Seven Elements of a "Crafted" Writing Lesson
a workshop for teachers presented by Corbett Harrison
When I do demonstration writing lessons in classrooms, observing teachers have occasionally said  to me, "You make it look so easy, Corbett."
I am quick to reply with, "It is easy...if you love the lessons you're teaching." I genuinely love my writing lessons, and the reason I love them is because they are mine. I have either built these lessons brick by brick, or I have adapted someone else's lesson to fit my style of teaching or the needs of my students.
I meet a lot of teachers who don't love any of their writing lessons. The programs and mandates adopted by some schools prescribe lessons and units, and teachers at these schools feel no ownership with lessons of this type. At other schools I work with, I meet teachers who simply have never created a thorough, skill-based writing lesson.
During my years in the classroom, I slowly became a confident writing teacher because I built my own lessons. I only rarely used someone else's pre-packaged product; I crafted my own. At first, many of my lessons weren't all that great, but I became better with time and with multiple revisions. The process of creating and crafting my own lessons--based on the individual needs of my students--is what made me a competent writing teacher.
One of my most popular workshops is where I share my step-by-step process of crafting a quality, skill-based writing lesson. Participants play the role of "student" as I present one or more of my best lessons, we talk about each lesson's strengths, and we examine the seven elements I have come to believe need to be present when teaching writing in a way that makes a difference for every student.
In the one-day version of this workshop, teachers leave with the challenge and the know-how to craft a skill-based writing lesson that they could learn to love teaching. In the two-day version of this workshop, teachers have the time to collaborate and practice planning lessons that take all seven elements into account; lessons are then shared, and feedback is provided.
I usually co-present this workshop with my wife, Dena, who is an amazing middle school teacher. Each time we present the two-day version of this workshop, we each build a new lesson that can be analyzed and critiqued by the workshop's participants. Many of my crafted lessons can be found by clicking here, and many of Dena's can be found by visiting her website.
If you're not in Northern Nevada but are interested in bringing this workshop to your state, district, or school, please contact me at Corbett@CorbettHarrison.com. If you are living in Northern Nevada and want to attend this workshop, contact me for details on my next session using this e-mail address: charrison@washoe.k12.nv.us
Demonstration Lessons with 3rd - 12th Grade Students
A new element I have recently added to my "Seven Elements of a Crafted Writing Lesson" workshop is to--when time allows--schedule an on-site demonstration lesson with a group of thirty students before or after I present my one- or two-day workshop.
Groups of teachers are given the opportunity to watch me work with student writers as I launch a writing lesson. Participating teachers agree to complete the lesson, evaluating themselves on how well they were able to maintain all seven elements as they continued and finished the lesson I have begun. |
Skillfully Using "Mentor Text" in Writing Lessons
a workshop for teachers presented by Corbett Harrison
If you're simply interested in having students complete products for their writing portfolios, then this workshop is not for you. If you have learned that skill-based writing lessons have the most impact on your developing student writers (as I did years ago), then we should get together and share ideas, lessons, and "mentor texts." Luckily, we have created a workshop where this type of sharing can happen.
When planning a true skill-based writing lesson, "mentor text" becomes a critical component. When used well, a mentor text makes its appearance before, during, and after students are asked to write.
We provide skill-based lesson-design workshops for teachers on:
- Using picture books as mentor texts
- Using chapter book excerpts as mentor texts
- Using excerpts from literature as mentor texts
- Using poetry and song lyrics as mentor texts
- Using non-fiction as mentor texts
During our one-day version of this workshop, we can present on one or two of the bullets above. During our two-day workshop, we attempt to thoroughly examine up to three of the bullets above as well as incorporate a self-chosen piece of mentor text into a new writing lesson.
If you're not in Northern Nevada but are interested in bringing this workshop to your state, district, or school, please contact me at Corbett@CorbettHarrison.com. If you are living in Northern Nevada and want to attend this workshop, contact me for details on my next session using this e-mail address: charrison@washoe.k12.nv.us |
Differentiating Instruction for a Writer's Workshop
a workshop for teachers presented by Corbett Harrison
Differentiating Instruction is such a huge topic, and I am fascinated with its enormity. I have committed myself to learn and use new D.I. techniques every year since I became a teacher, and I still don't think I have little more than the tip of the D.I. iceberg in my toolbox. As a lifelong learner, I recognize that D.I. is something I will be continuing to learn about for the rest of my teaching career.
In 2000, I presented my very first 16-hour in-service class on differentiating instruction in a writing classroom. My participants and I examined our practices and discovered that one-size-fits-all is an idea that definitely doesn't belong in a classroom where students are truly learning to write.
Many years and D.I. workshops later, I have gathered and created enough resources to address the following topics:
- Differentiated Instruction and the idea development and organization traits
- Differentiated Instruction and the voice and word choice traits
- Differentiated Instruction and the conventions and sentence fluency traits
- Differentiated Instruction during pre-writing and drafting
- Differentiated Instruction during revision and response
- Differentiated Instruction during editing and publishing
During my one-day version of this workshop, I can present on two or three of the bullets above. During my two-day workshop, we attempt to thoroughly examine five of the bullets above as well as craft our own new tool for differentiating instruction in a writer's workshop.
If you're not in Northern Nevada but are interested in bringing this workshop to your state, district, or school, please contact me at Corbett@CorbettHarrison.com. If you are living in Northern Nevada and want to attend this workshop, contact me for details on my next session using this e-mail address: charrison@washoe.k12.nv.us |
Exit Tickets Across the Curriculum
a writing across the curriculum workshop for teachers
 Exit Tickets are a technique that I have been using for years, and they involve a simple process: at the beginning of a lesson, students are introduced to an inquiry question that they will be expected to answer at lesson's end; the lesson is taught; the students write a thoughtful paragraph--or Exit Ticket--as they leave class; teachers then use the collected Exit Tickets as a quick formative assessment to gauge the need to re-teach a concept or to move on to the next one. It's a simple but effective use of writing, no matter what content is being taught to students.
I am determined to help the teachers I am working with see the value of--what I came to call--Exit Tickets Across the Curriculum. I believe that if every teacher in a middle or high school required just one Exit Ticket per week from every student, and if they taught their students to write better and better Exit Tickets over time, the amount of quality writing students would be doing would increase substantially. I believe students will become better writers and--more importantly--better thinkers, because when you have to write about what you have learned, you are automatically thinking with a deeper piece of your brain. The schools I work with on this topic are seeing a huge difference in better writing...and thinking.
My workshop focuses on three topics: 1) crafting high-quality Exit Ticket questions; 2) choosing a format for Exit Tickets (I present four options) that works for different classrooms; 3) assessing Exit Tickets and responding to the data.
If you're not in Northern Nevada but are interested in bringing this workshop to your state, district, or school, please contact me at Corbett@CorbettHarrison.com. If you are living in Northern Nevada and want to attend this workshop, contact me for details on my next session using this e-mail address: charrison@washoe.k12.nv.us.
You can also inquire about purchasing my presentation materials by visiting My Products Page at this website. |
Improving Narrative & Memoir Writing with 4th-8th Grade
a workshop for teachers presented by Corbett & Dena Harrison
My newest workshop materials are almost ready! Check back soon!
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