Writing Workshop in a First Grade Classroom

Writing Workshop was taught for the first time using the Lucy Calkins "Units of Study" curriculum. Opinion writing was the unit that was taught during this study. The purpose of this study was to identify what aspects of this instructional method meet the needs of my students. This study also looked at the motivation levels of these students to determine if their desire or interest in writing increased along with their skill level. This study was conducted in an urban first grade classroom of twenty five students. The sample size was three struggling writers that were native English speakers and did not receive special education services. Interviews were conducted with these students as well as a teacher. It was determined that this program is effective to use in this classroom setting with a slower pace and a more structured writing format for opinion writing. Weekly writing samples were collected, a researchers' journal was kept and all data was coded and organized by themes. The three case study students were able to achieve the standards stated in the Common Core State Standards.