TEACHER’S GUI DE
TEACHER’S GUI DE
• Invite students to study the writing process through the eyes of published
authors. Have students read memoirs, like Betsy Byars’s Moon and I
(William Morrow & Co., Inc., 1996), and research different authors’ web
sites (e.g.,Avi: www.avi-writer.com; Judy Blume: www.judyblume.com).
Ask students to consider questions like Why did this author begin
writing? How does he/she develop the idea for his/her books? What steps
does the author follow? Students can present what they learn to the class
in poster, presentation or report form.
Suggested Internet Resources
Periodically, Internet Resources are updated on our web site at
www.LibraryVideo.com
• www.powa.org
The Paradigm Online Writing Assistant is an online guide geared towards all
writers, from the inexperienced to the advanced.Topics include prewriting
techniques and strategies for organizing, drafting and revising writing.
• www.publishingstudents.com/
“Publishing with Students” offers practical advice, research articles and
online resources to help students publish their writing.
• www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=403
Developed by the National Council of Teachers of English, this lesson plan
for middle school students addresses peer conferencing.
Using the Writing
Process
Suggested Print Resources
• Fletcher, Ralph. How Writers Work: Finding a Process that Works for You.
Harper Collins Publishers, New York, NY; 2000.
• Nixon, Joan Lowery. The Making of a Writer. Delacorte Press, New York,
NY; 2002. Nixon, an established author, offers tips to young writers.
• Trueit,Trudi Strain. Keeping a Journal. Scholastic, Inc., New York, NY;
2004.
TEACHER’S GUIDE
Enakshi Bose, M.S.Ed.
Curriculum Specialist, Schlessinger Media
COMPLETE LIST OF TITLES
• CREATIVE & NARRATIVE WRITING
• EDITING & PROOFREADING
• USING THE WRITING PROCESS
• WRITING EFFECTIVE PARAGRAPHS
Teacher’s Guides Included
and Available Online at:
• WRITING EXPOSITORY ESSAYS
• WRITING FOR FORMAL &
INFORMAL PURPOSES
• WRITING PERSUASIVE ESSAYS
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Teacher’s Guide and Program Copyright 2006 by Schlessinger Media,
a division of Library Video Company
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All rights reserved.
Grades 5–9
T
h roughout their academic care e rs and life itself, students
need to be able to communicate their thoughts cl e a r ly in
writing, and to do so, t h ey need to practice and master the
skills necessary to write effective ly for many different purposes and audiences. W riting for Students reinforces the
idea that the craft of writing is a flex i ble and individual
process, with stages that overlap or recur depending on the
w riter as well as on the type of writing he or she is doing.
The series also illustrates multiple stra t e gies for students to
i m p rove their own wri t i n g , from composing a focused thesis
statement to organizing supporting evidence to revising to
applying writing conventions through careful proofreading
and editing.T h rough wri t i n g , students can acquire a deeper
u n d e rstanding of their topic. Knowing how to shape wo rd s
on paper to convey ideas in a coherent and compelling manner provides students with a powerful tool towa rds becoming critical thinke rs and lifelong learn e rs .
Content Overview
Discussion Topics
The writing process is a series of stages a writer goes through to create a
piece of wri t i n g , f rom the initial ideas to a completed wo rk . Used for eve ry
kind of wri t i n g , from stories and poems to essays and letters, the writing
p rocess includes prew ri t i n g , drafting, revising, p ro o f reading/editing and publishing. All writers use the writing pro c e s s , but every wri t e r ’s process is
unique, tailored to purpose, audience and the wri t e r ’s individual style.The
writing process is fluid and re c u rsive: for some pieces, writers may revisit
stages,drafting, revising and redrafting many times, while for other pieces they
m ay move through stages quick ly. No two people will use the exact same
process, and the amount of time a writer spends on each stage varies with the
writer and the piece. Not all writing needs to be taken through the publishing
stage; sometimes writing is personal, only for the author’s eyes.
• For any piece of writing, the writing process depends on purpose, audience
and the individual writer. Invite students to share their writing processes.
What kinds of prewriting do they find helpful? For what pieces of writing
have they revisited certain stages? Ask students if they have ever skipped a
stage in the writing process. If so, for what kinds of writing?
• Student writers often feel reluctant to revise their works for a variety of
reasons. Some feel that revision is too time-consuming, while others worry
about undoing or losing the work already completed. Invite students to
share their thoughts about revising. Do they enjoy it? If not, why not?
Discuss how revising can enhance a piece of writing.
• Peer review is a useful tool to improving writing, but it requires sensitivity
and consideration for the author’s feelings.As a class, discuss the
frustrations that a writer might feel during peer review and what his or her
peers can do to make sure the writer is comfortable.What kinds of
comments are helpful? Which are not?
Vocabulary
writing process — A series of stages writers go through when composing
pieces of writing.
prewriting — The thinking and planning stage of writing, from generating
and refining ideas to gathering and organizing details.
drafting — The stage of writing when thoughts are put into words on
paper.
revising — The stage of writing when a writer reviews the content,
structure and style of a draft and makes improvements.
proofreading — The stage of writing when a writer looks for and corrects
errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation and sentence structure to make the
meaning of a piece of writing clear.
publishing — The stage when writing, in its final form, is shared with
others.
purpose — A goal that a piece of writing intends to accomplish.
audience — The people who will be reading a piece of writing.
brainstorming — To make short, quick notes about thoughts or ideas on a
topic in preparation for writing.
graphic organizer — A visual way to organize information about a piece of
writing. Lists, outlines and webs are examples of graphic organizers.
journal — A place to explore topics and record thoughts, ideas and feelings.
Journals can be useful during prewriting, but they also simply may be a place
for writers to write for themselves.
freewriting — A prewriting technique of writing nonstop for several
minutes on a topic.
first draft — The initial written version of a piece.
tone — The attitude or style, determined by purpose and audience, that a
writer assumes when composing a piece of writing.
transition — A bridge between two topics to help sentences and
paragraphs flow smoothly by showing relationships between ideas or
signaling what is coming next.
peer review — When two or more students read and provide feedback on
how to improve each other’s pieces of writing.Also known as a peer
conference.
Follow-Up Activities
• Prewriting takes on different forms for individual writers. Some may
brainstorm ideas using graphic organizers and outlines, while others may
use freewriting. For different tasks, assign students prewriting techniques to
practice and use. Periodically, have students share which techniques they
find useful for different kinds of writing.
• Transitions help clarify ideas by creating a smooth flow of sentences and
paragraphs.As a class, brainstorm different transition words and the kinds of
relationships they create between ideas. For example, the transition
“similarly” signifies a comparison, and “in other words” signifies a
clarification. (A resource is www.wisc.edu/writing/Handbook/
Transitions.html.)
• Revising is more than simply tweaking words and phrases; it is a time for a
writer to see his or her work in a different light and to uncover new
possibilities for shaping, expanding or clarifying ideas to effectively address
purpose and audience.With existing rough drafts, encourage students to
use revising to explore their topics anew. For instance, students might write
a new introduction or a new conclusion, add dialogue in place of a
description of an event, switch the point of view, or describe what happens
before the events of the paper or after it ends. Discuss what new ideas are
generated by approaching revision in this manner.
• Peer conferencing can provide valuable insight during the revising stage.As
a class, brainstorm a list of questions for students to use during peer
conferences to help reviewers offer constructive comments. (Possible questions:What made the narrative interesting? How did the introduction grab
your attention? What details did the author use to support the main idea?)
Invite students to role-play peer conferences and, as a class, discuss what
was effective or ineffective.
• Proofreaders’ marks are useful when proofreading and editing pieces of
writing. Review common proofreaders’ marks, including the marks for
insertions, deletions and new paragraphs. Have students create individual
reference charts that illustrate and define useful proofreaders’ marks. (See
cctc.commnet.edu/writing/symbols.htm.)
(Continued)