Strategic Writing Mini-Lessons for All Students, Grades 4–8
- Janet C. Richards - University of South Florida, Tampa, USA
- Cynthia A. Lassonde - SUNY - Oneonta
Foreword by Jane Hansen
Power up writing instruction with short, differentiated lessons!
The hard reality? By the time they reach middle school, many of our students still lack basic writing skills, and this may be one of their last opportunities to get up to speed before they reach high school. There's no better resource for you to help them do so than Strategic Writing Mini-Lessons for All Students, Grades 4–8.
Covering all four essential writing strategies—inventing, drafting, writing, and editing—these differentiated mini-lessons follow an easy-to-navigate, consistent structure, including:
- A schematic linking lessons to the grade-level goals of the Common Core
- Adaptations for struggling writers, English Language Learners, and even advanced writers with every lesson
- Support for different types of learners through use of color-coding techniques, charts, art, and other visual tools
- Specific guidance on developing your students' confidence as writers and their ability to work independently
Within no time, your students will write with a newfound competence and confidence, better equipped to meet the demands ahead of them.
"This book is the most useful writing resource I have encountered in all my years of teaching. It is filled with practical strategies to produce writers with high-quality work product and high interest in the craft of writing."
—Linda Sarver, Teacher
Excelsior Springs, MO
“Teachers often worry about how to teach writing to students at different levels, especially to students who seem to struggle as writers. With those teachers in mind, this book provides tips about how to tailor instruction.”
“This book is the most useful writing resource I have encountered in all my years of teaching. It is filled with practical strategies to produce writers with high-quality work product and high interest in the craft of writing.”
"A true resource for the teacher of writing. The plethora of strategies is accessible and appropriate for each grade level and learning ability.”
"Great resource! A variety of helpful strategies are offered by teachers in authentic classroom situations. Modifications of these lessons for struggling, ELL, and advanced students enable all to benefit."
“As a Middle School Literacy Specialist with many years of experience in teaching reading and writing, I appreciate this book and highly recommend it as a tool for educators. The authors have compiled the most reliable and best proven practices for teaching writing and made them easily accessible for students’ immediate use. This book not only has tested methods that work for teaching writing, it has modifications for all students, including struggling and advanced writers. Best of all, you’ll discover practical approaches that provide actual mini-lessons with integrated Common Core Standards and ideas to generate purpose for writer motivation. Whether you teach English, Science, Reading, or any other area, your students can benefit from learning the writing strategies in this book.”