Spotlight: Intermediate Writing
Many students in grades three through six struggle when they encounter the kinds of writing designed to prepare them for middle school. Increasing emphasis on research and report writing, test preparation, and the finicky matters of structure, spelling, and grammar, can dim the spark students once felt writing and illustrating original stories. In the following titles, the authors provide myriad tips for keeping the love of writing alive while moving students along the path toward writing with sophistication in all genres.
When Writing Workshop Isn't Working
Mark Overmeyer
As most teachers know, writer's workshop doesn't always go as planned, and many encounter persistent obstacles. In his role as a literacy coordinator and teacher, Mark Overmeyer has heard the same issues raised again and again by both new and experienced colleagues.
Notebook Know-How
Aimee Buckner
In Notebook Know-How, Aimee provides the tools teachers need to make writer's notebooks an integrate part of their writing programs. This compact guide shows how smart and focused use of writer's notebooks enhances and deepens literacy learning for students in grades 3-8.
Knowing How
Mary C. McMackin and Barbara Siegel
Combining research with compelling writing in challenging. The authors demystify the research process and provide tools students need to shape their research into substantive, well-written products that communicate with readers and reflect passion that each brings to a subject she or he loves.
Titles by Jeff Anderson
Mechanically Inclined
Comprising an overview of the research-based context for grammar instruction, a series of over thirty detailed lessons, and an appendix of helpful forms and instructional tools, Mechanically Inclined is a boon to teachers regardless of their level of grammar-phobia.
Everyday Editing
Instead of rehearsing errors and drilling students on what's wrong with a sentence, Jeff invites students to look carefully at their writing along with mentor texts, and to think about how punctuation, grammar, and style can be best used to hone and communicate meaning.
The Craft of Grammar (DVD)
Jeff presents simple and imaginative tools and memory devices that help students see the value of grammar and mechanics in crafting powerful writing and retain that knowledge.
Podcast interview: Jeff talks about the classroom experiences that led to his book, Mechanically Inclined
