An Essential Ingredient in Writer's Workshop

Katie Wood Ray reports that time to write is one of the most important aspects of writer's workshop.  In her book The Writer's Workshop, she says “When it comes to TIME, quantity is what matters.”  Time to write is an essential ingredient to student success.  Students need time to practice the art of writing.  She suggests giving students 35 to 40 minutes each day, so they have the time to build their experience.  Not all the writing they accomplish each day will necessarily be great writing, but the experience to practice toward great writing is what matters.  Time is a precious commodity in every classroom, and giving this amount of time to students for writing is sometimes very difficult.  However, the only way students will get better at the art of writing is to write.  During the time students are writing, teachers should be meeting with small groups of students or conducting one-on-one conferences.  Students need the time to write, research, collaborate, and talk through their ideas and perfect the art of writing.  Quantity is what matters.