50 Ways to Develop Strategic Writers - Softcover

Tompkins, Gail E.; Blanchfield, Cathy L.

9780131197909: 50 Ways to Develop Strategic Writers

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0131197908 ISBN 13: 9780131197909

Publisher: Pearson, 2004

With contributions from master teachers under the guidance of Gail Tompkins, Director of the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project, this book provides clear, step-by-step descriptions of 50 effective, proven strategies for helping learners in Grades 4 - 12 become competent strategic writers. Instructions for each strategy are carefully constructed to enable novice teachers to easily and quickly recreate the lessons and adapt them for many grade and ability levels.

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About the Author:

Gail E. Tompkins is Professor Emerita at California State Unversity, Fresno, and she continues to direct the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project. She regularly works with teachers in their kindergarten through eighth-grade classrooms and leads staff development programs on reading, language arts, and writing. In 1998 Dr. Tompkins was inducted into the California Reading Association's Reading Hall of Fame in recognition of her publication and other accomplishments in the field of reading, and recently she was awarded the prestigious Provost's Award for Excellence in Teaching at California's State University, Fresno.

In keeping with the National Writing Project's goal to improve writing and learning in our schools by improving the teaching of writing, 50 Ways to Develop Strategic Writers provides a collection of classroom-tested ideas developed and shared in partnerships between the San Joaquin Valley Writing Project and schools and districts in Central California. The collection contains a wealth of clear, successful suggestions for teaching children and adolescents the power of writing strategically. Strategies identify problem-solving behaviors that students learn to use as they write. For example, students understand that writing is a process, that each step requires careful planning and thought, and that the steps are recursive in nature.

Written with classroom teachers in mind, the step-by-step directions for each strategy have been carefully constructed so that new as well as experienced teachers can recreate the lessons, which are adaptable across many grade and ability levels, primarily grades 4 through 12.

Each chapter begins with a chart (like the one shown at the left) to help situate the strategy in the classroom. The chart tells you what type of classroom—language arts, content area, EL, or AP—is the target audience for the lesson. You'll also find guidance as to which step of the writing process the lesson best fits. Finally, if a chapter includes an assessment component, the chapter-opening chart indicates what type of assessment is included.

The San Joaquin Valley Writing Project is part of the National Writing Project (NWP), and there are NWP sites in every state. If you are interested in learning more about the NWP or joining your local site, contact the National Writing Project through its website at www.writingproject.org or call 510-642-0963.

We would like to thank the reviewers of our manuscript for their comments and insights: James Beers, College of William and Mary; Patricia L. Daniel, University of South Florida; Judith M. Kelly, Howard University; and Mary Elizabeth Spalding, University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

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