Lucy Calkins Writers Workshop Curriculum Guides Kindergarten Writing

The Lucy Calkins writers workshop curriculum, developed at Columbia University, provides an excellent framework for developing young kindergarten writers. They read stories and talk about the components of a story before generating ideas for their own story—for the nonfiction narratives unit, a true story. Once they have put their ideas down, students revisit what they have written by editing and revising their stories and incorporating important aspects of storytelling: who, what, when, and where. Students in KW have spent weeks working on nonfiction narratives, writing about everything from going to weddings and Willy Wonka plays to stories about family and watching their parents buy a car. They are now preparing for their first-ever publishing party, a bagel-and-coffee-style gathering with their parents that will celebrate the stories they have published.

 

“I really love the idea of a publishing party,” says resident teacher Samantha Silvestri. “It models what adults do with writing, and the students are really excited to share the work they have spent weeks producing.” MORE PHOTOS