Wednesday, October 31, 2018

The Writing Workshop



Dear Families,                                                      November 2018

I am writing today to give you a “behind the scenes” look at our new
writing curriculum being implemented in kindergarten through
eighth grade at Stone Bank School.  We are developing writers
that have voice, choice, and applicable skills to communicate in
an ever-changing world.  

We use a curriculum called the Units of Study out of
rooted in the Workshop Model (click on links for more
information).  As we are embarking on this
work, I want to take a moment to communicate to you a tool we use
to measure growth in our writers.  This tool is called a progression
or continuum.  A progression is simply a process that moves a
learner along from one stage to the next.  It shows “behind the
scenes” what a grade really means or rather, what the writer
really does know how to do.  Some learners fall into one grade
level, while others fall all over the place, as many of us do in our
daily lives and professions~we are stellar in some areas, and
less than in others.  We are human! There are two progressions
attached, both for narrative writing.  One is for Pre-K through
sixth grade, and the other is for third through ninth grade.  
Please take some time to look at the descriptors (to the left)
as well as the grade level (across the top).   

You will begin to see some writing coming home, if you have
not already.  Much of this writing is scored on a rubric or progression/continuum.   
Your child will get a final grade for
each piece of final writing, and we encourage you to take a
look at these progressions or rubrics to help you see what
that grade truly means.  

The Units of Study are very rigorous and as we round out
our first quarter, some writers will produce work in areas
that may fall at or above grade level.  They may also produce
writing that will fall below grade level.  Please understand that
we are developing writers, and their identities as writers,
against the very rigorous benchmarks of the Units of Study
and that we value the process of growth more than anything.  
That being said, even if a writer falls below grade level in an
area, as long as that writer is making progress along the
progression, we are moving in the right direction.  One of the
beauties of these units is that they continue to build upon each
other as writers travel through the grades so as we first
implement the units, we are also building skills that will be
honed in years to come.   

It is an exciting time for young writers right now!  They have
many vehicles to express their thoughts, ideas, and opinions
and we aim to help them do so in respectful and appropriate
ways, and to have a strong written, verbal, and social voice in
our world!  Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you should
have any questions!

“Good writing is clear thinking made visible.”
                                      ~William Wheeler, journalist/author

Beth Wartzenluft
262-966-2900 ext. 4050






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