Summary
Contents
Subject index
When It Comes to Reading, Writers Have an Advantage We know that writing skills reinforce reading skills, but what’s the best way to capitalize on this beneficial relationship? By flipping the traditional “reading lesson first, writing lesson second” sequence, Colleen Cruz ingeniously helps you make the most of the writing-to-reading connection with carefully matched, conceptually connected lesson pairs. The result is a healthy reciprocity that effectively and efficiently develops students’ literacy skills. Backed by long-term academic and field research, Writers Read Better: Narrative presents a series of 50 tightly interconnected lesson pairs that can be implemented either as a complete curriculum or as a supplement to an existing program. Each pairing leads with a writing lesson, used as a springboard for the reading lesson that will follow. Throughout the book’s four sections, organized to help you teach tightly aligned lessons and units on reading and writing narrative, you’ll discover • Kid-friendly approaches to virtually every matter of craft, including symbolism, tenses, the role of first and last words, dialogue as character fingerprint, giving weight to what's important, and much more • Clear guidance on the intention of each lesson, the type of narrative genre it’s ideally suited for, and step-by-step plans • Sample teacher language for introducing and coaching each lesson • Mentor text excerpts to use as models for personal narrative, memoir, and story writing • Tips on building and organizing a contemporary classroom library filled with inspiring, illustrative texts, and how you can incorporate the tools, technology and media available in your classroom to make each lesson most effective • Sample student work, online videos and other supporting resources Complete with practical suggestions on adapting the lessons to suit the particular needs of your classroom as well as individual students, Writers Reader Better: Narrative offers a solid foundation for giving your students the advantage of powerful, transferable literacy skills.
Writing : Flaws and Quirks for Character Development
Writing : Flaws and Quirks for Character Development
Purpose
Students learn that perfect characters are boring; including flaws and quirks helps develop more realistic and interesting characters.
Lesson Intended for
- Writing realistic fiction short stories
- Writing historical fiction short stories
- Writing fantasy short stories
- Writing fiction picture books
- Students at a wide range of levels
Materials Needed
- A basket of rocks, beans, or other items that look the same at first glance, enough for each member of the class (optional)
- A piece of chart paper, document camera, or other way to demonstrate writing for the class
- Students should have partners
- Students’ writing notebooks
Lesson Steps
- Ask students to describe the objects in the basket (e.g., rocks, beans).
- Pass the objects out to the students and encourage them to study them deeply, noticing every little thing about them.
- Tell them that ...
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