Writer's Workshop in Kindergarten

In my classroom, writer's workshop is such a fun time of day for my students to express their thoughts.  Here's why they love it: 

- they get to choose their own topic to write about

- they get to decide when they are finished and when to move on to a new book

- they get to choose what writing tools to use (pencils, crayons, markers)

When my students are writing, I am walking around and talking to them about their topics, handwriting, and sentence structure (making sure they have a capital letter, spaces, and a period).  I am also making note of skills that are being misused so that I can develop my next mini lessons for the class.  

There are not behavior problems, because students are so engaged in what they want to write about.  They love having that choice and voice in their work!  

After about 15-20 minutes to independent writing time, we gather back on the rug for a few students to share some of their writing.  Usually, these are students that I see applying the skills I have taught during mini lessons.  I like being able to show examples of how students in our class have applied those skills.  

What do you do for writer's workshop in your classroom?  Do your students have voice and choice over their topics?  I'd love to hear from you in the comments below!