This is set up as a series of essays based on research for best writing practices.
My favorites were: Ch. 7 Writing to learn (in content areas) by Perry D. Klein, Katrina N. Haug -10 minutes of focused strategies daily is more effective than longer sessions Ch. 11 Planning by Debra McKeown and Erin Fitzpatrick -teach students planning strategies to organize their ideas POWER, TIDE Ch. 13 Reading-Writing connections by Timothy Shanahan -
I read this for our district's ELA curriculum research. Although it did not have much for new information pertaining to writing instruction, it did provide some good reminders and ideas for improving. I would have given it five stars, but then I would have had to put on my 5-star shelf, and I am trying to save that for more "fun" reads. I wouldn't consider this one to be all that enjoyable unless you are an English teacher or somebody wanting to implement more writing in your classroom (which should be all teachers).
If you're a writing teacher, I think you'd find this interesting. Otherwise?? not so much. Chapters on different aspects of writing instruction talk about what research says and how to implement the practices supported by research. The writing is a little uneven, which is not uncommon in an edited book.
I think this is great for educational leaders, coaches, specialists, interventionists, and ELA teachers. A lot of research and evidence to back up the strategies, but it’s a lengthy read and not super classroom teacher friendly. If you’re looking to reevaluate the writing instruction within your system, consider reading this.
There are pearls of wisdom about writing instruction in here, but most of the book is fluffy, scholarly, filler. Also, the technology chapter read almost identically to one that I've read in another book, so not much was new, even though this book is two years newer than the other.