The Write Thing: Kwame Alexander Engages Students in Writing Workshop (And You Can Too!)

by Kwame Alexander

Overview

Imagine having a Newbery Medal-winning author in your classroom as an advisor and a friend, providing personal and practical advice on how to teach writing workshop in the modern-day classroom. With The Write Thing, you can do just that! Kwame Alexander is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Crossover. With more than 10 years of experience conducting writing workshops in schools, Alexander shows how to shake up the "traditional" writing workshop and make writing fun again! His magnetic personality, infectious enthusiasm, and love of teaching come through to inspire all students to write. The Write Thing teaches you how to move students step-by-step from ideas, to drafts, to finished works. Not only will you successfully motivate your students to write, you'll take that motivation one step further by providing guidance on how to create student-driven publications of their work. The confidence students will attain when they see their writing authentically published will be off the charts! The book has three parts: Writing, Publishing, and Presenting. The Writing section features Lessons in Action that teach students to produce writing that is worthy of being published. With a focus on poetry, Alexander's writing workshop uniquely meets the needs of reluctant writers. The Publishing section focuses on how to prepare and print digital and physical copies of students' work. The Presenting section provides suggestions to help students confidently present their poetry and other written pieces. Other exciting features include Kwame Time! videos for both teachers and students that bring Alexander into the classroom. Kwame's Quick Tips feature easy-to-implement ideas that have worked for Alexander. With an insightful foreword by author Kylene Beers, teacher success stories, and the most helpful appendix ever written, this essential resource will teach you how to tailor writing workshop to meet the particular needs of your students.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493888429
Publisher:	Shell Education
Publication date:	07/02/2018
Series:	Professional Resources
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	381,550
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.30(d)

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 5

Foreword: Discovering the Neglected Genre 7

Preface: An Unconventional, Uncommon Writing Workshop 9

Introduction: Finding Your Writing Groove 13

Creating a Student-Run Publishing Enterprise 14

Helping Students Find Their Voices 17

How to Use The Write Thing 17

Part 1 Writing

Chapter 1 Setting the Stage: Why Start with Poetry? 23

The Essential Joy of Poetry 26

The Transformative Power of Poetry 28

Vision and Validation 32

Chapter 2 Launching the Writing Workshop 35

Begin with a Thrill 35

Pull a Poem Out of Your Pocket 38

The Students Are the Curriculum 41

The Importance of Free Writing 46

The Magic Between the Lines 47

Chapter 3 Preparing to Write 49

Emotions, Meaning, and More 49

The Rules (and How to Bend Them) 62

Chapter 4 Writing the Draft 65

Form and Structure 65

Stealing Words and Choosing a Topic 80

Lights! Camera! Action! 81

Chapter 5 Revising Is Re Envisioning 83

One Size Does Not Fit All 83

Purposeful Revision 85

Literary Excellence 91

Part 2 Publishing

Chapter 6 Making Student Run Publishing a Priority 95

Why Publish in the Classroom? 95

Exploring Publishing Alternatives 98

Creating a Classroom Publishing Center 104

Chapter 7 Step by Step Book Publishing 107

Step 1 Select the Poems 107

Step 2 Produce the Final Manuscript 108

Step 3 Choose a Title 108

Step 4 Publish the Book 110

Step 5 Explore Printing Options 114

Celebrating Your Published Authors 116

Giving Students Voice 116

Part 3 Presenting

Chapter 8 Presenting Student Work 121

The Joy of Presenting! 121

Bring Writing to Life: Methods for Presenting Poetry 126

Harness Your inner Greatness 131

Appendixes

Appendix A Teacher Resources 136

Appendix B Poetry Form Mini Lessons 144

Appendix C Book Publishing Resources 172

Appendix D References 194

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/01/2018

In this engaging, conversational work based on his immensely popular Book-in-a-Day workshops, Newbery Award winner Alexander invites teachers to use poetry to invigorate their writing instruction. Alexander maintains that poetry is extremely accessible and that students who are exposed to this format will become enthusiastic writers. The volume is organized by the key parts of the creative process: writing, publishing, and presenting. Interwoven throughout are tips, questions, sidebars in which Alexander and educators share their experiences teaching poetry, and more. The author's own poetry, as well as that of well-known poets and beginners, illustrates the ideas. Robust appendixes offer valuable mini-lessons and publishing resources. The last appendix provides instructions on accessing the videos and other digital resources referenced in the book. Teachers will be eager to try out the workshops and transform their students into published authors. VERDICT Essential for writing teachers, those who collaborate with them, and anyone wanting to breathe new life into a writing program.—Laura Fields Eason, Parker Bennett Curry Elementary School, Bowling Green, KY

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