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Programs and Projects
 Mini-Lessons
for Writers' Workshop
Lil Tompkins,
from the Department of Education at Gallaudet University, explains
that mini-lessons come from the teachers' understanding of how
students learn to write. These ideas begin with whatever enables
them to write a lot and to develop satisfaction, confidence,
and fluency. Then, as the students appear ready, teachers go
on to help them develop sophistication and refinement in their
writing.
Here are just a few of the many mini-lessons that teachers can
work on with students.
- Choosing
topics: Where do we get topics to write about? How do we convert
our personal experience into materials for writing? These are
concerns every beginning writer has. A series of demonstrations
can be done in this area.
- Narrowing
topics: Suppose a child has chosen "dogs" as his topics--is
he going to write everything he knows about dogs? How can he narrow
his topic so that he can write one hard-hitting page about it?
- Beginnings:
Where do you start? How much introducing should you do before
you get on to the interesting part? How do you get readers' attention
right away? Beginnings, or leads, as journalists call them, deserve
several lessons.
- Endings:
How do you stop? What kind of thoughts do you want to leave the
reader with?
- Organization:
This covers many different challenges. What should go first? What
next? What after that?
- Showing,
not telling: A child writes, "The dog was mean." The reader
wants to know "How did she act," or "What did she do to make you
say that he was mean?"
- Grammar
and Editing: Helping to show how to make a sentence, how to
make them put together, and including punctuation, capitalization,
left out words, and the like. Each of these points is best introduced
in a mini-lesson.
Mini-lessons
can be introduced spontaneously, sparked by an issue that emerges
in a teacher's conference with a single student. The teacher may
find an issue in the student's paper—something he or she has
done really well, or is obviously in need of corrections—and
may decided to go over the issue with the whole class. Or the teacher
may decide simply to introduce a lesson, the organization of stories
for example, when it occurs to him or her that the students are
ready for a new challenge.
For more
information about Mini-Lessons, we suggest you read any of the books
below. An asterisk indicates that the title is highly recommended.
* Atwell,
Nancie (1998). In
the Middle: New Understanding About Writing, Reading, and Learning.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann. ISBN 0-86709-374-9.
Clemmons,
Joan, and Laase, Lois (1995). Language
Arts MiniLessons: Step-by-Step Skill-Builders for Your Classroom.
NY: Scholastic. ISBN 0-590-49643-3.
Fiderer,
Adele (1997). 25
Mini-Lessons for Teaching Writing. NY: Scholastic. ISBN
0-590-20940-X.
* Fletcher,
Ralph, and Portalupi, Joann (1998). Craft
Lessons: Teaching Writing K Through 8. York, ME: Stenhouse
Publishers. ISBN 1-5 7110073-3.
* Lane,
Barry (1993). After
the End: Teaching and Learning Creative Revision. Portsmouth,
NH: Heinemann. ISBN 0-435-08714-2.
Lunsford,
Susan (1998). Literature-Based
Mini-Lessons to Teach Writing. NY: Scholastic. ISBN 0-590-43372-5.
Tully,
Marianne (1996). Helping
Students Revise Their Writing. NY: Scholastic. ISBN 0-590-86565-X.
Remember,
most of the mini-lessons are based on what the teachers see in the
students' writing. Most mini-lessons take 5 to 15 minutes daily,
after which students should start writing. These books show some
good examples, and can help you feel comfortable about teaching
mini-lessons in the classroom.
[ Post-it Notes ] [ Writer's
Workshop Program at the Clerc Center ]
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