Writing
During Writer's Workshop, students are given a mini lesson about a specific skill or topic they are studying. Demonstrations and examples are provided in whole class situations. Then students are given chunks of time to write independently as the teacher confers with students on what they are working on and how they are doing with the application of the lessons they have received.
Sharing what we write is a favorite and important part of writer's workshop. This is a time for students to listen to the ideas and thoughts of their peers. This gives them fresh and broader perspectives and more examples of what they, too, could write and ways to incorporate lessons learned into their own writing.
In fourth grade we work on writing narratives, literary essays, persuasive writing, and an independent research piece.