Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools by Jim Blasingame, John H. Bushman

From the Publisher

Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools provides research-based and standards-based strategies—as well as classroom-tested activities—all in one book. Covering the core fundamentals of exemplary practices in the teaching of writing, this book demonstrates writing processes and the use of rubrics, with authentic samples taken directly from students' writing portfolios. Readers are also given valuable information on teaching grammar and spelling, curriculum planning, service learning, and community and parental involvement—all through the lens of teaching writing.

Product Details

• Table of Contents
• Forewords & Introductions

Table of Contents

Forewords & Introductions

Our major reason for creating Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools is because we have found that most of the books available on writing instruction are too narrowly focused. Some books contain theory but no practice (or vice versa). Some are classic but not current. Some contain writing workshop strategies but offer nothing concrete on writing assessment. Still others cover one kind of research paper but no other genres, pure poetry or personal writing without teaching and assessing conventions, ESL strategies but nothing else, and so on. Over the years, classroom teachers and our university colleagues have told us that they often have had to compromise when selecting books on writing pedagogy.

Teaching Writing in Middle tend Secondary Schools is a comprehensive work that weaves all topics together in an integrated approach; in fact, it might have been better titled Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Secondary Writing but Were Afraid to Ask, because that's what we have attempted to accomplish. Our text provides rudimentary foundations of adolescent psychology as well as writing instruction to help you meet state standards. It shares classroom approaches, including stories of real teachers and what they are doing successfully right now in their classrooms, so that you have an opportunity to learn from those who are successful at teaching writing. Finally, it offers multiple examples of what young people are writing right now and provides you concrete examples of writing rubrics and assessed work.

Teaching Writing in Middle and Secondary Schools is organized into three parts: Part1, Instruction; Part 2, Assessment; and Part 3, Planning for Instruction: A Compendium of Instructional Resources.

Part I starts from scratch, including preparing the physical classroom, conducting the first day of class, and establishing an appropriate environment for the rest of the year. It continues with detailed information from theory to practice, including concrete examples about what to do from day to day in the writing classroom.

Part II provides the means for assessing students' writing performance and growth over time, including not only theory and research but also detailed information on what to do, how to do it, and how to document it.

Part III contains specialized information that a given teacher's situation may call for, such as incorporating service learning into the curriculum, proven methods for proactive and effective communication with parents and school administration, and teaching writing with the English as a Second Language student.

Appendix A, Sample Multi-Genre Paper and Rubric, contains a sample multi-genre paper and a proven sample rubric used by successful English teachers for scoring multi-genre papers.

Appendix B, Resources for Creating and Assessing Portfolios, contains a detailed set of forms, used by teachers in the field, for creating and assessing writing portfolios.

Appendix C, Sample High School Papers and Rating Rationales, contains a full set of anonymous high school papers and provides examples of high-, middle-, and low-scoring papers that cover the Six-Trait Model for writing. Detailed explanations for each paper's ratings are included.

Appendix D, Sample Middle School/Junior High School Papers and Rating Rationales, contains a full set of anonymous middle school papers and provide examples of high-, middle- and low-scoring papers that cover the Six-Trait Model for writing. Detailed explanations for each paper's ratings are included.

We carefully arranged the segments of this book for ease of reading and use, no matter what the reader's purpose or experience level. University professors guiding students through their required methods class can work through the book page by page, covering theory, practice, sample lessons, and sample grading examples. Classroom teachers can easily locate and pull out items that they need right now, such as mini-lessons, sample papers from actual high school and middle students, writing activities, assessment rubrics, and more. Individual chapters, as well as sections within chapters, can easily stand alone but also integrate well with the whole, so the book can be used in whatever order the user deems most effective.

• Quick Tips. Ideas teachers can take right to the classroom are set aside from the regular text.
• Quotation boxes. Striking quotations from authors of young adult literature and writing gurus (Robert Cormier, Karen Hesse, and Lois Duncan, for example)
• Anonymous sample papers from middle and high school students with rating explanations for use as grading practice by pre-service teachers or anchor papers for veteran teachers
• URLs to link readers to a wealth of Internet resources
• Rubrics. Used by teachers in the field and ready to be taken right to the classroom
• Writing Activities. In many genres, accompanied by samples that teachers can show their students
• Materials for complete portfolio design and use
• Complete program for implementing the Six-Trait Model for Writing Instruction and Assessment