What is a Writing Workshop?

I feel as though there are many teachers who host "writing workshops" in their classrooms without actually following set procedures or really having a philosophy about what they're doing. Katie Wood Ray is the opposite of that. She has thoroughly thought out her philosophy about teaching and especially writing workshop.

Some of her big ideas that I really liked were that writing workshop isn't a time where students sit silently at their desks and scratch away at a notebook doing prewriting, first draft, second draft, peer edit, final draft. Instead it can be a fun time where they can be creative, brainstorm with friends, be comfortable and most importantly write about what they're interested in in the way that works best for them.

This is the scene that I'm used to associating with writing. Lines of desks with students working diligently, quietly. This is also a scene that most students tend to hate. I think that whenever writing workshop becomes something tedious and boring students begin to not like writing at all and then they head down the road of thinking they are a "bad" writer.

The other big problem that I think teachers may have with writing workshop is that they don't believe they have enough time in the day to make room for a considerable amount of time where students can just work freely on writing. Katie Wood Ray says about this,

" There is no such thing as 'more time.' There is only time (no more or less) and we have to decide how we'll use what time there is."

In the same way teachers have to make room in their schedules for quality math and reading instruction the same needs to be said for writing.

I also really liked the metaphor Ray used to compare writer's workshop to lunchtime. I have 100% seen what she's talking about where students write for a little while, get done and then ask questions about what they should be doing now. It makes so much sense to me to relate to the students that writing time is like lunchtime. At lunch time you don't finish eating and then wonder what to do next. You finish eating and then you talk with your friends, you maybe get some ice cream, you relax. With writing time you should have the same idea. You work on your writing, if you finish early you can read over it again, you could consult with a peer, or you can go back and add some ice cream, in the form of more descriptive or beautiful words, but overall you take the WHOLE time for writing.

I'm very interested to read more of our texts and learn more about writing workshops. I can definitely see myself implementing these ideas in my own classroom some day!