The Write Genre: Classroom Activities and Mini-Lessons That Promote Writing with Clarity, Style, and Flashes of Brilliance

by Lori Jamison Rog, Paul Kropp

Overview

How do we make writing meaningful to students? A leading educator and a popular novelist present a refreshing exploration of how the challenges of professional writers can give students new insights into writing.

The Write Genre presents a balanced approach to writing workshops in grades 3–9. It provides hands-on activities that focus on all stages of the writing process, with teacher-directed assignments and self-selected writing lessons that emphasize writing to learn. These unique lessons are designed to help students write with a concrete purpose and audience in mind and complete assignments that are more focused and authentic.

Organized around six writing genres, more than fifty mini-lessons deal with specific skills that help students write effective fiction and nonfiction in such genres as:personal memoir— from techniques involving a personal memoir timeline and organizer to great ways to start, create powerful paragraphs, and cut the clutter;fictional narrative— from character, plot, and dialogue to point of view and conflict resolution;informational report— from strategies for reading nonfiction and K-W-L-S organizers to adding voice and style;opinion piece— from loaded words and other persuasive writing techniques to business letters and topical issues; procedural writing —from incorporating visuals and interviewing experts to techniques for writing imperative sentences; poetry – from teaching the "tools" and specific forms of poetry to creating a poetry anthology.

For easy classroom implementation, the key elements of many mini-lessons are also presented in reproducible pages, including frameworks, organizers, prompts, checklists, and grids.

The book offers chapters devoted to the writing process, writing workshop, and using rubrics for instruction and assessment. The concluding chapter pulls all the threads together with a multi-genre project that involves students in using the skills they have learned throughout the school year.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781551381725
Publisher:	Stenhouse Publishers
Publication date:	01/01/2004
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	8 - 14 Years

About the Author

Lori Jamison Rog is a teacher, author, and literacy consultant. She is one of the few Canadians to have served on the Board of Directors of the International Literacy Association. Among her professional books on reading and writing instruction, Lori is the author of Guiding Readers, Struggling Readers, and Marvelous Minilessons for Teaching Nonfiction Writing K–3. She serves as the Education Director for High Interest Publishing, which produces high interest-low vocabulary novels for struggling readers. A popular speaker at literacy conferences across North America and beyond, Lori is currently an independent consultant, providing professional development to schools and districts.

Paul had a different career in mind before he became a teacher. "I started out to become a poet, but found the demand for metaphysical poets in the 20th century to be very limited. Teaching was as close as I could come."

Paul has taught middle and high school English and special education and has classroom experience in every grade from kindergarten on. He is currently an author, editor, and  educational consultant in schools across Canada and the United States. He has published over fifty young adult books, many of which are designed to support struggling readers.

He is married to Lori Jamison Rog, with whom he collaborates on many projects. They have three sons, one daughter-in-law, one stepdaughter, and a grandson. Paul enjoys reading, fixing up his 1890 Victorian townhouse in Toronto, playing golf, creating stained glass art, playing the piano, and having discussions with the women's book club he belongs to.