Kindergarten Writing Workshops

Writing workshops—for kindergarteners? Yes, indeed. What starts as telling a story through a picture with a word or two at the beginning of the year evolves into writing full sentences and a multiple-page book to take home at the end of the year. 

“To see their progression is amazing,” shares kindergarten educator Terri Zimmerman. “It is a process. They draw pictures with few words at first because that’s the level for a new kindergartener. They may need help holding a pencil. When I introduce the writer’s workshop, I’m telling them what it is to be a writer, showing them examples of writers. This author does picture books, this author does more informational books, and it’s all writing. They see themselves as writers and illustrators from the beginning. It’s inspiring for them.”

Looking back at pages from August, the words may be sparse and the drawings indistinguishable (this is kindergarten, after all). With writing workshops two to three times a week, students learn how to label a drawing, procedural writing with sequential steps, and informational writing, which starts by choosing to write about a subject they know a lot about (pets, soccer, family). 

The informational writing continues with topics such as insects and animals like owls, bees and wolves, which are introduced in science class. Their drawings at this stage are elaborate pictures where they incorporate a fact from their story. “We model words like “some” and “most,” explains Ms. Zimmerman. “For example, not all owls live in trees, some owls live in burrows. This allows them to share interesting facts and expand on what they’re writing.”

The Lower School established a partnership this year with writing experts and authors Matt Glover and Carl Anderson to help guide the revised writing curriculum and instruction. 

After spending time with the kindergarten educators, Matt recommended reducing the number of units in the curriculum and focusing on teaching one topic at a time. He suggested modeling with mentor texts and pointing out pictures and colors to show the different types of writing and illustrations, which ties the writing to the reading. 

“We point out how there is a beginning, middle and end to a story or how an illustration shows the intricate details of a bee’s wing to make them aware of what makes a good book,” shares Ms. Zimmerman. “The students have options on how they write their own stories and illustrate them. I don’t tell them how to do it, they observe and then make their own choices.”

Conferring with students is similar to the editing process but without the red marks. Teachers ask prompting questions to help the young authors expand their sentences or remind them that sentences begin with capital letters. Ms. Zimmerman explains, “They are at different levels in their development, but the great equalizer is that they all seem to love writing.”

“This was a year of growth for me, too,” shares Ms. Zimmerman. “Having Matt as a mentor and knowing we can ask questions or Zoom with him is beneficial. In years past, teaching writing was more structured. Now, the students are exposed to different techniques and they choose what's right for them as authors. This year, it’s very self-directed. Their ideas are generated from within. The students are formulating their own thoughts. They just get paper and start writing. That’s the biggest switch.”