Lucy Calkins Writing Curriculum

[Anonymous]

I have listened to the Sold a Story podcast (great recommendation from DCUM, btw!) and have done the research and know that the Lucy Calkins reading curriculum has a lot of problems. However, there's not that much information out there about her writing curriculum? Our school (not in the DC area so I'm using this forum) uses a phonics-based approach to reading but uses the Lucy Calkins writing curriculum. For those in the know, what are we in for? Is the writing curriculum any better than the reading curriculum? Paired with phonics and good grammar and vocabulary instruction, does the writing curriculum get the job done?

[Anonymous]

The writing curriculum is awful. It assumes that kids inherently know how to write so if you give them a pencil, paper and time they'll become excellent writers all on their own. There's no scaffolding for kids who don't have writing come to them naturally. Those kids end up incredibly frustrated and hostile to writing.

[Anonymous]

Does it start w How to Spell?

[Anonymous]

Let me guess. No rigor, no right and wrong, do some writing and guess the words and it will magically come to you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Let me guess. No rigor, no right and wrong, do some writing and guess the words and it will magically come to you?

Pretty much. Along with draw some pictures and then write about what you see.

[Anonymous]

Are any of the PPs teachers who have used the program?

[Anonymous]

Parents are the best people to judge the program, not teachers. Teachers were liking the failed reading program for over a decade even though it was awful because it was easier for them to teach.

[Anonymous]

Hochman method is better.

[Anonymous]

It is absolutely horrendous and districts that use it should be doing everything to get it out of classrooms and replaced.

[Anonymous]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliewexler/2021/11/21/problems-with-lucy-calkins-curriculum-go-beyond-reading-to-writing/?sh=79c9a7e650c9

[Anonymous]

We are still dealing with the ramifications of the Caulkins writing program. Now 15 yo can't spell and the idea of thesis sentence backed up by relevant sentences and a conclusion sentence to write a paragraph was foreign to him until a couple of months ago. Of course, now it is like pulling teeth to get him to even try to write coherently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are any of the PPs teachers who have used the program?

I am one. For students who have mastered the basic skills of writing, it could be a great creative writing course. But any type of readers writers workshop takes up an awful lot of time and energy to have students brainstorm draft create revise peer edit… All to produce just one piece of writing in a long period of time. So students don’t get a lot of practice writing, and those who are weaker writers don’t get a lot of practice writing harder words and longer sentences. Students also get to write creatively, which is great for creative writing but horrible practice for answering a prompt. So it’s not that the creative writing lessons are bad, just that they don’t provide enough practice in foundational skills. The curriculum could be used well with a group of advanced elementary students, or even remedial students if it wasn’t their only writing instruction.

[Anonymous]

To me, the big issues with Calkins’ Writers Workshop are that (a) neither spelling, grammar, nor sentence structure are taught in any structured way and (b) teachers are supposed to ignore spelling and grammar errors (i.e., do not correct them).

So it fails to properly teach correct grammar, spelling, and sentence structure AND teachers are told NOT to correct errors. So students develop and memorize incorrect spelling, incorrect grammar, and other bad writing habits. The claim is this lets little writers think big thoughts. It is more tragic than silly that so many elementary school students are subjected to this.

[Anonymous]

She should be banned from the field of education and forced to pay back every school district she fleeced (and the families of all the kids who needed private reading tutoring). She is a fraud and has damaged a generation (or two) of kids.

[Anonymous]

We asked our DC’s teacher why his mistakes were not being corrected (on DC’s writing samples that came home). We were told she is not ALLOWED o correct mistakes because Writers Workshop method is about thinking great thoughts. We then were encouraged, in a much softer voice so others would not hear, o correct them at home so our DC could learn the proper spelling and grammar.

Sigh. And this Writers Workshop is in lower elementary for probably 8 of the top 10 privtes in Metro DC, as well as in many public schools.