Writing Workshop- Day 2

How are Lucy Caulkins' lessons set up?
Yesterday we spent a lot of time discussing how mini lessons look inside the classroom. The problem in my school district is that the lessons that Lucy designed were suppose to last over 60 minutes. The reality at my school is that we only have 45 minutes.

The key to teaching writing is to give students a skill and then give them time to practice the skill. Being able to practice for at least 20 minutes a day is the goal. I know in my classroom, sometimes it is hard to have time for 20 minutes of writing. Sometimes life happens and we may have 15 minutes, 12 minutes or 7.

During the mini lesson it is important to inspire kids to want to write. You need to pump them up for writing and then you need to give them a teaching point for the day. Our district has decided that we are going to make sure our mini lesson only lasts seven to nine minutes. This way we will give students enough time for writing. Let's be honest. Are the students really listening after 10 minutes any way?

Another idea that was talked about was not taking students questions during your mini lesson. I am not sure how this would work out because, my students are always so excited to share their ideas. I think I am going to give this a try this year.