Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom

by Katie Wood Ray

Wondrous Words is a "loud" book, filled with the voices of writers, young and old. Drawing on stories from classrooms, examples of student writing, and illustrations, Katie Wood Ray explains in practical terms the theoretical underpinnings of how elementary and middle school students learn to write from their reading. The author invites readers into her library and offers suggestions on using books by authors including Cynthia Rylant, Debra Frasier, Eve Bunting, and Gary Paulsen to help teach writing. Wondrous Words weaves practice and theory together to provide an important knowledge base for teachers.

Genres: Education, Teaching, Professional Development, Writing, Nonfiction, School

317 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1999

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

How I wish I had read this book 20 years ago, before I made an attempt to teach my children how to write! In this book, Katie Wood Ray explains, in great detail, how she teaches writing. The theme is that in order to teach writing we have to observe and learn from good writers, both by studying the results (their books), but also from learning about their lives and how they go about writing. The author is too polite to say current teaching methods are all wrong, but you do get that impression.

The analogy Ray invokes repeatedly is of her friend, a seamstress. When we (normal people) go in to a clothing store, we try on the clothes and see what they look like. When Ray's friend goes in a clothing store, she examines the garments inside and out to see how they are made, and see what she can learn and use when she creates clothing. Ray's view is that reading a book should be the same way for a writer. Budding writers should spend a lot of their time reading books, not for enjoyment, but to pick apart how they are crafted. Ray describes exercises she uses in the classroom to teach this skill.

Now, some caveats... The book is definitely directed toward a) teaching teachers, and b) toward the elementary school classroom. So, if that's not your profession, you may be a little frustrated by the book. For one thing, children's picture books are really well suited for the type of analysis that Ray gives them, since they have simple repetitive structures, which can be observed, remembered and copied easily. At first I was amazed at Ray's memory of all the books and which structures they illustrated, but then I remembered that many are picture books. Even I remember the structure of "Goodnight Moon", "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", and our family favorite, "The Big Orange Splot".

Still, I enjoyed the book for opening my eyes to the skills of a craft I somewhat take for granted. I've learned a little more of the vocabulary of good writing, and I do read books a little differently now. I'm also pretty well convinced that liberal arts colleges (all my kids attended) are not doing a good job of teaching writing. They are teaching thinking, which is a big part of the type of writing college students and graduates do, but they aren't doing the kind of "reading as writers" that Ray recommends, that I agree would really improve their abilities as writers.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katie Wood Ray reminds me of Donalyn Miller, but on the writing side of things. Reading The Book Whisperer while simultaneously reading Wondrous Words is a perfect marriage of inspiration for teaching reading and writing.

[BookChampions · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am honestly flabbergasted by how good this teaching tool is. I think the subhead "Writing in the Elementary Classroom" kept the book at a distance all those years, but this may be the best book out there on enacting Writing Workshop at the high school level. You'll have to do some envisioning of your own since all of Ray's examples are K-5 examples, but the transfer is easy and obvious. (I would pair it with Penny Kittle's Write Beside Them for the best glimpse into what I aim for in my writing classrooms.)

So not only is Wondrous Words full of insight and wisdom and enthusiasm for "teaching writers, not the writing," but it is tremendous teacher research. What a tremendous model for the kind of book I hope to write someday.

I'm not sure if I'm just especially tender-hearted this school year, but I've never been so nearly moved to tears so often during a professional text. Maybe the tears wanted to come because I'm in my 20th year of teaching and this book was proof that I'm still (and have always been) on the right track. There really is no reason to be so hard on myself all those years. Maybe the tears wanted to come because Katie Wood Ray speaks so honestly and clearly about what it feels like to be a teacher who loves language and wants to get out of the way of his students so it can mean something to them, too. Her passion for getting students to see writers as mentors is unsurpassed.

Either way, this is a must read. Transformative, affirming, challenging, radical, instructive. Thank you, Katie!

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

WRitten with the elementary class in mind, but I'm learning so much that can be applied to upper grade writing classes.

Again, written for writing in the elementary classroom but I've taken several ideas and differentiated them to fit the ninth grade classroom.
I mostly skimmed but still give it a whopping five stars!

[Doni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the kind of book you live with rather than be done with.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book. It was very inspiring. It's a great reminder to use real authors as mentors when teaching writing.

[Trina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I shied away from reading this book for far too long-all because part of the title said, "Writers and Writing in the ELEMENTARY Classroom." With great arrogance, I didn't think that I would be able to find enough to apply to my secondary English classroom. I was so wrong. This book is filled with great advice for teaching all writers-not just elementary students. In fact, there are pieces that I took away from this book that I want to use in my own development as a writer. After reading this book I have a much clearer sense of craft and how I could teach it to a writer.

One of my favorite parts was in her chapter called Brave, Bold teaching. Gives three steps in a crafting conference:
1. Listen to and look at what the child is trying to do (assessment)
2. Think of what we know that can help the child do this well (curriculum)
3. Suggest something for the child to try or to help refine what the student is trying (instruction)
Brilliant!!

I will absolutely refer back to this book and am so happy that I decided to read it.

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A hugely powerful book for any and all teachers of reading and writing! Katie Wood Ray helps us to see reading in a new light, and guides us in using the writing and writers around us to learn how to become better writers ourselves. Partly philosophy and research, but mostly practical ideas for helping students become Writers (yep! With a capital W), whose writing is REAL. I found myself returning to this book over and over throughout the year for inspiration, practical lesson ideas, and advice. Even if I were not teaching writing, this book is so beautifully written that it makes me "read like a writer" and appreciate the craft of writing "wondrous words" in my daily life!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katie Wood Ray is one of my favorite authors. When I read her books I feel like I am her friend and that she truly cares about me as a teacher of writing and my students as learners of writing. When I read Wondrous Words, I wanted to immediately put in place all the good things that she was teaching me, and I felt like I could because the information was organized in a way that helped me feel confident about myself as a writing instructor.

This is a must for teachers of writing! Don't miss it.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such beautiful writing. She gave me a lot of ideas to ponder as a writing teacher. She is firmly in the "mentor texts" camp when it comes to teaching writing, and she gave many, many, many examples of how and why she uses particular texts with her students. She even provides book lists that not only lists the books she uses in her teaching, but how she uses them to teach specific aspects of craft or structure.

[Christine Engelbrecht · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do not teach elementary school, but I found some the suggestions in this book to be helpful and translate to secondary education. She gives lists of vignettes, excerpts and poems that would be good examples for teaching different genres of writing, or, different writing techniques (repetition, active verbs, adjectives, run-on sentences, etc. A good resource for a creative writing class.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great material here and it shouldn't just be relegated to the elementary classroom. I wish the book were a little bit shorter and felt a little less text-booky. The writing within doesn't read like a textbook but it has the feel of a textbook in organization and format.

[Paris · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my 1st grade placement, I used a poem from this book titled, My Four Best Friends and Me. The students loved hearing about the different things that the poet had to say about each season. I would recommend this book to teachers, overall and I would definately use it to teach that lesson again.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Obviously meant for elementary as opposed to my grade levels, but I still liked Ch. 6, about inquiry and reading like a writer, and her idea on page 220 on what a year-long plan for an upper grades workshop might look like.

[Emily Shamsabadi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It gave wonderful ideas on how to teach writing, and excellent recommendations of books teachers should have in their classroom for students to study the craft of writing. It helped change the way I view writing in the classroom

[Debbi Tehrani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katie Wood Ray is a genius. This book changed the way I teach writing. She takes teaching writing way beyond teaching craft techniques and into how our young authors can structure their pieces.

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! If you want just one book about teaching kids to write, thnis is it!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good suggestion for teaching students to "read like writers" and for using mentor texts to teach writing craft. Struggling writers may need more scaffolding than Ray describes.

[Monique Mcdonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book for teachers ever, if you want to be successful in your teaching career you should start eith this book.

[Kim]

another reread

[Megan]

Waiting to read the rest of this one until I'm closer to setting up Writing Workshop. Think it will be a fall read.

[Wes Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives a lot of insight on how one can read as a writer, as a means to improve their writing. Very good insights on the craft of writing.

[Meridith Whitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

REally good book , I really think its because it teacher children a lot about what they can do with their knowlegde and words.

[Mary Beth Revesz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a long time ago and it still one of my favorites about teaching writing.

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good stuff on how to structure writer's workshop around the study and practice of writing craft.

[Jan Spohn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful , full of inspiration for elementary writing classrooms.

[Mary]

GREAT BOOOK for teachers

[Rocheal Hoffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must-have for every teacher.