Using the Workshop Approach in the High School English Classroom
Modeling Effective Writing, Reading, and Thinking Strategies for Student Success
Cynthia D. Urbanski
- University of North Carolina, Charlotte, USA
Purchase
eBook
ISBN:
9781483361871
Available from
January 0001
Paperback
ISBN:
9781412925495
Available from
January 0001
Description
Everybody wins when you practice the workshop approach in high school English!
Do you find that preparing for standardized tests interferes with teaching advanced thinking, reading, and writing skills in a meaningful way? Do you want to balance test preparation with more creative activities? Success in school and beyond depends on one's ability to read fluently, write coherently, and think critically. This handbook uses the workshop model for exponentially increasing adolescents' abilities in these three key areas.
This practical guide addresses the daily running and practice of a workshop-based classroom, using research and the author's own experiences to illustrate how to establish a workshop that:
- Fosters lasting learning while reinforcing the skills needed for standardized tests
- Teaches audience and purpose as a vehicle to style and structure
- Provides a supportive and lively environment in which students are comfortable enough to take risks and share original ideas
Try Urbanski's approach to teaching literacy analysis and mentoring student writers, and discover just how rewarding the workshop experience can be!
Contents
Foreword by Lillian Brannon
Foreword by Lillian Brannon
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Author
1. Running and Writing
- The Workshop Culture – A Study of Coaching
- Conclusions and The Mission
2. Who Writes the Rule Book Anyway? Accountability, Tests, and the History of Rhetoric
- A Bit of History
- And What About the Other Parts of My Curriculum?
- Testing and Accountability
- Conclusions
- Suggested Reading
3. Coaching and Teaching By Doing; Modeling Thinking, Writing, and Reading
- A Horror Story in Two Scenes
- Scene I: Sunday Night Back in the Dark Ages
- Scene II: Sunday Night One Week Later
- Modeling; A Simple Concept With Huge Benefits
- Modeling Gives Us Fresh Experiences to Draw From
- Modeling Can Transform Our Classrooms
- Modeling Fosters Authentic Learning
- Modeling Will Supercharge Our Planning Time
- Modeling In Our Classrooms: What Do We Do?
- Modeling Concepts for Writing
- A Lesson in Modeling Writing
- Modeling Concepts for Reading
- A Lesson in Modeling Close Reading and Analysis
- Conclusions: Pulling It All Together and Coming Full Circle
4. Warming Up the Writing Muscles; Two Tools for Invention
- Free Writing
- What Is Free Writing . . . Really?
- Why Does Free Writing Work?
- Application: Helping Our Students Discover the Magic
- A Lesson in Free Writing
- The Last Word on Free Writing
- Daybooks. A Place to Store Free Writing and Thinking
- Conclusions
5. The Practice Field; Building Strength and Confidence in Writing and Literary Analysis
- Types of Practice
- Reader Response and Invention
- In-Class Revision and Drafting
- Types and Progression of Assignments as Practice
- Conclusions
6. Race Day: Evaluation and the Idea of Grammar
- Grammar in Context
- The Bottom Line On Grammar
- A Grammar Lesson
- A Word of Caution
- For Further Ideas
- A Word About Standards
- Watching the Race: Evaluating Student Writing
- Grading Practice Writing Without Eradicating Its Purpose
- Grading Response Journals or Daybooks
- Grading Published Pieces
- Portfolios: Looking at the Whole Season and Student Growth Over Time
- Conclusions
- Suggested Reading
7. Responding as a Spectator: The Writing Conference
- Why Conference Anyway?
- A Trek Through a Conference Log
- Writing Conventions/Skills in Context
- A Fifty-Minute Tutoring Session Translated Into a Ninety-Minute Class
- Basic Behavior in a Writing Conference
- A Close-up Look at a Conference
- Conclusions
8. Becoming Independent; Writing and Literature Groups
- A Scenario: Student Writing as Class Literature
- Student Response to Groups
- How to Make Groups Work
- Model Functional Groups
- Provide Structure and Incentive
- Help Students Find Their Own Structure
- What About the Kid Who Doesn’t Buy Into Group Work?
- Timing
- Writing Groups
- Literature Groups
- Conclusions
- Suggested Reading
Epilogue – Why Teachers Coach
Epilogue – Why Teachers Coach
References
References
Index
Index
Additional materials
Description
Everybody wins when you practice the workshop approach in high school English!
Do you find that preparing for standardized tests interferes with teaching advanced thinking, reading, and writing skills in a meaningful way? Do you want to balance test preparation with more creative activities? Success in school and beyond depends on one's ability to read fluently, write coherently, and think critically. This handbook uses the workshop model for exponentially increasing adolescents' abilities in these three key areas.
This practical guide addresses the daily running and practice of a workshop-based classroom, using research and the author's own experiences to illustrate how to establish a workshop that:
- Fosters lasting learning while reinforcing the skills needed for standardized tests
- Teaches audience and purpose as a vehicle to style and structure
- Provides a supportive and lively environment in which students are comfortable enough to take risks and share original ideas
Try Urbanski's approach to teaching literacy analysis and mentoring student writers, and discover just how rewarding the workshop experience can be!
Contents
Foreword by Lillian Brannon
Foreword by Lillian Brannon
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
About the Author
About the Author
1. Running and Writing
- The Workshop Culture – A Study of Coaching
- Conclusions and The Mission
2. Who Writes the Rule Book Anyway? Accountability, Tests, and the History of Rhetoric
- A Bit of History
- And What About the Other Parts of My Curriculum?
- Testing and Accountability
- Conclusions
- Suggested Reading
3. Coaching and Teaching By Doing; Modeling Thinking, Writing, and Reading
- A Horror Story in Two Scenes
- Scene I: Sunday Night Back in the Dark Ages
- Scene II: Sunday Night One Week Later
- Modeling; A Simple Concept With Huge Benefits
- Modeling Gives Us Fresh Experiences to Draw From
- Modeling Can Transform Our Classrooms
- Modeling Fosters Authentic Learning
- Modeling Will Supercharge Our Planning Time
- Modeling In Our Classrooms: What Do We Do?
- Modeling Concepts for Writing
- A Lesson in Modeling Writing
- Modeling Concepts for Reading
- A Lesson in Modeling Close Reading and Analysis
- Conclusions: Pulling It All Together and Coming Full Circle
4. Warming Up the Writing Muscles; Two Tools for Invention
- Free Writing
- What Is Free Writing . . . Really?
- Why Does Free Writing Work?
- Application: Helping Our Students Discover the Magic
- A Lesson in Free Writing
- The Last Word on Free Writing
- Daybooks. A Place to Store Free Writing and Thinking
- Conclusions
5. The Practice Field; Building Strength and Confidence in Writing and Literary Analysis
- Types of Practice
- Reader Response and Invention
- In-Class Revision and Drafting
- Types and Progression of Assignments as Practice
- Conclusions
6. Race Day: Evaluation and the Idea of Grammar
- Grammar in Context
- The Bottom Line On Grammar
- A Grammar Lesson
- A Word of Caution
- For Further Ideas
- A Word About Standards
- Watching the Race: Evaluating Student Writing
- Grading Practice Writing Without Eradicating Its Purpose
- Grading Response Journals or Daybooks
- Grading Published Pieces
- Portfolios: Looking at the Whole Season and Student Growth Over Time
- Conclusions
- Suggested Reading
7. Responding as a Spectator: The Writing Conference
- Why Conference Anyway?
- A Trek Through a Conference Log
- Writing Conventions/Skills in Context
- A Fifty-Minute Tutoring Session Translated Into a Ninety-Minute Class
- Basic Behavior in a Writing Conference
- A Close-up Look at a Conference
- Conclusions
8. Becoming Independent; Writing and Literature Groups
- A Scenario: Student Writing as Class Literature
- Student Response to Groups
- How to Make Groups Work
- Model Functional Groups
- Provide Structure and Incentive
- Help Students Find Their Own Structure
- What About the Kid Who Doesn’t Buy Into Group Work?
- Timing
- Writing Groups
- Literature Groups
- Conclusions
- Suggested Reading
Epilogue – Why Teachers Coach
Epilogue – Why Teachers Coach
References
References
Index
Index
Additional materials
Reviews
Using the Workshop Approach in the High School English Classroom
Modeling Effective Writing, Reading, and Thinking Strategies for Student Success
October 2005 | 192 pages | Corwin
| Format | Published Date | ISBN | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paperback | 01/02/2026 | 9781412925495 | $37.95 |
| Lifetime | 01/02/2026 | 9781483361871 | $35.00 |
Everybody wins when you practice the workshop approach in high school English!
Do you find that preparing for standardized tests interferes with teaching advanced thinking, reading, and writing skills in a meaningful way? Do you want to balance test preparation with more creative activities? Success in school and beyond depends on one's ability to read fluently, write coherently, and think critically. This handbook uses the workshop model for exponentially increasing adolescents' abilities in these three key areas.
This practical guide addresses the daily running and practice of a workshop-based classroom, using research and the author's own experiences to illustrate how to establish a workshop that:
- Fosters lasting learning while reinforcing the skills needed for standardized tests
- Teaches audience and purpose as a vehicle to style and structure
- Provides a supportive and lively environment in which students are comfortable enough to take risks and share original ideas
Try Urbanski's approach to teaching literacy analysis and mentoring student writers, and discover just how rewarding the workshop experience can be!
Table Of Contents:
- Foreword by Lillian Brannon
- Acknowledgments
- About the Author
- 1. Running and Writing
- The Workshop Culture – A Study of Coaching
- Conclusions and The Mission
- 2. Who Writes the Rule Book Anyway? Accountability, Tests, and the History of Rhetoric
- A Bit of History
- And What About the Other Parts of My Curriculum?
- Testing and Accountability
- Conclusions
- Suggested Reading
- 3. Coaching and Teaching By Doing; Modeling Thinking, Writing, and Reading
- A Horror Story in Two Scenes
- Scene I: Sunday Night Back in the Dark Ages
- Scene II: Sunday Night One Week Later
- Modeling; A Simple Concept With Huge Benefits
- Modeling Gives Us Fresh Experiences to Draw From
- Modeling Can Transform Our Classrooms
- Modeling Fosters Authentic Learning
- Modeling Will Supercharge Our Planning Time
- Modeling In Our Classrooms: What Do We Do?
- Modeling Concepts for Writing
- A Lesson in Modeling Writing
- Modeling Concepts for Reading
- A Lesson in Modeling Close Reading and Analysis
- Conclusions: Pulling It All Together and Coming Full Circle
- 4. Warming Up the Writing Muscles; Two Tools for Invention
- Free Writing
- What Is Free Writing . . . Really?
- Why Does Free Writing Work?
- Application: Helping Our Students Discover the Magic
- A Lesson in Free Writing
- The Last Word on Free Writing
- Daybooks. A Place to Store Free Writing and Thinking
- Conclusions
- 5. The Practice Field; Building Strength and Confidence in Writing and Literary Analysis
- Types of Practice
- Reader Response and Invention
- In-Class Revision and Drafting
- Types and Progression of Assignments as Practice
- Conclusions
- 6. Race Day: Evaluation and the Idea of Grammar
- Grammar in Context
- The Bottom Line On Grammar
- A Grammar Lesson
- A Word of Caution
- For Further Ideas
- A Word About Standards
- Watching the Race: Evaluating Student Writing
- Grading Practice Writing Without Eradicating Its Purpose
- Grading Response Journals or Daybooks
- Grading Published Pieces
- Portfolios: Looking at the Whole Season and Student Growth Over Time
- Conclusions
- Suggested Reading
- 7. Responding as a Spectator: The Writing Conference
- Why Conference Anyway?
- A Trek Through a Conference Log
- Writing Conventions/Skills in Context
- A Fifty-Minute Tutoring Session Translated Into a Ninety-Minute Class
- Basic Behavior in a Writing Conference
- A Close-up Look at a Conference
- Conclusions
- 8. Becoming Independent; Writing and Literature Groups
- A Scenario: Student Writing as Class Literature
- Student Response to Groups
- How to Make Groups Work
- Model Functional Groups
- Provide Structure and Incentive
- Help Students Find Their Own Structure
- What About the Kid Who Doesn’t Buy Into Group Work?
- Timing
- Writing Groups
- Literature Groups
- Conclusions
- Suggested Reading
- Epilogue – Why Teachers Coach
- References
- Index
Recent Product Reviews:
"It is possible to balance test preparation with advanced thinking, reading, and writing skills. This book shows you how."
Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, May 2006
"Drawing from her experience as a coach, the author demonstrates the importance of modeling in the classroom by reading and writing alongside her students, taking risks, and building a strong community of learners in the process. This book will inspire good English teachers to become great literacy coaches."
Robin Boswell, Middle School Language Arts Instructor, Concord Middle School, MI
"Both new and veteran English teachers will learn new strategies that will enrich their students' lives while greatly improving their writing clarity, voice and precision."
Charles M. Longbottom, International Baccalaureate Program Coordinator, North Mecklenburg High School, Huntersville, NC
"This book offers motivation and inspiration for preservice and novice English teachers and provides reassurance and encouragement for the veteran teachers who feel burdened by the standardization of education. It takes into account the high-stakes accountability of our current environment and documents results from research based practices. The examples and lessons reassure us that effective teaching does not have to give way to 'teaching to the test'."
Nelda R. Cockman, Clinical Assistant Professor, College of Education, University of North Carolina, Charlotte