Inside Out: Strategies for Teaching Writing

by Dawn Latta Kirby, Dan Kirby, Tom Liner

The long-awaited third edition of Inside Out is at hand, this time with the addition of Dawn Latta Kirby's insightful work based on nearly 30 years of experience in teaching writing. Together the three authors have thoroughly updated Inside Out with the latest information on technology, a substantial reference section on resources, and loads of new examples.

Genres: Teaching, Education, Writing, Nonfiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2003

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma]

I am teaching The Teaching of Writing in Middle and High Schools again this semester and this is the basic text for the course. Well, in keeping with the intentions of the book, student texts are the center of the course, but this is our guide to progressive teaching of writing, focused on engagement, passion, creativity, community-classroom connections, as opposed to the rigid approach that now almost completely dominates K-College writing instruction, focused on argumentation, five paragraph templates for essay construction, non-fiction, in keeping with the conservative Common Core.

This is the best text for disrupting that narrow focus, and getting people to fall in love with writing again. Many of my students had not written a story in school for many years. They could not name a project they were passionate about. Exit surveys consistently confirm that one of the least loved classes in American high school is English. If you are reading this in was likely not true for you, and you have trouble believing it, but if you sat in the worksheet-heavy classrooms as I do on a weekly basis, you will not be surprised that students do not typically become lifelong readers and writers.

[Tim Pollock]

Another must-read for English teachers or aspiring English teachers. A tad long but very good stuff.

The resource section alone is worth it.

[Erin McDonnell-Jones]

Overall, it can be a daunting task for undergraduates but I think if I break this up and pair it with some chapters from Kelly Gallagher's "Write Like This," they be provide valuable insights, ideas, and activities for our future English teachers.

[Eliana]

Great book! Had a lot of writing activities

[Jonathan Brammer]

Teaching kids to write is an intensely complex process - Liner et al suggest that it is the motivation piece that is key, and writing should be encouraged first as a form of self-expression rather than as an academic exercise. There are some useful strategies here, but fitting them into curricula that emphasize formal (and formulaic) writing is a challenge.

[Elaine]

Well written and informative advice about how to realistically teach high schoolers not only how to write, but how to develop confidence in their writing skills. Takes an extremely progressive and constructive stance. I'd recommend this to any English teacher.

[Anne-Marie]

Wonderful insight on how to teach writing. Excellent chapter on responding to literature through writing.

[GRReviewer]

Some really nice strategies for teaching writing. The authors are all about allowing students to develop unique voices for authentic audiences. Very progressive and constructivist.

[Tim]

Another must-read for English teachers or aspiring English teachers. A tad long but very good stuff.

The resource section alone is worth it.

[Wendy E.]

A must-read for all teachers, as all teachers should be teaching writing in their courses.

[Linda]

Practical and praticable!

[Kristen]

Dawn Latta Kirby's Inside Out: Strategies for Teaching Writing was read for ENG 230 Writing/Teaching of Writing.