Writer's Board and The Pirate

I shared with you a few weeks ago how amazing I think the book Of Primary Importance is, I have incorporated some of the ideas into my kindergarten writing lessons the past several weeks and I am starting to see some improvement. 

The first change I made was to give writer’s workshop a separate time away from Daily 5, where everyone is focusing on writing at the same time.   That way I had more time for conferencing about writing with the children.   

We start our writing time by celebrating four authors from our classroom.  In other words, we read stories that the children wrote.  Then I read a story that will help with my mini lesson for the day. 

We have created a Writer’s Board to record what we notice that authors and illustrators do in their books.  We refer to it before we begin to write or when we give positive feedback to our celebrated authors of the day.

I know this Writer's Board is not glamours, however it is right next to my word wall and right behind our gather space each day.  Functional is the word I would use to describe my writer's board.  

This week my mini lessons were about noticing the difference between a pattern story, a non-fiction story, or a story with a character.  

Here is my favorite story of the week. 

The Pirate With No Gold
By: Augie

Once upon a time there was a pirate.

He was sad because he didn't have gold.
(Look at the thinking bubble above the pirate's head.)

Then he found a parrot.

And then the parrot had a chest of gold.

I love this story because it shows that one of my students is moving away from a pattern story.  Hip Hip Hoorray!