'The beginning of the new me': Sociocultural influences enable new, urban, sixth-grade writers in a culturally diverse, 'below level' language arts classroom

The purpose of this qualitative interpretivist study was to explore the sociocultural influences that enabled urban sixth-grade students as new writers in a culturally diverse, "below level" language arts classroom. In doing so, I analyzed the resources these students brought into the classroom that enabled them as new writers, the components of this newly formed writing workshop that enabled these new writers, and the ways in which the students' experiences transformed their identities.;This study was informed by the work of early and current researchers who study students as writers in writing workshop contexts and by sociocultural research that focuses on the ways in which culture manifests itself within the classrooms and lives of students from diverse backgrounds. Additionally, some researchers have reconceptualized writing workshops by exploring the ways student writers construct personal and social identities within the complex interactional world of writing.;In this study I visited the classroom twice weekly over the course of a school year, collecting four types of data: fieldnotes on classroom observations, student writing conferences, and meetings with the classroom teacher; and photocopies of student writing documents. Additionally, I wrote analytic memos to share and discuss weekly with the classroom teacher and the Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) research team.;Using Erickson's (1986) model of analytic induction, my analysis of the data revealed four findings: (1) Three resources these sixth-grade students brought into the classroom enabled them as new writers: personal experience, popular culture, and supportive response from friends and family; (2) Three components of this newly formed writing workshop enabled these new writers: minilessons, mentor texts, and supportive response; (3) The sociocultural influences from outside and inside the classroom worked together to enable these new writers; (4) One student's experiences as a new writer transformed her identity.