PAcree

In Craft Lessons, the authors have devised a 3 step writing process which will replace the 5 step process of writing commonly used by teachers. The 3 step process is conceive---craft---correct. In the conceive step, potential authors come up with ideas for writing through literature, brainstorming, word lists, and story maps. The authors discuss how students can come up with writing topics using their own pieces of writing. The authors stress that in order to improve student writing students must write frequently, share their writing, and conference with the teacher on a regular basis. Teachers of writers must learn to respond appropriately to student writers, be positive, try to understand the writer's intentions, and lower the ambitions(teach only one or two things with a single piece of writing).

As a writing teacher, I do not need to tell students what to write, how long it should be, nor exactly how to organize their ideas. My job is to teach the process of learning to write. Teaching writing as a craft requires frequent writing, frequent conferences with writers, abundant examples of writing through literature, and a emphasis on rereading,rewriting, and correcting to make it better.