Ralph Fletcher and Joann Portalupi
The book begins by stressing that children need the
opportunity to write every day or almost every day. If one only has children
write once a week, don't bother. It also talks about how important "response"
is, either by the teacher or other members of the class. When responding: respond first as a reader.
Be positive. Try to understand the writer's intentions and do not try to teach
more than one or two things in each writing piece. Students must feel
"ownership" in their writing ö what the piece should be about, how long it
should be, whether they write in cursive or printing and that they are not
writing just to get an "A" from the teacher.
Using literature to teach writing is important. Teachers
should not only "read" the literature, but point out the things authors do to
make their writing meaningful and interesting.
This book is divided into three sections. Craft lessons
for K-2, 3-4 and 5-8. There is an
alphabetical list of Craft Lessons with appropriate grade levels. The Craft Lessons are designed to teach
elements of good writing not mechanics.
I found many useful "mini-lessons" to use with my
students - ideas that sound like they would work and really get the point
across. Many of the lessons can be adapted to any grade level.
The lessons in this book use literature to teach the
concept. When students hear or read an example, this helps them to make some
transfer to their own writing. They are
intended to get the students thinking about ways to enrich their writing. They can be used as mini-lessons to the
whole group, small group and/or be used while conferencing with individual
students. They are not necessarily
meant to be assignments, rather options from which students can choose to use
when and where they see fit.
I plan to purchase this book as it has many useful
teaching ideas. As Tracy said, it is a
great book to use for "sub" plans too.