Kindergarten Writers Workshop Unit 1: Speaking and Listening

More about this resource...

A strong oral language foundation is essential for success in writing. Before students begin putting their stories on paper, they need to understand what a story is, how to speak so that others understand them, and how to listen to story being told. This unit will focus on how to be a speaker, how to be a listener, and how to tell a detailed story – before students every put pencil to paper! This unit is the perfect way to begin writer’s workshop at the beginning of kindergarten.

This unit also includes optional pre-writing activities you can use any time during the first few weeks of school.

Find the year-long bundle here: Kindergarten Writer’s Workshop for the Year

Lessons:

1. Writers Tell Stories About Their Lives
2. Being a Speaker
3. Being a Listener
4. Stories Have a Character and Setting
5. Stories Have a Beginning and End
6. Stories Have Events
7. Writers Tell About Their Feelings
8. Listening and Responding
9. Asking Questions
10. Writers Picture Their Stories Then Share Them

What’s Included:

• Lessons Plans for 10 Days
• Anchor Chart Pieces
• Story Icons
• Optional Writing Paper
• Turn and Talk Procedures
• Conferring Notes
• Rubrics
• Prewriting Lesson Plans
• Prewriting Worksheets

Mentor Texts (not included):

• “Ralph Tells a Story” by Abby Hanlon
• “One Day. The End.” by Rebecca Kai Dotlich

Will students be writing in this unit?

That is optional for this unit. This unit focuses on speaking and listening, but I understand that you may still want to give your students some practice on paper. Each lesson has the option to have students draw the story they tell daily, but you will not explicitly teach how to tell a story through pictures yet. I know it’s tempting to begin teaching how to draw detailed pictures or add words, but I caution you not to “over-teach” during this unit.