Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes (794 words)
Target Audience: Classroom Teachers, Instructional Coaches, Administrators, Interventionists
Over the past few weeks, two different friends have been part of “favorite things” parties, gatherings where everyone brings something they love to share during a gift exchange. I’d have to think hard to decide what to bring from my personal life (The pens I can’t live without? A 5-year journal? A copy of my favorite novel?). But if I hosted a professional “favorite things” party, the decision would be easy: every teacher needs a copy of Melanie Meehan and Maggie Beattie Roberts’ new book, Foundational Skills for Writing: A Brain-Based Guide to Strengthen Executive Functions, Language, and Other Cornerstones for Writers.
Over the past few years, foundational reading skills have stolen the spotlight as educators have taken a deeper dive into the reading process and how the brain learns to decode words and make meaning. My bookshelves and inbox have been flooded with articles, resources, webinars, and programs that have refined my work with teachers and enhanced my understanding of literacy development.
Writing, however, has often left me searching for resources and solutions. Teachers consistently bring up concerns about handwriting and letter formation, grammatical conventions, sentence structure, and spelling. There is a student in every classroom (likely several students) who is struggling to develop the executive skills that will allow them to become a proficient writer.
My resource shelf is overflowing with texts that are rich on the compositional side of writing (using language to grow ideas and connect with audiences meaningfully). Yet there has been a void when it comes to foundational writing skills–especially when searching for ways to understand the multidimensional development of a young writer.
When I opened Melanie and Maggie’s book a few weeks ago, it immediately felt like the answer to questions that have been plaguing me for years: How do I know what to expect from developing writers, and how do I respond when they aren’t doing it?
This book now tops my list of Favorite Education Things, and here’s why it should be on your list, too:
- Research and Evidence: These buzzwords top every description of resources that are effective and worth integrating into instruction, but they are much more than just educational jargon. As teachers, it’s important to know that the practices we bring into our classrooms have been studied and have been shown to positively impact student learning. Every idea in this book is grounded in solid research with clear, real-life examples that illustrate the evidence in practice.
- Knowledge-Building and Actionable: Some professional resources are perfect for extending understanding of teaching practices and how children learn as writers. Others provide suggestions for routines, lessons, and activities that can be implemented in the classroom. Foundational Skills for Writing does both: each chapter dives deeply into the inner workings of writing skills in a section titled “What’s the Why?” and provides suggestions for sustainable routines (“Leveraging Literacy”) and quick activities (“Minute Moves”).
- Visual and Descriptive: The graphics in the text are stunning, filled with rich images of the inner workings of the brain, charts and tables of developmental skill progressions, and models that illustrate the many layers of foundational writing. Each of these elements is supported through rich text that thoroughly unpacks every idea in a way that is clear and easy to navigate. Every single page takes a deep dive into effective practices and the rationale behind them.
When I consider the place this book will have in my professional library, it is not on a shelf; this is a book that will be beside me as I plan lessons, map out curriculum, and navigate student struggles. I envision myself working with colleagues to access the wealth of resources to build a writing toolkit. I trust the lists of researchers and cited studies to help me navigate other sources and voices in the field for accuracy and reliability. Most of all, this book provides a solid foundation for my beliefs, values, and practices as a writing teacher and as a district leader, and helps me support developing writers with confidence and expertise.
Giveaway: Comment For a Chance to Win a Copy of Foundational Skills for Writing!
Many thanks to Corwin Press for donating a copy of the book! This is a giveaway of Foundational Skills for Writing: A Brain-Based Guide to Strengthen Executive Functions, Language, and Other Cornerstones for Writers by Melanie Meehan and Maggie Beattie Roberts. To enter the drawing, readers must leave a comment* by Monday, March 2, at 12:00 PM EST. The winner will be chosen randomly and announced on Thursday, March 5. The winner must provide their mailing address within five days, or a new winner will be selected.
*Comment inspiration: Share a tried-and-true strategy for working on foundational writing skills with your students or a question you hope to have answered in Melanie and Maggie’s book.
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I just pre-ordered the book! Might a book study be in the works?
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This sounds like an amazing resource that I would love to get my hands on sooner than later! Anything with “Minute Moves” and progressions sounds exactly what I am looking for to enhance our Writing toolkits! Bonus – “stunning graphics” just make the reading so much more digestable and engaging to experience as a learner. Thank you for bringing this text to our attention – always such great resources!
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Thank you for your post. As SOR takes the main stage in many literacy programs, I’m very worried that solid writing instruction is just falling by the wayside. As a special education resource teacher, I want to be in a better position to support my colleagues in reaching ALL student writers in their classrooms. I’m especially interested in how we support students with executive functioning deficits, as well as our multilingual language learners.
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After almost five years of retirement, I am back in the classroom with a new Texas teaching certificate in special education, so I can work with students identified as SLD in dyslexia and dysgraphia. This book would add to my knowledge of literacy development and provide the research and strategies for instruction that my students need to overcome the many challenges they face as writers.
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Any resource is GOOD and helpful!! If I win, I hope to enhance writing with my little Kindergarteners. Helping them build their foundation in writing is SO important. They need hands-on and practice. So I am so excited to hopefully WIN!!
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I can’t wait to dive into this book! I work with middle school ELA teachers and am eager to see how the foundational writing strategies in this book can be embedded into their current units and how it can be used to help them write and revise curriculum for next year!
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I can’t wait to check out this book! I heard Sarah say she was reading it last week, and I knew it’d be a good one if she was recommending it. Our teachers are always working to “outsmart” our resources, and what better way to build our capacity as writing teachers than to use a book like this?
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What a great opportunity, thank you! Just this weekend I revisited Kate and Maggie’s book, DIY Literacy, while revising my class’ goals for (middle-grade) literary analysis. I appreciated the approach to observe first, then differentiate with microsupports as needed. This book seems to be aligned with what I know to be true about Maggie’s other work: always reflective, always student-centered. Even if I don’t earn the book through this giveaway, I can’t wait to check it out!
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Wow! This book is perfect for my work with my writers – most of whom have either executive function deficits, foundational skills deficits, or both. I can’t wait to get a peek at this book by Melanie and Maggie, who have been go-to resources for me in the past!
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How exciting to learn about this book that wasn’t yet on my radar. I’d read anything by these two. It’s good to get a peek into this book to know what I need to add to my TBR pile!
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I can’t wait to read this! I want to know how to best support foundational skills without losing the heart of my workshop. ❤️
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I’m especially intrigued by the chapter that addresses working memory and executive function. I’ve seen such a decline in my students’ abilities to retain and transfer information that it has become a major concern. I am anxious to add strategies to my toolbox to help me meet my students where they are and enhance their skills in a meaningful way.
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Sarah,
Your post makes me even more excited to get my hands on this book! Foundational writing skills are something every educator needs deeper insight into, and the teachers I work with are constantly looking for ways to grow their writers. I look forward to reading about the routines, the progression of skills, and the “Minute Moves”!
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Sarah,
Your post is spot on!
This book, which I’ve explored only through the website, is a treasure trove that EVERY WRITING teacher needs. The big questions that are answered: What are executive skills that play a role in “writing”? And how do teachers support ALL writers?
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At last! Resources to help writers, teachers, and writing communities! One huge challenge is explaining how families can help writers struggling to find their path. Looking forward to diving in! Thank you for another excellent post. Thank you to Corwin Press for sponsoring the giveaway.
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The books looks well organized to help explain the foundational skills of writing. I am interested to read the chapters that discuss oral language and executive functioning skills.
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This looks like such an amazing resource. Often my sixth graders have so many needs by the time they reach this level, that I really need ideas on how to best help them. Looking forward to this book1
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This sounds like exactly what I’ve been looking for! When working with teachers, they often speak of the challenges that students face in writing and I’ve been searching for more tools to support them.
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This book sounds fantastic! I would love a copy. I am developing a professional learning session on supporting student writers to develop these foundational writing skills and this book would be a great resource for that session. I’d love to get some more specific routines and strategies to support teachers with this.
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I have been working with teachers on foundational writing skills, but in a very haphazard way. This book sounds like the perfect anecdote toward formalizing a PD plan. Thank you!
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I am excited to read this resource. I work with both high ability readers/writers and struggling readers/writers. I am hoping this will be a resource to encourage transfer of reading, writing, grammar, and spelling instruction to student writing.
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This book sounds like a great resource. I’ve been struggling to get sentence structure to “stick” with some of my third graders. I’m looking forward to reading it!
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I have Melanie Meehan’s book Every Child Can Write, and it is chock-full of great ideas. The fact that the book includes executive functioning makes it an easy sell for me. I can’t wait to read it!
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Yes, this sounds like an amazing resource!!! I believe it will better equip me to differentiate writing instruction for my 2nd grade students when I understand writing development and the research behind effective (and ineffective) practices. Plus, I love Maggie Beattie Roberts (and Kate!)!
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Oh, thanks for the sneak peek! This sounds like an amazing resource and one I definitely want to read! I’m hearing some writing-related rumblings in our district that sound a bit alarming. I’m hoping this book will catch me up on recent research and put me in a better position to advocate for young writers.
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