Teaching The Youngest Writers

Provides guidance in teaching writing at the K-2 level, discussing daily writing workshops, the writing process, content, evaluation, and parent education. Includes lessons and activities.

Provides mini-lessons and strategies aimed at teaching students in first through third grade to elaborate while writing.

Based on a profound understanding of the ways in which young children learn, this book shows teachers how to launch a writing workshop by inviting children to do what they do naturallymake stuff.

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In the early grades, talking and drawing can provide children with a natural pathway to writing, yet these components are often overlooked. In Talking, Drawing, Writing: Lessons for Our Youngest Writers , authors Martha Horn and Mary Ellen Giacobbe invite readers to join them in classrooms where they listen, watch, and talk with children, then use what they learn to create lessons designed to meet children where they are and lead them into the world of writing. The authors make a case for a broader definition of writing, advocating for formal storytelling sessions, in which children tell about what they know, and for focused sketching sessions so that budding writers learn how to observe more carefully.The book's lessons are organized by topic and include oral storytelling, drawing, writing words, assessment, introducing booklets, and moving writers forward. Based on the authors' work in urban kindergarten and first-grade classes, the essence and structure of many of the lessons lend themselves to adaptation through fifth grade. The lessons follow a consistent format: What's going on in the classroom? What do children need to learn next? Materials needed to teach the lesson Language used in each lesson Reasons behind why certain books are chosen and suggestions for additional children’s books The authors show the thinking behind their teaching decisions and provide a way to look at and assess children's writing, giving us much more than a book of lessons; they present a vision of what beginning writing can look and sound like. Perhaps most powerfully, they give us examples of the language they use with children that reveal a genuine respect for and trust in children as learners.

As teachers, we do indeed live narrative lives, and if you read Engaging Young Writers, Preschool to Grade 1, Matt Glover will help you live out new kinds of stories with the children you teach. I know he's helped me do just that. I'm a better teacher because of what I've learned from him. Katie Wood Ray Author of About the Authors We are so fortunate to have this book. Matt shares his deep understanding of young writers, presents a thoughtful and warm approach to teaching writing, and shows us how to nudge children in ways that are considerate of their interests and intentions as well as their intellectual development. -Kathy Collins Author of Growing Readers Many children come to school wanting to write. But some are unsure about getting started or don't realize they have something to say. Motivating students to put markers to paper is the key that unlocks a lifetime of writing. Engaging Young Writers presents a range of entry points that help every student find a way into writing. In Engaging Young Writers, Matt Glover (coauthor of Already Ready) presents ways to encourage students to pick up the pen and share their remarkable thinking. With multiple entry points for writers, he helps you match your teaching to children's individual interests and patterns of learning. Glover shows how you can: nudge writers into action through meaning, choice, and purpose invite preschool children to write through conversation and invite primary students through units of study spark imaginative writing through read-aloud and dramatic play inspire kids to write stories from personal experiences give students the chance to share their passions and interests through nonfiction writing. Engaging Young Writers features teaching tested in real classrooms and the student samples to back it up. Glover takes special care to address how his ideas can be applied to the unique developmental needs of writers in preschool, kindergarten, and grade one. Inside every child is a writer. Inside you is the desire to give children a great start. Inside Engaging Young Writers is the teaching to help you create that wonderful moment when your students decide to become the writer within.

Real-World Writers shows teachers how they can teach their pupils to write well and with pleasure, purpose and power. It demonstrates how classrooms can be transformed into genuine communities of writers where talking, reading, writing and sharing give children confidence, motivation and a sense of the relevance writing has to their own lives and learning. Based on their practical experience and what research says is the most effective practice, the authors share detailed guidance on how teachers can provide writing study lessons drawing on what real writers do and how to teach grammar effectively. They also share a variety of authentic class writing projects with accompanying teacher notes that will encourage children to use genres appropriately, creatively and flexibly. The authors’ simple yet comprehensive approach includes how to teach the processes and craft knowledge involved in creating successful and meaningful texts. This book is invaluable for all primary practitioners who wish to teach writing for real.