[LIT] Workshop

[dbuchanan at sbo.hampton.k12.va.us]

(I, too, struggle with all the old messages attached to the digest, but I'm trying to remember 
to delete 
everything but my new post when I reply. I think it helps some.)

 I teach in an unusual situation, in that I'm part of a "school within a school," my part being a 
magnet for 
identified gifted within a math/reading magnet school. So, my kids are expected to do more 
and  "more 
rigorous" while also doing what the district mandates. The other language arts classes use an 
anthology written 
"especially for Virginia SOLs" (our state assessment), which is way too easy, even for the 
average kid. SO, I have 
the anthologies on a shelf in my room and pretty much do what I want to do. It hasn't been a 
problem so long 
as the test scores on quarterly benchmarks and yearly Standards of Learning tests are where 
they're expected 
to be. I plan genre studies within my workshop to roughly coincide with the district's pacing 
guides and 
benchmarks genres, but I've found that the kids do well on most anything as long as I keep 
the workshop 
expectations high. My difficulty- among so many!- is the issue of time. I have five classes of 
kids, about 125 
students, for ninety minutes every other day. So, this year I'm going to try to have the kids 
read every class 
meeting just like we write, just for less time- the last 20 min. of the block. I've been reading 
Katy Wood Ray's 
book- The Writing Workshop...._ and I have found a lot of ideas that have helped me revision 
my teaching for 
next year. 

Diane Buchanan
Hampton, VA
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> End of lit Digest, Vol 33, Issue 13
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