I shifted this because in my observations of the kids, the expectation of publishing something each Friday is preventing them from developing their work further.
Friday mornings are still focused writing time. The difference is that I will introduce the option of other writing projects and genres, in unit format, during our mini-lessons. In kid language, we will be working on 'making writing stuff,' as Katy Wood Ray puts it in About the Authors.
When enough material is collected for a newspaper, we will publish it. When other writing deadlines and publishing goals are met we will have Author's Teas or Market Days to celebrate the work.
I will encourage the kids to work on their writing during Quiet Times as well to keep continuity.
This is the format:
mini-lesson (5 min, up to 10min when introducing genre or author study)
independent work
during that, one-on-one conferences with each child
author share time
Our first unit has been about the Kinds of Things Writers Make. We have looked at the way many many different books are crafted, and the children have tried out some different genres. Sofia has been teaching about some of her favorite books, which are great springboards for writing!
Next we will be thinking about Where Writers Get their Ideas.
Parents and Friends: Please send me any quotes by writers about where Ideas come from, and any titles or works on this topic - they don't need to be children's authors only! Your help in collecting this material is really appreciated!
