Craft in Kindergarten: An Example Mini-lesson

The Vimeo clip "Modeled Writing - Primary" does an excellent job highlighting the mini-lesson portion of Writing Workshop while illustrating the concepts of author study and craft as well. 

Jennifer Wisner, a teacher from Salem-Keizer Public Schools in Oregon, is using Eric Carle's books as the basis of an author study in her kindergarten class.  She and her students have read several of the author's works and are now creating a chart of the craft they have recognized in some of Carle's popular children's books, including The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  To end the mini-lesson and begin independent writing time, the teacher invites the young writers to try to use some of Carle's craft ideas in their own writing. 

When viewing this example mini-lesson on author study and craft, you can see it would be great for kindergarten or first grade students; additionally, the mini-lesson's overall structure, high level of student engagement, and use of mentor texts and author study are adaptable and appropriate for writers of any grade level.  Consider how mini-lessons and age-appropriate author studies can be used to explore craft and inspire the writers in your classroom.

Submitted by Shirley Thacker, TC '07