what to do. I really like this blog post. You have so many great ideas on how to help them and you! I will definitely try some of these and see what happens.

July 5, 2022 at 11:28 am
I have a tiny karaoke machine I bought off Facebook marketplace!
August 29, 2015 at 3:36 pm
I use the document camera as well but would love to add the microphone. Can you share what kind and where you found it?
August 29, 2015 at 7:27 pm
I would love to see how you launch writer's workshop.
August 30, 2015 at 2:08 pm
I really enjoyed this clear and concise post. Thanks.
August 30, 2015 at 9:14 pm
I would love to hear how you launch writer's workshop….this is great!!
August 31, 2015 at 10:32 pm
Great post, great ideas. Thank-you for sharing!
September 6, 2015 at 11:17 pm
I love your blog! I began using Writer's Workshop last year and what a difference it made in my kids' writing! I used the book No More I'm Done by Jennifer Jacobson to help develop my lessons. Good luck with your writing workshop this year and I'm looking forward to hearing more about it!
September 20, 2015 at 2:23 am
Loved reading this, and you share so many great ideas and strategies. Love Writing Workshop. Thank you!
October 25, 2015 at 5:44 am
March 21, 2016 at 12:43 pm
I am first grade student and many time i can't write beautiful and this article give me good idea how to improve your writing thanks for share it writing cover letters .
May 2, 2016 at 12:40 am
I love your ideas for Writer's Workshop. Hopefully I can cram in a lot of them at the beginning of the year next year before we're required to use our Series.

September 10, 2018 at 5:49 pm
I love all of your ideas for writer’s workshop!

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October 10, 2021 at 4:33 pm
Any suggestions for kiddos who are brand new to the country? I am struggling for way to support the 3 kiddos who and 2nd language speakers during writing time.

April 24, 2022 at 11:49 am
Somewhere on the internet, I read about giving feedback called “Stars and Wishes.” After writers shared their piece under the doc camera, they would ask 2 students to give them a star (compliment, like good finger spacing, neat handwirting, using punctuation, etc.) and a wish. A wish is something that they would like the writer to do differently the next time. I started using this in 2nd grade and the engagement tripled, espeically during that last hour of the day when keeping their attention is a huge task.

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Writer's Workshop for 1st Grade: 20(+) lessons to help you get started!

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Poetry Unit for Writer's Workshop: First and Second Grade

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Also included in: First Grade Writing Bundle Kindergarten Activities Writer's Workshop Curriculum

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Elementary Assessments
51 Great Opinion Writing Prompts for 1st Grade Students
Collect information about first grade students’ preferences and beliefs using these quality opinion writing prompts for 1st graders.
These writing prompts showcase students’ writing skills, encourage expression of thought, activate critical thinking, and boost writing confidence.
What’s more, these opinion writing prompts for 1st grade prevent writer’s block resulting in students producing great work faster.
So be sure to include in your writer’s workshop lesson plans this week a few of these fantastic opinion writing prompts for 1st grade writers.
Opinion Writing Prompts for 1st Grade
Include these opinion writing prompts for 1st grade into your instruction so that students will be motivated to share their points of view.
1. In your opinion, what rewards should be added to the list of class rewards?
2. In your opinion, at what age should students have a cell phone?
3. Why is daily exercise important?
4. Should students be required to wear school uniforms every day?
5. What nonfiction book should all 1st grade students be encouraged to read and why?
6. Between Halloween and Christmas, which holiday is best? Explain your answer.
7. Convince your parents to give you a weekly allowance for good grades.
8. Should first graders be required to learn a second language in school? Why?
9. In your opinion, how can the playground be improved?
10. Convince the teacher to share your favorite book with the class.
11. Do you agree that children spend too much time on technological devices? State your opinion.
12. Persuade your mom or dad to take you to a place you’ve been wanting to visit.
13. Should bubble gum chewing during class time be a classroom prize? Why or why not?
14. You want a pet, but your parents think you are not responsible enough. Give reasons to convince your parents why you’re capable of caring for a pet.
15. In your opinion, what are the best ways to celebrate spirit week?
Related Content:
7 Opinion Writing Graphic Organizers
16. Do you feel that first graders are responsible enough to use cell phones in the classroom?
17. Persuade your parents to let you have your favorite food right before bedtime.
18. Should art, music, and P.E be eliminated so that more time is spent on reading, writing, and math? State your opinion.
19. Your teacher would like suggestions for the next field trip. Where do you think the class should go and why?
20. Should homework be eliminated?
21. What is one school rule that you think should be changed? Why do you feel this way?
22. The school cafeteria wants your opinion regarding the new menu items that will be offered next month. Which food options would you like added and why?
23. In your opinion, should children be allowed to consume junk food regularly? Why or why not?
24. What characteristics do you think makes a great friend?
25. In your opinion, what’s the best thing about being in first grade?

26. Which season is best for doing outdoor activities and sports? Explain.
27. Do you believe that children should be required to do chores at home? Why or why not?
28. In your point of view, does watching too much television rot the mind?
29. Does your teacher give too much homework, too little homework, or just enough? Explain your thinking.
30. Some people think recycling is a waste of time. Do you feel this way? Share your opinion.
31. In your opinion, what is one book every first grader should read? Why?
32. What is the best way to improve one’s grades fast? Share two strategies for success.
33. From your perspective, how does responding to opinion writing prompts for 1st grade develop writing skills?
34. Convince your teacher to assign you your favorite classroom job .
35. Which teacher should win Teacher of the Year? Why do you think this?
36. How do you feel about the school week being shortened to four days? Give your opinion.
37. What is nice about the town or city you live in?
38. Should schools sell junk food to students after school? Why or why not?
39. Which items in your desk are the most important for learning? State your opinion.
40. Pretend that your grade level won a prize for outstanding behavior. What privilege would you like for first graders to receive for displaying good conduct?
41. In your opinion, should students have the right to choose their teachers? Why or why not?
42. Should first graders be allowed to watch violent movies or TV shows? Why or why not?
43. What’s the most important school supply in your desk? Why?
44. Do you prefer virtual or in-person learning? Which do you think is best for your learning style?
45. In your opinion, is an apartment or a house better to live in? Explain.
46. Why do you think brain breaks should be included into each lesson? Tell your opinion.
47. What is your opinion about the school year being extended into the summer?
48. Should students have recess every day, even if the weather is bad?
49. Would you rather walk or bike to school each day and why?
50. Should teachers require first graders to read for at least 15 minutes each night for homework? Why or why not?
51. What is the best school subject? Why do you think this?
Final Thoughts: First Grade Opinion Writing Prompts
Now you have a quality collection of free opinion writing prompts for 1st grade students to use during writer’s workshop.
Not only do these first grade opinion writing prompts improve writing skills, but they also instill a love for writing and sharing one’s point of view.
For support, teach students how to respond well to these prompts .
If you liked these opinion writing prompts for 1st graders, you may be interested in … 500+ writing prompts for first grade .

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Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing (2016), Grade 1
Without trade pack.
By Lucy Calkins , Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, Columbia University , Abby Oxenhorn Smith , Rachel Rothman-Perkins , Kristine Mraz , Barbara Golub , Celena Dangler Larkey , Elizabeth Franco , Christine Holley , Mary Ehrenworth , Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, Columbia University
These units are written for first graders who have just begun tapping into their powers as readers and writers. Children begin in the first unit by exploring narrative writing, turning everyday events into well-structured stories. In Unit 2, kids write “how-to-teach” nonfiction texts, followed by Unit 3, in which they write persuasive reviews. In the final unit, children will grow from writing scenes to writing an entire fiction series.
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About the Grade 1 Units
The first-grade units are written for children who are just tapping into their burgeoning powers as readers as well as writers, and believe they can do anything. Students begin with the always-popular unit Small Moments: Writing with Focus, Detail, and Dialogue . In this unit students take the everyday events of their young lives and make them into focused, well-structured stories, then they learn to breathe life into the characters by making them talk, think, and interact. In Unit 2, Nonfiction Chapter Books , students enter the world of informational writing as they combine pictures and charts with domain-specific vocabulary and craft moves to create engaging teaching texts. In Unit 3, Writing Reviews , students create persuasive reviews of all sorts—pizza restaurant reviews, TV show reviews, ice cream flavor reviews, and finally book reviews that hook the reader, clearly express the writer’s opinion, and bolster their argument in convincing ways. In From Scenes to Series: Writing Fiction , the final unit of the Grade 1 series, students learn to “show, not tell” and use action, dialogue, and feelings to create a whole series of fiction books modeled after Henry and Mudge.
About the Series
Lucy Calkins and her colleagues have drawn on their work from more than three decades to develop a state-of-the-art curriculum in writing to:
- help you teach opinion, information, and narrative writing with increasing complexity
- foster high-level thinking, including regular chances to synthesize, analyze, and critique
- develop and refine strategies for content-area writing
- support greater independence and fluency
- conduct strategic performance assessments to help monitor students’ progress and differentiate instruction
- provide a ladder of exemplar texts that model writing progressions across grades.
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Purchase Recommendations and Options
Purchase Recommendation: Choose the Grade 1 Units of Study with Trade Book Pack if your library does not already include the 3 mentor texts referenced in the Unit. If you do not need the trade book pack, purchase the Grade 1 Units of Study without Trade Book Pack (as shown here).
Save when you purchase related cost-saving bundles, with or without trade book packs:
- Elementary Series Bundle (K-5) (with trade book packs)
- Elementary Series Bundle (K-5) (without trade book packs)
- Middle School Units of Study series (grades 6-8)
Select the Grade-Level Units you need most, available both with and without the trade book packs:
With trade book packs: Kindergarten / Grade 1 / Grade 2 / Grade 3 / Grade 4 / Grade 5
Without trade book packs: Kindergarten / Grade 1 / Grade 2 / Grade 3 / Grade 4 / Grade 5 / Grade 6 / Grade 7 / Grade 8
To learn more about the Units of Study in Opinion/Argument, Information, and Narrative Writing series, visit UnitsofStudy.com
Four Units of Study
- organized around the three types of writing mandated by the Common Core: opinion/argument, information, and narrative writing
- lay out 4-5 weeks of instruction (16-18 sessions) in each unit
- include all of the teaching points, minilessons, conferences, and small-group work needed to teach a comprehensive workshop curriculum
- model Lucy and her colleagues’ carefully crafted teaching moves and language
A Guide to the Writing Workshop, Primary Grades
(The Guide , now available for separate purchase, can be an essential manual for principals, curriculum coordinators, coaches, and others who are supporting implementation of Units of Study —or for anyone wanting to learn more about writing workshop).
If… Then… Curriculum
- offers additional units of study
- presents if/then conferring scenarios that support targeted instruction and differentiation
Writing Pathways: Performance Assessments and Learning Progressions
- organized around a grades K-5 learning progression across opinion, information, and narrative writing
- includes performance assessments, student checklists, rubrics, and leveled writing exemplars
- also available in a K–8 edition for separate purchase : ideal for principals, curriculum coordinators, coaches, and other who are supporting teachers as they implement Units of Study
Large-Format Anchor Chart Sticky Notes
- Large-format preprinted Anchor-Chart Sticky Notes with illustrated teaching points help teachers create and evolve anchor charts across each unit
Online Resources
- Video Orientations
- Spanish translations of important student and teacher resources—includes Spanish translations of writing samples to use with Writing Pathways, student checklists, Anchor Chart Sticky Notes, and numerous other classroom materials such as daily charts and folders. Also available are lists of Spanish-language mentor texts
- Downloadable and printable files for the anchor charts, figures, student exemplars, homework assignments, and checklists in every session
- Digital files for resources provided in Writing Pathways, including Writing Progressions, On-Demand Writing Prompts, Rubrics, and Student Writing Samples
- Download a Grade-level Sampler
- Download a Series Overview
Companion Resources
Mentor Texts for Teachers:
The Grade 1 Trade Pack includes three age-appropriate trade books that are used in the units to model effective writing techniques, encourage students to read as writers, and provide background knowledge.
- Night of the Veggie Monster by George McClements
- Sharks! (National Geographic Reader) by Anne Schreiber
- Henry and Mudge and the Happy Cat by Cynthia Rylant
Independent Reading for Students:
The following TCRWP Classroom Libraries shelf was curated to specifically align with the First Grade Units of Study.
- Series Books
Writing Pathways: Performance Assessments and Learning Progressions (included with each grade-level bundle) is also available in a K–8 edition for separate purchase: ideal for principals, curriculum coordinators, coaches, and other who are supporting teachers as they implement Units of Study
- View Now! Units of Study for Teaching Writing Video Orientations , Grades K-8
- Download a Study Guide
Related PD Services
Tcrwp professional development.
- Invite Kristine Mraz, Consulting Author to speak at your school, district, or conference through Heinemann Speakers.
Also in this series

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IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
The Four Steps of the Writing Process: Plan Sketch Write Details You can read a more in-depth explanation here: Teaching the Writing Process How to Prep for Writer's Workshop Before school even starts, here are a few decisions you need to make about how you want to spend your writing time with your students.
Starting Writer's Workshop in First Grade! August 30, 2014 This past week we launched our writer's workshop lessons! I use my writer's workshop units throughout the year, but before we dive into small moments we talk about what Writer's Workshop looks like in our first grade classroom.
A Beginner's Guide to Writing Workshop in Kindergarten & First Grade In terms of both support and resources, writing seems to take a back seat to reading in many districts. Some teachers are given curriculum that's either overwhelming, not developmentally appropriate or nothing at all.
First Grade Writing Workshop Units for the Year by Susan Jones 4.9 (470) $72.74 $59.99 Bundle This first grade writer's workshop bundle is where you can find ALL the first grade writing units you will need for the entire year (and then some)!If you are a new teacher or a teacher looking to revamp their writing block, this is the unit for you!
First Grade Writing Workshop Curriculum Bundle by Learning At The Primary Pond - Alison 4.9 (2.1k) $66.50 $49.75 Bundle This yearlong bundle of narrative, opinion, and informational writing lessons for first grade makes it easy to plan your writing instruction!
Writing Workshop > Overview | LEARN - Children's Literacy Initiative SearchGo Areas of Literacy ALI Overview Phonological Awareness Phonics Fluency Comprehension Vocabulary Login Menu Areas of Literacy ALI Overview Phonological Awareness Phonics Fluency Comprehension
Writer's Workshop in kindergarten and first grade classrooms is one of the most powerful components. In Writing Workshop in kindergarten and first grade, students are encoding words that come from their thoughts and feelings, which is a much easier skill than decoding. Successful writers become successful readers! So, how do you get started?
I mean that launching your writing workshop in first or second grade can be so much fun (and not to mention much easier than launching it in Kinder!) because most of your kids come to you knowing what writing is. You can begin showing them - fairly quickly - how to share their stories and express themselves through writing.
Writing Workshop - Mrs. Fargo's First Grade Launching Writing Workshop with Personal Narratives " Authors write about what they know" We begin our journey as first grade authors with this as our mantra. Heart maps help children look into their hearts to find stories they can write.
First graders are tasked with improving their written vocabularies, writing more detailed sentences, and crafting short narratives. Our first grade writing worksheets encourage your child to build upon her literacy foundation with writing prompts, sentence completion practice, story maps, and more.
In our first grade classroom, we begin with expository All About writing but we talk about what Writer's Workshop looks like throughout the unit. We review expectations, procedures, and practice getting into the writing routine and building stamina as part of this unit.
Launch your first grade writing workshop with these writing lessons, printable posters and materials, assessments, and rubrics! This unit has everything you need to get your first graders started on writing at the beginning of the school year, even if their writing abilities are limited.
These Learn to Write books by Rozanne Lanczak Williams are amazing for Writer's Workshop mini lessons! We start with My Picture Story. You can find it here on Amazon ! (affiliate link) At the beginning of writing in First Grade, we use the paper show; picture top and writing bottom. We encourage kiddos to focus a lot on their picture.
First Grade Writing Workshop Curriculum Bundle by Learning At The Primary Pond - Alison 4.9 (2.2k) $66.50 $49.75 Bundle This yearlong bundle of narrative, opinion, and informational writing lessons for first grade makes it easy to plan your writing instruction!
The Guide to the Writing Workshop, first introduced as a part of the Units of Study in Opinion, Information, and Narrative Writing, is now available for separate purchase.The Guide is an essential manual for principals, curriculum coordinators, coaches, and others who are supporting implementation of Units of Study—or for anyone wanting to learn more about writing workshop.
FIRST GRADE WRITING CURRICULUM SCOPE: Unit 1: Personal Narrative: Small Moments Unit 2: Non-Realistic Fiction: Showing Not Telling Unit 3: Writing to Teach & Inform: Engaging Teaching Texts Unit 4: Poetry: Exploring Poetry Unit 5: Realistic-Fiction: Developing Characters Unit 6: Opinion & persuasive Writing: Writing Reviews
A great FREE addition to your first grade writing centers! Choose a seasonal topic and download a free set of writing templates! Whimsy Workshop Teaching. Teacher Clip Art, Literary Resources, Classroom Ideas. Social Skills Lessons; ... January 6, 2017 by Whimsy Workshop Teaching.
This lesson is the 1st lesson in Unit 1 Writers Workshop Lauching Small Moments. This lesson alligns with the Lucy Calkins Teacher's College The Writing and Reading Project 1st Grade writers workshop. If you have the Teacher's College Writer's Workshop book 2011-2012. I am in the process of creating a powerpoint for every writing lesson.
4.8. (723) $18.00. $14.40. Bundle. These writing prompts for first grade make differentiation EASY! Each of the 60 first grade writing prompts comes with multiple options for drafting paper (with built-in supports). The writing prompts also include graphic organizers and publishing/final draft paper.
Scaffolding Beginning Writers. We are 14 days into school (woohoo) and I wanted to share some of the ways I'm supporting my very-beginning writers. One of the best parts of 1st grade is seeing the amazing growth students make in 9 short months. They enter writing single sentences (sometimes single words) and leave writing cohesive paragraphs ...
4.8. (118) $20.00. Zip. This resource is a combination of The First 20 Days of Writer's Workshop for 1st Grade and Narrative Writing for 1st Grade. Begin with the first 20 Days and then move into Narrative Writing with your Firsties! There are 152 pages of resources in this one download!
Final Thoughts: First Grade Opinion Writing Prompts. Now you have a quality collection of free opinion writing prompts for 1st grade students to use during writer's workshop. Not only do these first grade opinion writing prompts improve writing skills, but they also instill a love for writing and sharing one's point of view.
Writing Workshop is an interactive approach to teaching writing as students learn and practice the importance of rehearsal, drafting/revising, and editing their pieces of writing (Calkins, 1986; Graves, 1983). This study implemented a mixed methodology design incorporating qualitative and quantitative analysis (Mills, 2007) by administering a pre survey to each child before he/she began the ...
These units are written for first graders who have just begun tapping into their powers as readers and writers. Children begin in the first unit by exploring narrative writing, turning everyday events into well-structured stories. In Unit 2, kids write "how-to-teach" nonfiction texts, followed by Unit 3, in which they write persuasive reviews.
This writing workshop lesson was adapted from the 1st grade UOS Session 12: Partners Work Together to Give Writing Checkups! The 1st graders are getting read...