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Teaching Transition Words in Writer’s Workshop

 Teaching youngsters how to write I think is one of the hardest things about teaching first grade. Second only to…..Valentine’s Day, Halloween and the day before holiday breaks. That’s why today I want to show you how to teach transition words in writer’s workshop.

transition words in writer's workshop

 But….  Every year, right about December when they are “off the wall” and listening to maybe a third of what I’m saying, I start to panic when I see their writing.  “Oh my heavens!  They are never going to make it.”

 

“Oh God, I’ve failed them.”

 

“This is just horrendous.”

 

“Boys and girls, why are there NO punctuation marks on these papers?!!!”

 

“I have NO idea what this kid is even trying to say!”

 

And then January through April happens.

 

And just like that…they really are listening. Their writing becomes neater. Their sentences become longer. The content is more in depth. Their writing has voice.

 

Every year I want to shout from the mountains….”They GOT it!!! They finally got it!

 

But it hasn’t been without effort, on both of our parts.  Writer’s workshop in my class is an important part of our day. 

 

During Writer’s Workshop, students learn how to be writers. They see, hear, touch, experience, and feel writing, and in these primary grades it is here the very basic and foundational steps of writing are taught.

 

Here is a typical Writer’s Workshop lesson in our classroom. 

 

On this day, we are writing a narrative. We review what a narrative is and the purpose of a narrative.

 

Help your Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade classroom or homeschool students better understand transitional words with the anchor charts and ideas at this blog post. With a focus on transition words in writer's workshop, your students are sure to understand the concept after you model your expectations. This can be turned into a great writing mini lesson for any primary classroom! Click through now for all the details. {K, first, second, third grader, balanced literacy}

My school follows a balanced literacy model. We have adopted the Lucy Calkins model for reading and writing so we do a TON of writing about small moments.

 

Every Monday, we write about our weekend. I ALWAYS model in a writing mini-lesson. This wasn’t always the case.

 

When I first started teaching I was afraid to model writing. I thought the students would copy my writing and then it wouldn’t be their own. I’ve learned better now.  Students want to please you and they want to do the right thing. Early writers especially need to know what is expected of them. They need to see the process modeled so they truly know how to do it.  How do you sound out words? How do you leave “finger spaces?” Ohh…..so THAT’S what she means when she keeps saying finger spaces.

 

Model narrative writing for your first and second graders so they can learn the process during writer's workshop. Students should see you sound out words and brainstorm ideas as you write, leaving spaces between words & thinking out loud as you write. Reread the story. Make with green marker all the transition words in the story. Mark with pink, all the words that help to tell the story (who, what, when, where, how) {1st, 2nd grade, balanced literacy, narrative writing}

 

When I am modeling writing, I am writing quickly, getting my ideas down fast (clearly, my handwriting is atrocious).

 

I made mistakes and that’s ok. I just cross them out. I don’t waste a minute when I’m writing out my great ideas.

 

When I’m done, my students and I read it aloud together. Does it make sense? Do I want to make any changes? 

 

For this lesson, we were focusing on using transition words in writer’s workshop.

 

This anchor chart for first & second graders features transition words for narrative writing story order. Students should use transition words in their writing to have a clear beginning, middle, and end to their writing. {1st, 2nd grade, writer's workshop, balanced literacy}

 

After reading this anchor chart together we went through my writing and identified the transitional words with a green marker since the transitional word headers on this anchor chart are green.

We also went back to the purpose of a narrative writing chart and we made sure that I answered all the “telling” parts (who, where, when, etc.) and we identified those with a pink marker (since those words are pink on the anchor chart).

After reviewing what a narrative piece of writing is, watching it in action, and having some identifiable words to use for those tricky parts when the story shifts (beginning, middle, and end), students felt supported and ready to write their own narratives about their weekend.

 

Providing some sharing time at the end of the workshop allows students a time to share their writing and gives students a purpose for their writing.

 

Would you like a St. Patrick’s Day writing prompt for FREE that will help your students use transition words during writer’s workshop? This writing lesson is a favorite of ours!  Imagine that a leprechaun gets into your school. What mischief does he/she cause and…..

how do you catch him/her?

 

Click here to catch Trap and Trap a Leprechaun for FREE!

 

Help your Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, or 3rd grade classroom or homeschool students better understand transitional words with the anchor charts and ideas at this blog post. With a focus on transition words in writer's workshop, your students are sure to understand the concept after you model your expectations. This can be turned into a great writing mini lesson for any primary classroom! {K, first, second, third grader, balanced literacy} Plus there's a FREE St. Patrick's Day writing lesson!

Or this for a great hallway display and leprechaun STEM project:

 

What do you do for during Writer’s Workshop in your classroom?

Julie is a first grade teacher, educational blogger, and Teachers Pay Teachers seller. She has an 11 year old son and 2 stepsons, but her beagle is her favorite. (Shhh! Don’t tell her son!). She hopes to one day have more beagles than kids in the house. 🙂 When she’s not trying to figure out what to buy or where to go for dinner, she enjoys reading and any time spent on the beach and with friends.

Filed Under: 1st grade, 2nd grade, 3rd grade, free, freebie, guest blogger, kindergarten, St. Patrick's Day, writing

Previous Post: « Funny Picture Writing Prompts
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. CAST says

    June 3, 2021 at 9:30 am

    I love your chart! Do you have similar ones for opinion and how-to writing.

    Reply
    • HoJo says

      June 14, 2021 at 4:25 pm

      This was a guest post. Please go to https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/A-First-For-Everything-With-Julie-Pettersen and leave a Q&A for Julie asking what else she may have available. Thanks for the comment! ~Heather aka HoJo~

      Reply

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