Writing as a Way Of Knowing
by Lois Bridges, ISBN 1 57110 062 8, Copyright 1997, Stenhouse Publishers
Reviewed by Andrea Harwood

Lois Bridges does an excellent job compiling resources for the busy teacher in this short handy book.Ý She synthesizes multiple books and journals on topical issues, and condenses them into a very accessible and readable format.Ý She references many notable researchers including Lucy Calkins, Donald Graves, and Nancy Atwell and distills some of the seminal thoughts of their work into workable lessons.Ý She also interweaves Teacher to Teacher Field Notes that give ìreal lifeî experiences of teachers using these ideas with children in a wide variety of school settings.

There are a variety of rubrics and surveys included that can be copied and used to collect information and organize student responses.Ý I plan to use the Conferencing Form, Editing Checklist, and Peer Conferencing/Help the Author masters in my 4/5th grade classroom.Ý

Also included are many examples of written work by children that illustrate what children produce in classes applying these strategies.Ý The author includes important background information including age, grade, and school of the children who are cited.

I especially like her exhaustive ìShoptalkî book synopses.Ý For each topic area, she highlights authors and books to further explore each subject.Ý She summarizes content, makes bullet points of main ideas, and shares her personal reflections about each book.Ý She includes a wonderful suggestions of childrenís literature to help teach each writing topic.

Chapter 3 is written by teacher Greg Chapnik and covers the basics for getting a writing workshop up and started.Ý I appreciate his attention to details, and the many anecdotal comments that he sprinkles throughout his clear narrative.

This book is geared for elementary teachers through sixth grade.

I highly recommend this book.