"This book will be a foundational text for teaching writing. The authors will share what teachers need and what steps they should take to plan and execute writing lessons. They will answer two big questions for teachers: What kinds of lessons do I teach? How do I teach them?"--

"Grades K-5" - Front cover and Title page.

"A getting-started primer for teachers conferring with writers in the K-8 classroom" --

For me, there was enormous satisfaction in seeing how Megan Sloan interweaves process, workshop, and traits in this book. I have struggled all my professional life to help teachers see that the 6 traits are not a silver bullet, not even a curriculum, but a way of thinking and talking about writing that enormously empowers revision-and therefore, both process and workshop. It is so gratifying to hear from a teacher who really understands this relationship, and sees how things work in harmony, rather than trying to replace one with the other. Vicki Spandel Author of Creating Young Writers "I want to set up a writing workshop in my classroom-now what?" "What should my teaching look like day to day?" "What about minilessons? Conferences and assessment? Share time?" These are just a few of the many questions about writing workshop that teacher and nationally known staff developer Megan Sloan has been asked. With Into Writing this workshop veteran sets out to answer these and the other most commonly asked questions about teaching writing well. From September to June, Sloan's answers break down the workshop piece by piece so you can make the most of it. She examines the ins and outs of writing workshop through four overarching principles of practice: Differentiate to address each writer's unique needs. Make every minute count by designing instruction that sticks. Share your experiences with students to build trust, encourage choice and community, and model how real writers work. Emphasize writing to support reading. If you're new to writing workshop, Into Writing will be a handy, inspirational guide for implementing and sustaining it. If you want to improve your workshop, you'll have a troubleshooting manual that's easy to use and that's as focused on helping writers reach their potential as you are. Into Writing answers your questions with all the practical savvy, student-sample guideposts, and specific, actionable advice you'd expect from a veteran teacher. And with her warmth and can-do spirit, Megan Sloan will win you over and lead you to teaching that your young writers will find as satisfying as you will.

This book is a practical, highly readable guide to teaching writing across a broad range of ages and grade levels (K-8). Each stage of the writing process is covered in detail, from setting a purpose for writing to drafting, revising, editing, and producing a "finished" product. The goal is to provide a comprehensive overview of writing development and best practices in teaching, richly illustrated with examples of student work. Teachers learn strategies and techniques to help students work independently and in groups to develop meaningful projects; master needed skills through engaging mini-lessons; produce various forms of fiction and nonfiction writing; and use literature as a source of inspiration and modeling. Special features include "Teacher's Tips" and quick-reference lists that reinforce key points and aid in instructional planning. An invaluable Appendix provides booklists for mini-lessons on a variety of thematic, stylistic, and grammatical topics.

"In Lisa Cleaveland's classroom, writing workshop is a time every day when her students make books. Katie Wood Ray guides you through the first days in Lisa's classroom, offering ideas, information, strategies, and tips to show you step by step how you can launch a writing workshop with beginning writers."--book cover

Writing Workshop in the Elementary Classroom is a culmination of the authors’ work with students and writing for collectively over 35 years. Teaching writing using a workshop methodology can be exciting as it is an interactive approach to writing, but it can also be challenging as it is not the traditional teacher directed whole class lessons that many test preparation curriculums tout. The book takes the reader through the stages of the writing process in the first part, explaining what students are doing and thinking in each stage. In the second part, the authors explain how to manage students, materials, mini lessons, grading and other aspects that help writing workshop classrooms run smoothly. To help with the transition to a workshop method, readers are asked to keep a journal wherein they plan what they will do in their classrooms.