Rethinking the “I-Rule”
Many of us were taught that first person pronouns had no place in academic writing. But is that rule still being followed by professional writers?
Category Archive: nonfiction writing
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When Ideas Collide
I’m not someone who rides horseback but I often get to let go of the reigns and see where I might end up. My students never disappoint.
Addressing Knowledge Issues in Informational Writing
If we do not possess a good amount of background knowledge, if we are not interested in the topic, and we were not given a choice, our writing typically suffers. Lack of knowledge in particular, as Mary Ehrenworth suggests, manifests quickly as writing weakness and writing problems. As writing workshop teachers, how might we think about and address these challenges?
Passionate Nonfiction Writing Starts with a Question
Author Melissa Stewart shares her expertise about the role questions play in nonfiction writing.
Making Writing Appropriate, Precise, and Effective
Melissa Stewart, award-winning author of more than 180 nonfiction books for children, shares her thinking about the revision process in nonfiction writing.
Changing Tack: Learning from a Writing Conference
It’s great to be prepared when we are conferring with our writers. However, being ‘prepared’ and being ‘present’ are not the same thing…
Expository Leads + Giveaways!
Challenging students to push past their safe zones of writing has been a challenge all year. We all reaped some great rewards as the year came to a close.
Exploratory Notebooks
Beginning to think about Exploratory Notebooks and easing into a research writing unit.
Quality Reading Instruction Leads to Better Writing: A Review of Jennifer Serravallo’s Independent Reading Assessment
When I tested Jennifer Serravallo’s Independent Reading Assessment (Scholastic), I was an immediate believer. Finally, here is a reading assessment that gives rich, clear information about upper grade readers, using an authentic reading… Continue reading
New Mentor Texts for Information Writing
The books featured in this post, all of which were published in 2015, represent a variety of information writing. All of these are texts that can pull double- and even triple-duty in your classroom, thereby allowing you to use a text during read-aloud time so you can revisit it during a writing workshop minlesson and/or in a content area.
Writing Information Books with Voice and Beauty: Diving Into Information Writing Blog Series
When I was a kid, our town library had a whole special room filled with children’s books. It was one of my favorite places in the world. That was where I fell in love with Corduroy,… Continue reading
Launching a Year of Meaningful Note-Taking
With some set-up, modeling, and direct instruction, your students can go from okay to great note-takers.
Learning From Ralph Fletcher: Teaching Authentic Information Writing
Two weekends ago, thanks to Bonnie Kaplan and the Hudson Valley Writing Project, I had the great pleasure of attending Ralph Fletcher’s presentation: “Making Nonfiction from Scratch: How Can We Give Students the Time, the Tools, and the Vision They Need in Order to Create Authentic Information Writing?” I knew it would be a great morning of learning …