Transcript Session # 7 and 8

Writer’s Workshop
Information - Session # 7 and 8
Connection Stop Writing Like Trash Compactors
During a visit to the Teachers College Reading and
Writing Project, a Pulitzer Prize winning author met
with 20 people who were writing books. After the
conference he was asked, “What’s the biggest
problem that you saw?”. And he responded, “They are
writing like trash compactors.”
Connection Stop Writing Like Trash Compactors
Details make all the difference. One
of the best ways to help people
imagine what you are saying is to
write with detail.
Mini Lesson –
Write Informational Text Well
• Build a logical structure, so the progression from one
part to the next makes sense.
• Write with a variety of specific, concrete information.
Elaborate with details to bring the text to life.
• Glue the bits of information and discussion together
with transition words or phrases.
• Write with sentence variety.
Mini Lesson –
Write Informational Text Well
• Write with a variety of specific, concrete information. Elaborate with details to bring the text to life.
It has been said that “The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man” (Unknown).
Guyana could be this place.
Because it has a close proximity to the equator with warm and humid weather, 80% of Guyana’s land area is covered by the
rainforest. It is home to Kaieteur Falls, which is the highest drop of water to the ground in the world.
Even though Guyana is a free country today, they did not always have control to rule themselves. In fact, they only achieved
their independence from Britain in 1966. As a result, they are a part of an organization of former British colonies called the
Commonwealth of Nations, which promotes and encourages economic cooperation, democracies, and civil rights. Guyana is a republic, and it
has a president and an appointed prime minister that work together to run the country.
While Guyana might seem strong given its democratic government, this country is struggling economically. According to
www.CIA.gov, Guyana’s per capita GDP is $6,900 compared to the United States’ $54,800. Specifically, this means that most Guyanese
only make enough to cover their basic needs; they don’t have extra money for proper health care, education, or the occasional luxury item.
What money their country does make comes from their main exports of sugar and rice.
In spite of their struggling economy, this country is full of culture. Since they have an English background, they speak an
English dialect called Creolese, they mostly practice Christianity, and they enjoy playing cricket, which is a game similar to baseball that
originated in England. One of their special holidays takes place on February 23 and is called Mashramani or “Republic Day”. A popular dish
is metemgee (meat and fish cooked with coconut milk, yams, and onions). Their literacy rate is 85%, which has actually gone down over the
last few years, and this means there is a good portion of the population over the age of 15 that cannot read or write. A connection can be
made between the lower literacy rate and their struggling economy.
In a place where nature has not been touched too much, Guyana maintains a democratic lifestyle that exemplifies their culture
in spite of a weak economy.
Active Engagement: What are some details that bring this to life? Discuss with your buddy.
Mini Lesson –
Write Informational Text Well
• Glue the bits of information and discussion together with transition words or phrases.
It has been said that “The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man” (Unknown).
Guyana could be this place.
Because it has a close proximity to the equator with warm and humid weather, 80% of Guyana’s land area is covered by the
rainforest. It is home to Kaieteur Falls, which is the highest drop of water to the ground in the world.
Even though Guyana is a free country today, they did not always have control to rule themselves. In fact, they only achieved
their independence from Britain in 1966. As a result, they are a part of an organization of former British colonies called the
Commonwealth of Nations, which promotes and encourages economic cooperation, democracies, and civil rights. Guyana is a republic, and
it has a president and an appointed prime minister that work together to run the country.
While Guyana might seem strong given its democratic government, this country is struggling economically. According to
www.CIA.gov, Guyana’s per capita GDP is $6,900 compared to the United States’ $54,800. Specifically, this means that most Guyanese
only make enough to cover their basic needs; they don’t have extra money for proper health care, education, or the occasional luxury
item. What money their country does make comes from their main exports of sugar and rice.
In spite of their struggling economy, this country is full of culture. Since they have an English background, they speak an
English dialect called Creolese, they mostly practice Christianity, and they enjoy playing cricket, which is a game similar to baseball that
originated in England. One of their special holidays takes place on February 23 and is called Mashramani or “Republic Day”. A popular
dish is metemgee (meat and fish cooked with coconut milk, yams, and onions). Their literacy rate is 85%, which has actually gone down
over the last few years, and this means there is a good portion of the population over the age of 15 that cannot read or write. A
connection can be made between the lower literacy rate and their struggling economy.
In a place where nature has not been touched too much, Guyana maintains a democratic lifestyle that exemplifies their culture
in spite of a weak economy.
Active Engagement: What transition words do you notice? Discuss with your buddy. List them in your notebook.
Look at the rubric for other transitions you might want to use.
Mini Lesson –
Write Informational Text Well
• Write with sentence variety.
It has been said that “The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man”
(Unknown). Guyana could be this place. Because it has a close proximity to the equator with warm and humid weather, 80% of
Guyana’s land area is covered by the rainforest. It is home to Kaieteur Falls, which is the highest drop of water to the ground in
the world.
Even though Guyana is a free country today, they did not always have control to rule themselves. In fact, they only
achieved their independence from Britain in 1966. As a result, they are a part of an organization of former British colonies called
the Commonwealth of Nations, which promotes and encourages economic cooperation, democracies, and civil rights. Guyana is a
republic, and it has a president and an appointed prime minister that work together to run the country.
While Guyana might seem strong given its democratic government, this country is struggling economically. According to
www.CIA.gov, Guyana’s per capita GDP is $6,900 compared to the United States’ $54,800. Specifically, this means that most
Guyanese only make enough to cover their basic needs; they don’t have extra money for proper health care, education, or the
occasional luxury item. What money their country does make comes from their main exports of sugar and rice.
In spite of their struggling economy, this country is full of culture. Since they have an English background, they speak
an English dialect called Creolese, they mostly practice Christianity, and they enjoy playing cricket, which is a game similar to
baseball that originated in England. One of their special holidays takes place on February 23 and is called Mashramani or
“Republic Day”. A popular dish is metemgee (meat and fish cooked with coconut milk, yams, and onions). Their literacy rate is
85%, which has actually gone down over the last few years, and this means there is a good portion of the population over the age
of 15 that cannot read or write. A connection can be made between the lower literacy rate and their struggling economy.
In a place where nature has not been touched too much, Guyana maintains a democratic lifestyle that exemplifies their
culture in spite of a weak economy.
Active Engagement: What do you notice about the sentence structure and complexity? Discuss with your buddy.
Active Writing Time
• Find places to use transitions.
• Make conscious decisions about sentence complexity.
Are you writing a mixture of Simple, Compound,
Complex, and Compound – Complex sentences?
Mid-Workshop Moment –
Punctuation Review
Ways Punctuation Helps Sentences Be Clear
• Colons signal a list or explanation.
• Parentheses provide a place to insert extra information.
• Dashes point toward examples or more information.
• Commas separate items in a list.
Can you add these to add variety to your sentence
structure? Find a place to add at least one of these.
Share
• Meet with your writing partner.
• Look over the rubric.
• Specifically, look at the introduction. Did you interest
the reader with a compelling fact or stat? Were you
clear about what parts of the topic your text would
cover?
Writer’s Workshop Homework
• Continue creating rough drafts of content. Maybe
spend 20 minutes (?) writing.