Because Writing Matters

This updated edition of the best-selling book Because Writing Matters reflects the most recent research and reports on the need for teaching writing, and it includes new sections on writing and English language learners, technology, and the writing process.

How to apply digital writing skills effectively in the classroom, from the prestigious National Writing Project As many teachers know, students may be adept at text messaging and communicating online but do not know how to craft a basic essay. In the classroom, students are increasingly required to create web-based or multi-media productions that also include writing. Since writing in and for the online realm often defies standard writing conventions, this book defines digital writing and examines how best to integrate new technologies into writing instruction. Shows how to integrate new technologies into classroom lessons Addresses the proliferation of writing in the digital age Offers a guide for improving students' online writing skills The book is an important manual for understanding this new frontier of writing for teachers, school leaders, university faculty, and teacher educators.

What you write can change someone's life. In this engaging collection of short essays for writers, Keiko O’Leary explores what it means to live life as a writer, offers encouragement and inspiration, and suggests practical techniques to cultivate your writing life. Drawing on her experience as a writer, writing group leader, and workshop instructor, Keiko writes about topics such as: MOTIVATION: “You deserve to create what’s in you to create.” CREATIVITY: “Your personal geography is a wellspring of memoir and poetry, and a source of authentic detail for fiction.” LEGACY: “Through your writing, you help people experience meaning, not only in what you write, but also in their own lives.” Whether you have years of experience or are just starting out, these essays will support you on your writing journey. EDITORIAL REVIEWS "This is a book of welcome—which means that it's a book of openings, the kind of openings that every writer needs to be inspired and connected-to the world, to themselves, to their fellow writers, to their stories ... and to all of the mysteries that touch us as creators. "'You deserve to create what's in you to create, ' writes Keiko O'Leary. Yes. This book radiates yes. It radiates awakening." — Grant Faulkner, Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month "A beautifully written meditation on the writer's life. The minute I started reading this, I thought, 'Oh, I'm home!' This book speaks to the writer in me, not the published person in me. I can't speak highly enough about this book." — Julie A. Fast, Bestselling Author of Getting It Done When You're Depressed "Keiko's book inspired me to start working on a novel that I had been wanting to write." — Erin Garcia, author, educator "If you want to write but feel intimidated, or you start writing but get discouraged, or even if you already write a lot but would like some encouragement and celebration—this book is for you." — C. Borst, author of Soldiers in Grey "Keiko doesn't just love reading and writing. She is in love withreading and writing, and in love with readers and writers. Page after page, we come to realize we're not odd or alone. She believes in you and me unconditionally. "Writers like us are connected through what we read and write and create. Writing and creating are, in fact, our life-sustaining provisions. 'Claim your peers.' It will free you up to write, to heal, to memorialize, and to speak out." — Lorraine Haataia, Ph.D., founder of Prolific Writers Life "This book stirred me deeply. [It's] a book that welcomed me, non-judgmentally, back home to writing. Your Writing Matters is unconditional love. And wisdom. Keiko O'Leary's voice is an unpretentious beckoning to never give up-not on our writing, not on ourselves." — Ruth Littmann-Ashkenazi, author "Insightful and interesting." — Katy Morgan, author of the Compound Series

This book brings together the work of scholars from around the world – UK, Pakistan, US, South Africa, Hungary, Korea, Mexico – to illustrate and celebrate the many ways in which Roz Ivanic has advanced the academic study of writing. Focusing on writing in different formal contexts of education, from primary through to further and higher education in a range of national contexts, the twenty one original contributions in the book critically engage with theoretical and empirical issues raised in Ivanic's influential body of work. In their exploration of writers' struggles with the demands of dominant literacy the authors significantly extend understandings of writing practices in formal institutions. Organized around three themes central to Ivanic's work – creativity and identity; pedagogy; and research methodologies – the twelve chapters and nine personal and scholarly reflections reveal the powerful ways in which Ivanic's work has influenced thinking in the field of writing and continues to open up avenues for future questioning and research.

Writing skills and strategies for students of English.

This new entry in the best selling What Really Matters series turns its trademark "essentials and practices" treatment on the skill of writing. Pat Cunningham explains how to get students started writing and what to do once they are. Dedicated chapters for spelling, editing, and revising help teachers introduce these skills as critical parts of the writing process. Pat also explains how to extend writing, editing, and revising across the curriculum, to bring the benefits of writing and critical thinking to all content areas. Filled with student examples, sample lessons, and activities, this is one all-around resource no teacher should be without! Written by the authors you know and trust, each of the books in the What Really Matters series offers a succinct presentation of what matters most when teaching different aspects of the reading process. With a thought-provoking, rich presentation, Pat Cunningham and Dick Allington explore complex issues teachers of reading face in today's classrooms and bring each of the topics to life. These brief and inexpensive books are written in a lively narrative with clear organization, exceptional pedagogy, and special features. Their friendly design and compact size make the books accessible, convenient, and easy-to read.