CNewman

This section of the book gives Craft Lessons for teachers to use to teach writing.  The authors suggest teaching children to write using a beginning, middle and end.  I recently introduced this in my classroom.  As a group, we wrote a story with each part.  I gave examples of familiar stories out of order to show how important it is to have a beginning, middle and end. I am trying to encourage them to write more and give more thought and detail to their writing.  This book deals with how to help with this problem.  The lessons concentrate on matching words with pictures, nudging students to move beyond "list" stories, using specific details, using details to create "mind pictures", using illustrations to convey information, using your voice when you write, pacing your story and using a strong lead.  I plan on using some of their suggestions in upcoming weeks.  One suggestion I plan on trying this week is to give them three pieces of paper - one for their beginning, one for the middle and one for the end.  I hope this will encourage them to write more complete storie that are not limited to one page.