Writing Workshop Architecture Assessment Mentor Texts and Charts Sample Lessons
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At the end of workshop the teacher gathers her students back together on the carpet to share. The share session is sometimes referred to as a “Teaching Share”. This term is helpful because it reminds teachers that the goal of this component, like every component in the workshop structure, is to teach.

See Sample Lessons by Component for video clips of each component of the architecture of a minilesson.

Architecture of Share

 

Partner Share

In a partner share, students get together with their long-term writing partner and share their writing. This type of sharing is important because it provides students with an audience for their work besides the teacher. Often, the teacher will suggest students search for evidence of the writing concept that she taught in that day’s minilesson. She might also ask students to do work which supports an upcoming lesson or builds on a recent lesson.

 

Whole Group Share

In a whole group sharing session, the teacher chooses one or more students to share all or part of their writing with the group. This kind of share is sometimes called the second minilesson. According to Fletcher (SERRRA, 2015), “If we want kids to try out the things we’re teaching in writing, they’ve got to see their friends doing it.” The teacher will want to choose students to share who are implementing something she taught in a recent lesson, or who are trying out a new technique she wants to foster in her classroom. Either way, the goal of the share session is to teach students how to be better writers by showing an example from a peer. The teacher will want to keep track when each student has had the opportunity to share with the group to ensure every child gets lots of chances throughout the year.

 

Class Meeting

Sometimes the teacher decides to end workshop with a group meeting. Class meetings may be used to address a problem the group is having and discuss ways to solve it. They may also be used to extend the work from the day’s minilesson. Sometimes, the teacher will use this time to prepare her students for the work they will need to do in next day’s minilesson or for the writing work they need to do at home.