First of all, I just got back from a wonderful vacation to Beaver Creek, Colorado. The skiing was AMAZING! We had such a blast!
Now onto writing workshop... I stand persuaded (not corrected of course!) by Katie Wood Ray. My last post admonished her ideas about allowing and even encouraging talking among students during the work time. I didn't understand how this could possibly work. Ray writes, "I believe it is best if we do not aim for a 'no-talking' workshop. FIrst of all, we will spend all out time trying to enforce it (GREAT POINT KATIE), and second of all, I don't really think it makes for a healthy working environment." After reading, I realized that although I find any type of noise terribly distracting while writing, doesn't mean all students should be held to such a silent standard.
In chapter 7, Ray gets specific about how a predictable distraction such as talking can be both managed and productive. Woods first suggestion to manage and effectively facilitate talking during writing workshop is a "strong teaching presence." Teachers need to strictly insist that students stay "on-task" during writing workshop...although being "on-task" can look different from student to student. These on-task behaviors may be freewriting, doing writing exercises, reading to support writing, drafting a project, having a peer conference, or even staring off into space. This "strong presence" means making students understand that choosing NOT to work is NOT an option. She also points out that the teacher must use discretion when deciding if a student is on or off-task. Writing workshop should not be an "oppressive place," but rather a place where a healthy working environment is created by human interaction.
Her next suggestion to productively manage talking is to use all of the classroom for the working portion of the workshop. In a crowded environment students might talk because there's 2-3 people sitting basically on top of them - it's natural to talk to someone right next to you! So, spread students around the classroom. If we use the space available in the room, the space itself will swallow up some of sounds of people working (whether it be clicking a pen, turning the pages of a book, or conferencing).
And for students like me, Ray points out that there can be designated quiet zones for those who prefer a more serene working environment.
So, Katie Wood Ray, chapter 7 served it's purpose and showed me the specifics in how this "talking while writing" deal really works. Thanks for saving me from turning into this:
