Chapter 11 and 13

     Both feature article studies and open-choice investigations are creative ways to incorporate the writing process into writer's workshop. The students are encouraged to expand their imagination and think outside the box. A lot of the writing in writer's workshop can tend to focus more on fiction type writing where the writers are telling a story. With a feature article the focus is primarily on nonfiction, this could be the first time the students study a nonfiction piece, which can be much different than studying fiction pieces. The class can see how something they write about could also help and encourage other people through their article.  The open-choice investigation can be really fun too! The students will love that they chose what exactly to write about. You could turn this into a true investigation assignment with props to get the students even more excited. They can take a piece of their writing that means a lot to them and research it find out more information. I really like the visual of the topic chart. This can show the students how one small idea can be transformed into fantastic pieces of writing.