Inspiring Writing in Primary Schools


Book Description

Through teaching fabulous lessons teachers can help children to discover stories, create worlds, record events, mould characters and inspire each other as writers. This book provides the guidance and examples to help achieve this.




Writing for Pleasure


Book Description

This book explores what writing for pleasure means, and how it can be realised as a much-needed pedagogy whose aim is to develop children, young people, and their teachers as extraordinary and life-long writers. The approach described is grounded in what global research has long been telling us are the most effective ways of teaching writing and contains a description of the authors’ own research project into what exceptional teachers of writing do that makes the difference. The authors describe ways of building communities of committed and successful writers who write with purpose, power, and pleasure, and they underline the importance of the affective aspects of writing teaching, including promoting in apprentice writers a sense of self-efficacy, agency, self-regulation, volition, motivation, and writer-identity. They define and discuss 14 research-informed principles which constitute a Writing for Pleasure pedagogy and show how they are applied by teachers in classroom practice. Case studies of outstanding teachers across the globe further illustrate what world-class writing teaching is. This ground-breaking text is essential reading for anyone who is concerned about the current status and nature of writing teaching in schools. The rich Writing for Pleasure pedagogy presented here is a radical new conception of what it means to teach young writers effectively today.




Teaching Writing


Book Description

"Writing allows each of us to live with that special wide-awakeness that comes from knowing that our lives and our ideas are worth writing about." -Lucy Calkins Teaching Writing is Lucy Calkins at her best-a distillation of the work that's placed Lucy and her colleagues at the forefront of the teaching of writing for over thirty years. This book promises to inspire teachers to teach with renewed passion and power and to invigorate the entire school day. This is a book for readers who want an introduction to the writing workshop, and for those who've lived and breathed this work for decades. Although Lucy addresses the familiar topics-the writing process, conferring, kinds of writing, and writing assessment- she helps us see those topics with new eyes. She clears away the debris to show us the teeny details, and she shows us the majesty and meaning, too, in these simple yet powerful teaching acts. Download a sample chapter for more information.




The Responsive Writing Teacher, Grades K-5


Book Description

"This book is an instructive call to action for all of us who need to be reminded of what hope enacted as classroom practice can look like." — Cornelius Minor Every classroom is shaped by the skills, languages, social and cultural identities, perspectives, and passions of the children within it. When you approach writing instruction with a deep understanding of children in your classroom, everything else—assessment, planning, differentiated instruction, mentor and shared texts—begins to fall into place. And you can teach writing with inclusion, equity, and agency at the forefront. Authors Melanie Meehan and Kelsey Sorum show you how to adapt curriculum to meet the needs of the whole child. Each chapter offers intentional steps for responsive instruction across four domains: academic, linguistic, cultural, and social-emotional. Features include: Inspiration, classroom examples, and scaffolded tips for creating individualized resources Customizable information-gathering and planning tools, classroom charts, and writing samples Space for making notes and working through ideas Links to online content, including printable templates Just as you adapt instruction to your students, this book adapts to you. The authors designed every guide, tool, and resource to be usable in its original form, or customized as you see fit. This indispensable resource will make responsive instruction actionable—and your students feel valued and heard as they recognize the possibility and power they have as writers.




Whole Novels for the Whole Class


Book Description

Work with students at all levels to help them read novels Whole Novels is a practical, field-tested guide to implementing a student-centered literature program that promotes critical thinking and literary understanding through the study of novels with middle school students. Rather than using novels simply to teach basic literacy skills and comprehension strategies, Whole Novels approaches literature as art. The book is fully aligned with the Common Core ELA Standards and offers tips for implementing whole novels in various contexts, including suggestions for teachers interested in trying out small steps in their classrooms first. Includes a powerful method for teaching literature, writing, and critical thinking to middle school students Shows how to use the Whole Novels approach in conjunction with other programs Includes video clips of the author using the techniques in her own classroom This resource will help teachers work with students of varying abilities in reading whole novels.




Inspiring Primary Learners


Book Description

Inspiring Primary Learners offers trainee and qualified teachers high-quality case studies of outstanding practice in contemporary classrooms across the country. Expert authors unravel and reveal the theory and evidence that underpins lessons, helping you make connections with your own practice and understand what ‘excellent’ looks like, within each context, and how it is achieved. Illustrated throughout with interviews, photos, and examples of children’s work, it covers a range of primary subjects and key topics including creating displays, outdoor learning, and developing a reading for pleasure culture. The voice of the practitioner is evident throughout as teachers share their own experience, difficulties, and solutions to ensure that children are inspired by their learning. Written in two parts, the first exemplifies examples of practice for each National Curriculum subject, whilst the second focuses on the wider curriculum and explores issues pertinent to the primary classroom, highlighting important discussions on topics such as: Reading for pleasure Writing for pleasure Creating a dynamic and responsive curriculum Creating inspiring displays Outdoor learning Pedagogy for imagination Relationships and Sex Education This key text shows how, even within the contested space of education, practitioners can inspire their primary learners through teaching with passion and purpose for the empowerment of the children in their class. For all new teachers, it provides advice and ideas for effective and engaging learning experiences across the curriculum.




The Day My Mom Came to Kindergarten


Book Description

Inviting her mother to visit her new class, a little kindergartener discovers that there are some things that kids are better at than parents.










Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook


Book Description

LEARN HOW TO WRITE LIKE THE EXPERTS, FROM THE EXPERTS. In Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook, you'll find practical advice in a perfect package for young aspiring writers. After receiving letters from fans asking for writing advice,accomplished authors Anne Mazer and Ellen Potter joined together to create this guidebook for young writers. The authors mix inspirational anecdotes with practical guidance on how to find a voice, develop characters and plot, make revisions, and overcome writer's block. Fun writing prompts will help young writers jump-start their own projects, and encouragement throughout will keep them at work.