Docu-Drama and Writer's workshop

This past week in our field experience class we got to observe and participate in a fourth grade class' writer's workshop.  For the sake of privacy we will call the person I worked with Benji.  So each of my classmates sat by a student to work with during the workshop.  We first began with a hello, and the fourth graders gave us a special welcome.  It was something like a wolf greeting, they made pointed ears with their hands and howled hello.  Then we did a two minute quick write where we were to write about brushing out teeth, but make it a big event in our writing.  Which we then shared with our partners.  After that we went to the meeting area to find out what we would be working on that day.  And the task was generating a list of first and last time experiences that we could explore and make bigger just like the author of Eleven, the piece we were modeling our work after, had done.  After a little bit of carpet work we spread out and worked with our partners on generating ideas.  Adam had just moved to the United States a few years ago and picked some first times doing things in America.  One of the first experiences he chose to wrote on was his first time trick or treating.  I really enjoyed the writer's workshop experience, it gave me a clearer picture than just reading about it had.  And other much planning and organization goes into the units of study, the structure is very simply and has a natural flow.  And as we were leaving we gave high fives to our partners and said you're awesom since that's how they do it in their class.
Back in class later that day we watched a docu-drama an elementary teacher had done over the life of a water molecule.  It was a very creative way of illustrating the process, entertaining yet full of information.  It was a new concept I was introduced to, a docu-drama I mean.  I can envision the work it requires to create a great one that is both entertaining and informative.  But I also see the potential for much student learning.  If each group of students is given a subject to do one on, they would have to do a lot of research and creative thinking to get it all to come together.  Eventually presenting something that would be entertaining so the other students would want to watch and would in turn be learning lots of new facts about a subject.  And the students who produced it would have lots of fun too because they can be as creative as they wish.