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What Really Matters in Writing: Research-Based Practices Across the Curriculum
Written by the authors you know and trust, each of the books in the What Really Matters series offers a succinct presentation of what matters most when teaching different aspects of the reading process. With a thought-provoking, rich presentation, Pat Cunningham and Dick Allington explore complex issues teachers of reading face in today’s classrooms and bring each of the topics to life. These brief and inexpensive books are written in a lively narrative with clear organization, exceptional pedagogy, and special features. Their friendly design and compact size make the books accessible, convenient, and easy-to read.
240 pages, Paperback
First published March 5, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 21, 2016
This book is like a teacher’s dream for writing instruction! From the first days of school to interventions with students that are struggling writers, this book offers research-based approaches on how to handle any question or issue that one might have about teaching writing. Teaching different genres, giving students choice, and sharing writing are just a few of the important ideas discussed in this text.
This book was meant for elementary teachers, but has elements that could be applied to any age of students. An important part of this book is teaching the writing process, which is something that all students need to do. The book explains to teachers how students go through this process by brainstorming (either on paper or with a partner), drafting, revising, editing, and sharing or publication. The writing process will not always be the same for every subject or for every student and some students will need our help more than others. Writing can be applied to content areas to strengthen understanding of any topic as well. Science, Social Studies, and Math are a few subjects that the reader of this book will learn how to incorporate with writing. Through conferencing with teachers and peers, modeled mini-lessons, and mentor texts students can become better writers and readers.
Another important part of this book was how to work smarter with the management of writing in the classroom. The book stresses that not every piece of writing that students do has to be published, and that students should choose which pieces they want to use for publishing. Students can assess their own writing through using writing scales before they publish as well. It also explains that there are different kinds of writing, such as think-writes that should not even be edited or revised. Reading this book helped me wrap my mind around the planning and implementation of writing instruction in my classroom substantially!
Fellow teachers could use this book as a resource for planning many kinds of instruction with writing. For example, this book gives strategies for how to teach poetry, as well as lesson examples. It also gives a detailed guide on how to get students to revise and edit through an appropriate progression. For instance, the book recommends that the teacher models revising a piece of writing using only one criteria at a time. This gives students time to get good at revising for this criteria before moving on and adding more. Often times, teachers become so bogged down with work that they leave out important steps of instruction in writing. I think this book explains everything in the appropriate order of how it should be taught developmentally. Then, it goes on to give teachers an example of how it might look in their classroom.
I think this book is an excellent resource for teachers of writing. It goes along with everything that I have learned about good writing instruction so far. It also gives teachers some concrete examples on how to teach each piece of the writer’s workshop, which still giving them the freedom to implement in a way that they are comfortable with. After reading this book, I feel like I can successfully build students that are writers in a way that is research-based.
This book was meant for elementary teachers, but has elements that could be applied to any age of students. An important part of this book is teaching the writing process, which is something that all students need to do. The book explains to teachers how students go through this process by brainstorming (either on paper or with a partner), drafting, revising, editing, and sharing or publication. The writing process will not always be the same for every subject or for every student and some students will need our help more than others. Writing can be applied to content areas to strengthen understanding of any topic as well. Science, Social Studies, and Math are a few subjects that the reader of this book will learn how to incorporate with writing. Through conferencing with teachers and peers, modeled mini-lessons, and mentor texts students can become better writers and readers.
Another important part of this book was how to work smarter with the management of writing in the classroom. The book stresses that not every piece of writing that students do has to be published, and that students should choose which pieces they want to use for publishing. Students can assess their own writing through using writing scales before they publish as well. It also explains that there are different kinds of writing, such as think-writes that should not even be edited or revised. Reading this book helped me wrap my mind around the planning and implementation of writing instruction in my classroom substantially!
Fellow teachers could use this book as a resource for planning many kinds of instruction with writing. For example, this book gives strategies for how to teach poetry, as well as lesson examples. It also gives a detailed guide on how to get students to revise and edit through an appropriate progression. For instance, the book recommends that the teacher models revising a piece of writing using only one criteria at a time. This gives students time to get good at revising for this criteria before moving on and adding more. Often times, teachers become so bogged down with work that they leave out important steps of instruction in writing. I think this book explains everything in the appropriate order of how it should be taught developmentally. Then, it goes on to give teachers an example of how it might look in their classroom.
I think this book is an excellent resource for teachers of writing. It goes along with everything that I have learned about good writing instruction so far. It also gives teachers some concrete examples on how to teach each piece of the writer’s workshop, which still giving them the freedom to implement in a way that they are comfortable with. After reading this book, I feel like I can successfully build students that are writers in a way that is research-based.
September 20, 2013
I had to read this book during my undergrad and after graduating, I found it very helpful when it came to planning lessons around writing. It really focuses on using writing across the curriculum and ways to keep it as an on going process.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews