Stories Live Everywhere: The Writers Playshop Approach

Part One of my S5E22  @schoolutionspodcast conversation, Katie Keier shares how her Writers Playshop is changing kindergarten writing through play. Learn about effective teaching strategies and how to create a dynamic classroom environment where children thrive.

In this episode, 33-year veteran teacher Katie Keier shares how a five-year-old revolutionized her entire approach to teaching writing. Discover why she refuses to spell words for children, how materials serve as story catalysts, and why black pens matter more than you think.

Researchers & Educators:
➡️Katie Wood Ray
➡️Donald Graves
➡️Lucy Calkins
➡️Nancy Atwell
➡️Matt Glover
➡️Loris Malaguzzi
➡️Vivian Gussin Paley
➡️Susan Harris MacKay and teachers at OPAL School
➡️Carl Anderson

Books & Publications:
➡️Catching Readers Before They Fall
➡️Catching Readers Blog
➡️Writers Playshop: Joyful Play in Kindergarten

Pedagogical Approaches:
➡️Reggio Emilia Approach
➡️The Hundred Languages in Ministories (Reggio Emilia concept)
➡️OPAL School Story Workshops

CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Introduction: Welcome to Solutions Teaching Strategies 
1:00 - Katie's Background & the Birth of Writer's Play Shop 
3:00 - Meet Katie Keier: 33 Years of Teaching Excellence 
4:00 - Research Foundations: Standing on Giants' Shoulders 
6:00 - From Writers Workshop to Writers Playshop 
7:00 - Stories Live Everywhere: First Day of Kindergarten 
9:00 - Materials as Story Catalysts: Invitations to Create 
11:00 - Structure & Time: How Writer's Play Shop Works Daily 
13:00 - The Teacher's Role: Curious Audience & Support 
14:00 - Joy & Infinite Possibilities in Kindergarten 
15:00 - Why Katie Never Spells Words for Children 
17:00 - Ownership & Agency: Children Reading Their Own Work 
18:00 - Representational Drawing & Multilingual Learners 
19:00 - Lightning Round: Misconceptions About Kindergarten Writers 
20:00 - Essential Materials: Black Pens, Blank Books, Loose Parts 
21:00 - Meeting Standards Through Meaningful Writing 
23:00 - Building Confidence: From Kindergarten to High School 
24:00 - Closing & Preview of Part Two

🎧 New episodes every Monday & Friday with bite-sized Wednesday reel bonus content.
📧 Connect: schoolutionspodcast@gmail.com
🎵 Music: Benjamin Wahl

When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.

Transcript

Olivia: [00:00:00] Hey there. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm Olivia Wahl, and today I am bringing you a conversation that will revolutionize how you see teaching writing in kindergarten. You know that feeling when someone shares an idea so simple, so elegant, that you're almost mad you didn't think of it yourself? That's what happened to me last November at NCTE when I was sitting and listening to Katie Keier at her session where she described what her Writers Playshop looked and felt like.

Now Katie's been teaching for 33 years, but here's what I want you to know: Katie didn't invent Writers Playshop. A five-year-old did. One day a kindergartner looked at her and said, Miss Katie, why do we call it writers workshop? It's not work, it's play. And just like that, Writers Playshop was born.

Here's what's revolutionary about it. On the first day of kindergarten, Katie tells her students that stories live everywhere. [00:01:00] Not just in books. Stories can live in blocks and sand and paint and Magna-Tiles. And then she invites children to find their stories wherever they want. No prompts, no teacher spelled words, no pencils with erasers to hide their thinking.

Just black pens, blank books, loose parts, and the radical belief that every single child has stories worth telling. In this conversation, we're diving into the research Katie stands on from Donald Graves to Katie Wood Ray to Vivian Gussin Paley. We're talking about why she refuses to spell words for children, why materials service story catalysts and how Writers Playshop creates equity and access for multilingual learners.

We're also getting real about the pressure teachers faced with scripted programs and fidelity mandates. And Katie's going to share her powerful reframe about the difference between fidelity and integrity. [00:02:00] If you've ever felt that pit in your stomach watching a kindergartner struggle to read back a piece of writing, because you spelled all the words, if you've ever wondered how to honor standards while honoring children, if you've wanted permission to trust that five-year-olds are brilliant exactly as they are, this episode is for you. Here is part one of my conversation with the incredible Katie Keier.

This is Schoolutions Teaching Strategies, the podcast that extends education beyond the classroom. A show that isn't just theory, but practical try-it-tomorrow approaches for educators and caregivers to ensure every student finds their spark and receives the support they need to thrive. I am Olivia Wahl, and I am so humbled and honored to welcome Katie Keier to the podcast [00:03:00] today.

Let me tell you a little bit about Katie. Katie Keier has been a classroom teacher, a school librarian, and a literacy specialist in grades Pre-K through eight for 33 years. She's currently a kindergarten teacher in a Title I school near Washington, DC. Katie is passionate about play and Reggio Emilia-inspired pedagogy.

She is the co-author of Catching Readers Before They Fall, writes for the Catching Readers blog and for NCTE’s Classroom Corridors. Katie, I cannot express how grateful I am that I attended your session on Writers Playshop. It inspired me since November to continue revisiting. I reread my notes from your session, so I invited you to be on the podcast because I think everyone needs to know about your beliefs with kindergarten writers, but also this concept, your brilliant concept of Writers Playshop.

So that's what we're gonna talk about today and um, [00:04:00] I think it'll revolutionize how people see young writers. So thank you for taking the time to have this conversation. 

Katie: Thank you. 

Olivia: Yeah. Uh, let's jump right in. What is research that you lean on or a researcher when it comes to writers play, shop or teaching writing in general?

Katie: Well, that's, that's a big question. Um, there are, as Katie Wood Ray says, who is one of my, um biggest mentors. Um, uh, I stand on the shoulders of so many, um, from my early days at a as a teacher, um, in the early 1990s, the work of Donald Graves, the work of Lucy Calkins, um, the work of Nancy Atwell. I started my career as a middle school teacher and kept going down, um, before I found what I really wanted to be when I grew up as a kindergarten teacher.

Um, and then, you know, there's that piece that is truly the foundation and then all the work of Katie Wood Ray and Matt Glover with bookmaking and with, with young children, with taking that work I was doing [00:05:00] with seventh and eighth graders and putting it into a kindergarten, first grade preschool classroom.

And then in the last 15 years, um, it's been so much of the work that I've done with Reggio Emilia inspired practice, um, with two study tours, to Reggio Emilia, and the work of Loris Malaguzzi, and The Hundred Languages (Ministories). And then merging that with Vivian Gussin Paley’s work with oral storytelling. Um, and then, um, the magical work out of OPAL School with story workshops, Susan Harris MacKay and all the brilliant teachers in minds, um, of OPAL School.

So it's really kind of this convergence of kind of, I view it as almost three different stages in my life as a teacher coming together. Um. That's really the, the research, the shoulders that I stand on every day. 

Olivia: That is such a plethora of brilliance that you've mentioned. And what I will guarantee listeners is I will tuck as many resources in the show notes as [00:06:00] possible, uh, because I think people are going to wanna just sit and just listen and take in everything you have to say. But don't worry, I will catch it all. Um, so I think people are most familiar with the phrase Writer's Workshop. But you had this spark and were ignited to turn that, but what, what transferred from Writer's Workshop to Writers Playshop for you and your kindergartners? 

Katie: Well, this was probably about 10 years ago and we were, you know, Writer's Workshop was part of our daily that was just a non-negotiable Writers Playshop, Writer's Workshop is something we did every day. And this little five-year-old one day came up to me and said, you know Miss Katie, why do. We call it Writer's Workshop? It's not work, it's play. And I was like, that's brilliant. And I said, what should we call it? He said, well, it should be called Writers Playshop. And it then became that. And over the course of the [00:07:00] year, then Reader's Workshop become read, became Readers Playshop, and um. It's, so it's kind of like all of our, um, workshops are very much out of a workshop structure, but we call them Playshops. 

Olivia: I love it that it came from the kids that it's so special. Uh, so I, I'd love for you then to transition us and talk a little bit about the idea that instead of focusing on teaching kindergartners to write, you reframe it as invitations and materials and these opportunities for us to very closely support children, um, as a curious audience. So can you speak a little bit more to that? 

Katie: Certainly. Um, on the very first day of kindergarten, um, we start by telling stories. And if you've ever been in a room with four and five year olds, if you say, I have a story [00:08:00] to tell you, they're spell bound and they want to hear your story. Um, my, my story that I've started the last several years with is a true story about running into a bear on a trail - um, and so when I was running. so they, you know, I, I tell them it's very short, and then I say, you know what? Stories live inside of you too. Who has a story to tell? And immediately they all, this is the first day of school.

Um, and then we transition from that into that into that stories don't just live in our brains and our minds and our hearts. They live everywhere. Stories can live in the blocks, stories can live in the sand. Stories can live in paint. Stories can live outside. Um, and then we kind of start building that in our classroom, um, through our Writers Playshop time, that their job as a writer during Writers Playshop is to find stories.

So those first days, some children might immediately go [00:09:00] to Staple together books because they've got that idea of like, oh, stories live in books too. Absolutely. But so many of them are then looking at invitations that are set up around the room, the blocks, the magnet tiles. Um, some paint pots out on the table and they begin to make their stories.

Olivia: Ugh, it's so beautiful. I can picture, I remember the first time I read About the Authors. And I was in a school in New York City, I was at PS 134, and we, I was speaking with the Pre-K team about putting the booklets out, and I love that you just were referred to it as invitations because when it feels like you're, you're just, it's open there, it's risk-free, like just go for it and celebratory, it doesn't feel forced and I think kids feel much more, um - they're, they're not scared to jump in and just try and so it's all in the setup. How much time do you give from the [00:10:00] beginning of the year as the year progresses to Playshop, and what's, what does it feel like from the day-to-day structure?

Katie: So we, you know, as a public school teacher, a lot of my day, unfortunately, is very much, um, decided for me. Um, so I have to be creative in, um, in my, my, you know, time and what I allot for that. Um, we have about 45 minutes every day, which is not enough. 

Olivia: No, it's not. 

Katie: Um, and I will say we also have, I'm very fortunate to teach in a district that does have a 30 minute free play time at the end of every day and much of our story making and Writers Playshop, they will pick it up again at the end of the day. 

Olivia: Okay. 

Katie: Um, making books or making stories that they've saved for later. So, um, at the very beginning of the year, um, you know, they're playing in their invitations to play and nobody is being told you have to do this or you have to stay here for a certain amount of [00:11:00] time. So I keep that 45 minutes that I have in my schedule. That is probably the one time of our day that doesn't have to start with like, okay, we've got like 10 minutes for reading and then we'll move to something else. Because there's, you know, in essence there's no rules. Like it's open for everybody. If you wanna build something in magnet tiles and then move over to the sand table and then move over to the paint table, that's fine.

I don't manage them. I don't, control where they go or how long they stay there. Um, my role during that time at the beginning of the year is very much walking around saying, can I listen to you tell my, tell your story? And there's this expectation that it will be a story. And they live into that.

It's like, where are you finding your story today? Can I listen to you tell your story? Um. Children just rise to that expectation and they look at a child that might be making a three-page book and they're like, oh, I wanna [00:12:00] try that. 

Olivia: Right? 

Katie: So there's this, um, this access for all children. I teach in a district in a school that has a lot of multilingual learners and children that, um, are not yet speaking English when they enter the classroom and you know, the language of play is for everyone. Um, anyone can make a story out of paint or magnet tiles or sand without pressure or worry. So, um, you know, the, the stories are everywhere and we continue adding onto where stories can be found. And as I'm walking around the room, I'll say, oh my goodness, friends, listen, you know, Joshua just found a story in the sand table. Should we listen to it? 

And, and so I'm really, the children are really the ones who are, you know, building that up and modeling. Um, in addition to my short focus lessons where I'm modeling a story found in paper, a story found in blocks and my own storytelling, [00:13:00] 

Olivia: So I can picture you right at the level on the ground with kids, and that's my favorite when, when I taught kinder, I had 30 kindergartners. They were all bilingual and it was, we, I was so lucky. I was in San Diego and we had a full hour every day for play, full hour built in, and it was unstructured, they could move around. Um, and it was fascinating to me, watching the children choose often to mimic the teacher. And so something I wanna just acknowledge right now for people that are listening, both of us have smiles from ear-to-ear. And I, I went from fifth grade to kindergarten and it was the best decision I ever made because there is, there are insane amounts of joy with children. Um, and younger kids see infinite possibilities if we [00:14:00] just get out of their way. 

Katie: I love that. Infinite possibilities. Yes, absolutely. 

Olivia: Right? So I think, like what I love that I've heard you say before is that materials serve as story catalysts and that framing of what is the story in the sand or in the material, I think everyone will start using that. It's brilliant. Um, I also think about the idea of all of the programs that are being pushed right now on teachers and many, many teachers feel they don't have flexibility or a vision. We're going to talk more to that in part two of the conversation, but I did want you to skim the surface because I know that you do not spell words for children and that is a very strong belief of yours. Can you speak to that a little bit? 

Katie: Absolutely. Um, I want children - there's a couple different reasons. Um, one is if I [00:15:00] jump in and spell a word for a child, then I've taken away their ownership of that piece. I've told them, well, here's how you do it as an adult. And it now becomes like partially my piece because I've now told them how to spell this. I've taken away that productive struggle that like, like the child that says, how do you spell dinosaur?

And I'll say, well, wow, that's a really big word. How do you think you spell dinosaur? Let's say it slowly, let's sound it out. Um, as the year goes on and the children learn more about, you know, tapping out sounds and writing and recording the sounds they hear the spelling gets, gets bigger and gets more, more, book more correct. Um. I think it's so important that if a child can write a “D,” or even if a child can do a scribble, and I'll say, can you read that to me? And they say, dinosaur, then that is their piece [00:16:00] of writing that they can read, which leads me into the other piece. If a piece of writing is, if I've told them how to spell everything when they sit in the author's chair or when they try to share it with their family, they have no idea what they wrote. 

Olivia: They can’t read it. 

Katie: Nope. They can't read it. 

Olivia: Nope. I’ve lived it. 

Katie: Yeah. And then there's that feeling you can see, uh, that look on their face if a, if, if someone does sneak in, sometimes guest teachers or, you know, you have to, it's in my sub plans. But, um, you know, and it's almost like they're embarrassed. Like I, I don't know what it says. I didn't write it. Even if their hands wrote it, they can't read it. So, um what I, a couple things I say to children is like, if they give me the bla, like maybe they don't have any letters quite yet, and they're like, I don't know how to spell dinosaur well, could you draw it? And they would draw it. And then if they, I, if they write something and then I'll say, can I listen to you read your book?

And they'll say, they might not remember, like if it's, if it's not [00:17:00] any letters or words yet. And I'll say, well, if you could read it, what would it say? So I'm always trying to get them to have ownership, to have power over that book and to, to feel that sense of agency and, and efficacy that I can do it. I can figure out how to write this word. I can make this book and it belongs to them. 

Olivia: Yeah. I think the other piece that you just spoke to is the idea of representational drawing and so as kindergarten teachers, even first grade, I, I think offering children time to focus heavily on drawing and shapes and getting the image that they see in the world, wherever they're playing, uh, captured somehow on paper, then we go back and I, I think that's a really good place to start, especially for children that are acquiring English as another language in their repertoire. 

It's just a beautiful entry point, and [00:18:00] I remember loving playing with the idea of shared drawing. We hear so much about interactive writing and shared writing, but I remember the first few months of kinder, I did a lot of shared drawing. 

Katie: Absolutely. 

Olivia: Where we were taking those shared stories and creating the visuals together. And then that's where you can model as a teacher. The getting the letters down to match the sounds that we hear. 

Katie: Absolutely. And children often will go back into books in their writing folder that they wrote, and they're like, I wrote this book in September, but I, it doesn't have any words in it, but now I can add words to it. So it's like getting into that revising and editing phase as well. 

Olivia: And that's why it's critical to save their writing. Yes. It, I, right. I always, I, I remember I would send some writing home very hesitantly. I really wanted to keep it because it's so critical they can see their growth right. As well. We can't take the opportunities away because they won't ever see and feel that [00:19:00] pride. So I would love to end part one with a lightning round. Are you ready? 

Katie: Sure. 

Olivia: Alright, here we go. Uh, first question. What is the biggest misconception people have about teaching kindergarten writers? 

Katie: That they can't write, that they need a prompt. And I will say, honestly, I've never had a kindergartner look at me and say, I don't know what to write about. If you give them the invitation to write about what matters to them, they have so much to say. 

Olivia: I would say too, your Playshop is a whole next level of invitations because they're living in this world of possibility. So kudos to you. What is a material that every kindergarten class should have to support Writers Playshop? 

Katie: I have to do two.

Olivia: Okay. 

Katie: Blank books – three - blank books and, and black writing pen and loose parts, loose parts. Those, those toys, those play things, those things for them to make the stories and create [00:20:00] with.

Olivia: Now I'm slowing down lightning round. Why black pens?  

Katie: Um, I you know, I have not used erasers or pencils for many, many, many years because I wanna see the tracks that they're thinking. Um, I wanna see their thinking and, and black pens are so vivid, they're smooth. They, um, you know, children can write very quickly without a lot of the physical effort that many children have with fine motor skills at that age. Um, and I can make very vivid copies to put in my notes and when they're shared on the document camera, the class can see what they've done. 

Olivia: So many reasons. Do you go with Felt tip or like gel? 

Katie: Yes. The Felt tip. They're called our, our Magic Writing Pens. And they're used, they're used for writing, so they immediately start when they're writing their names and they're called our magic writing pens, so yep, they're just black, black flare markers.

Olivia: I think a lot of people are gonna be heading to [00:21:00] Staples this week. Such a good idea. There's another question I have for you. What if people say, well, wait though. What about the standards in kindergarten? How are your kids meeting the standards? 

Katie: I would argue that if you picture an iceberg. The standards are up here - all the standards that, by the way, I, I know deeply, I know intimately, I spend a lot of time learning what they are as I'm planning. Um, and then there's underneath the ice bar, which is all the things that support those standards that if I'm teaching a standard in isolation, a child might be able to tap out cat, they might be able to blend cat. They might know all the letters and sounds in cat. But are they going to write in a meaningful way and see themselves as writers and without something, a structure like Writers Playshop, where they're given invitations and opportunities to, um, you know, to write for really meaningful reasons, to write for an [00:22:00] audience, not just to write about a book or answer a prompt, but to write and to share their writing.

That's where all those strategies, that's where they see the purpose of using those standards and those skills and those strategies. As a means to, um, become a writer.

Olivia: And it’s, it's the transfer, it's all of the application. 

Katie: Absolutely. 

Olivia: Katie, that's what I'm the most worried about these days. 

Katie: Yes. 

Olivia: That we have these siloed boxed lessons. 

Katie: Yes. 

Olivia: A lot of tapping is happening.

 Katie: Mm-hmm. 

Olivia: But it is not that application to my life. And so it sticks 

Katie: Exactly. Right. 

Olivia: That's, that's my biggest fear. 

Katie: And that reciprocity, that reading and writing, reciprocity, it's key. I mean, and these lessons in isolation are, are not gonna do it. They might be able to pass a test. They might be able to, you know, write a list of spelling words, but can they write a birthday card to their family? Can they write a, a note about, um, to a friend who upset [00:23:00] them? Can they write stories, those meaningful stories that are important to their lives? 

Olivia: And what I see, especially because a lot of my time these days is working with middle and high school teachers and their students. Kids lack confidence as writers. What you are doing is from the beginning of a child's experience, you are bolstering their confidence, not false confidence. It's you are just where you need to be walking into this space and I will meet you where you are. And that's why I would, the idea of Writers Playshop resonated so deeply with me.

So. Thank you. Um, that was a good lightning round. That was good. It wasn't so lightning, but it was, it was very helpful. Um, uh, we're gonna wrap part one there and then part two we'll go more into the idea of equity and access and why this approach really benefits all children. [00:24:00] And I also wanna talk to, talk about practicality with the model too. So, thank you so much, Katie. 

Katie: Thank you. Thank you so much. 

Olivia: If you're anything like me, you're sitting there with about 17 new ideas swirling in your head right now. Black pens instead of pencils, loose parts as story catalysts, the phrase, can I listen to you tell your story instead of what are you drawing? 

And that line, Katie dropped. Fidelity is very different than integrity. I wrote that down at NCTE and I've thought about it almost every single day since. Here's what I want you to sit with before part two drops on Friday. What would it look like in your classroom if you truly believe that every child already has stories worth telling, not stories they will have once you teach them enough stories they have right now. 

In part two, we're going even deeper. We're talking about [00:25:00] equity access and how Writers Playshop honors, the stories of children and their families. We're getting very practical about time documentation and celebrating student work and Katie's going to share about the power of kindergartner's voices, including the story of students who petition their school to go plastic and straw-free. Until then, friends, go find some loose parts, get yourself some black pens. And remember, you teach with integrity, not just fidelity. See you on Friday.