[LIT] lit Digest, Vol 20, Issue 3

[Cheryl FORD]

I have used Fletcher's Lessons from the Writer's Notebook and loved it.  I have Atwell's lessons that Change Writers, also, but have only used parts of it.  When I purchased Atwell's materials from Amazon, one of the comments made by another purchaser was that he had parts of it and had decided to try using the whole book as written.  He said he had much better results with using the book as written and completing all the lessons.  I tend to agree with him in that you have to be very careful when you start picking and choosing from a book such as that.
My personal belief is that the most important things are that students write daily and that they write about authentic things.  Handing them a prompt that they cannot relate to is useless.  That is why using a writer's notebook is so important.

Cheryl Ford
Saluda Trail Middle School

"Treat people as if they are what they ought to be,
 and you will help them to become what they are capable of being." --Goethe
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Today's Topics:

   1. Re: Teaching the Qualities of Writing? (Barbara Punchak)


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Message: 1
Date: Mon, 04 Jun 2007 16:15:44 -0400
From: "Barbara Punchak" <bpunchak at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [LIT] Teaching the Qualities of Writing?
To: "'A list for improving literacy with focus on middle grades.'"
	<lit at literacyworkshop.org>
Message-ID: <0JJ4004MBO8PQ694 at vms042.mailsrvcs.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

I purchased Fletcher's TQW two years ago and spent all that summer setting
up colored folders and crates, then either looking in my picture book
collection or ordering some of the books he recommends using.  Sadly, after
spending a fair amount on both resources, I used only "a little" of TQW this
year and very little of Nancie Atwell's Lessons that Change Writers.  I hope
to do a better job implementing from both resources next year...so my
intention is to spend part of my summer planning.

Fletcher's A Writer's Notebook: Unlocking the Writer Within is a quick read
and definitely worth six dollars.
Barbara/6th/FL

-----Original Message-----
On Behalf Of Maggie Dillier
Hello all,
I stumbled upon Ralph Fletcher's Teaching the Qualities of Writing
(http://www.teachingthequalitiesofwriting.com) and wondered if anyone has
any endorsements (or warnings!) for it. (It may be too young for many of you
middle school teachers. I teach fifth grade.)

I am also interested in his Lessons for the Writer's Notebook, since I
needed a little more guidance there, too. Anyone do anything really cool
with writer's notebooks??

Maggie




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End of lit Digest, Vol 20, Issue 3
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