In this collection of engaging mini-lessons and companion reproducible pages, teacher Dave Leochko shares his favorite writing lessons--ones that have really helped his students become better writers. The classroom-tested lessons in this book take young writers through all the steps of the writing process, including getting an idea, revising a story, and conferencing with other writers, while also targeting specific skills, such as using punctuation correctly, varying sentence structure, making characters believable, and developing a plot. The reproducible pages feature activities that let students apply new skills, as well as writing tips and strategies they can collect and use a reference. For use with Grades 4-8.

Provides twenty-five mini-lessons that cover the different stages of the writing process.

Using favorite picturebooks for her mini-lessons models, teacher Susan Lunsford shares 15 easy-to-do writing lessons. Mini-lessons include: Where do story ideas come from? Great First Lines, Exploring Settings, Painting Pictures with Words, Writing a Complete Story, and Great Endings. Her teacher-student dialogues make it all easy to replicate in your own classroom. Each mini-lessons includes follow-up strategies and activities and picturebook suggestions. Writing conference and management tips too! For use with Grades 1-3.

Stimulating Story Writing! Inspiring Children aged 7-11 offers innovative and exciting ways to inspire children to want to create stories and develop their story writing skills. This practical guide offers comprehensive and informed support for professionals to effectively engage ‘child authors’ in stimulating story writing activity. Packed full of story ideas, resource suggestions and practical activities, the book explores various ways professionals can help children to develop the six key elements of story, these being character, setting, plot, conflict, resolution and ending. All of the ideas in the book are designed to complement and enrich existing writing provision in classrooms with strategies such as role play, the use of different technologies, and using simple open ended resources as story stimuli. Separated into two sections and with reference to the Key Stage 2 curricula, this timely new text provides professionals with tried and tested strategies and ideas that can be used with immediate effect. Chapters include: • Creating Characters • The Plot Thickens • Inspired Ideas • Resourcing the Story Stimulation This timely new text is the perfect guide for inspiring children aged 7-11 in the classroom and will be an essential resource for teachers and students on teacher training courses.

Each ten-minute lesson in this guide offers proven methods for strengthening a wide variety of writing skills. Students learn good writing techniques such as finding strong verbs, using details, crafting great endings, selecting good topics, and much more.

Encourage critical thinking, inspire rich discussion-based activities, and promote effective communication through Literature Circles.This book provides everything you need to set up Literature Circles in your classroom, including:six original, reproducible short stories theory and practice of Literature Circles easy-to-use handouts for role definitions mini-lessons to teach communication skills mini-lessons to help groups work effectively and much more!