To support and manage a writing process workshop, teachers should take time to ensure that students understand how the classroom structure and instructional activities work together. It is important to create an atmosphere that allows and encourages students to feel safe taking risks in order to develop a community of writers who support each other and share with each other (the teacher is a part of this community).
The teacher should be sure that
- desks are arranged in clusters or tables are used to accommodate four to six students.
- resources which will assist students as they write (e.g., dictionaries, language study texts, literature as models, and samples of student writing) are provided on a specified shelf.
- the writing process information is displayed on bulletin boards.
- the areas designated for specific activities (e.g., peer conferences, writing and publishing tasks) are set in the classroom.
Of course, the teacher plays an interactive role and builds scaffolds as needed. He/she should model the various writing formats and conventions of the writing process, and provide the needed help as each student is writing. As a member of the community of writers, the teacher also writes and shares his/her writing with the students. For instance, while the students are engaged in pre-writing, the teacher may do her/his writing on a chart for the students to observe. This models the process, as well as the specific format or conventions being used.
