A Quick Guide to Teaching Informational Writing

by Wiesen, Marika Paez; Calkins, Lucy

• ISBN13: 9780325026909
• ISBN10: 0325026904
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-01-11
• Publisher: Firsthand

Summary

"Informational writing is the perfect genre for second graders because nobody is more curious about the workings of the world and is more eager to tell you a zillion facts about the topic at hand." --Marika Paez Wiesen Informational writing taps into second graders natural inclination to explore and excitedly share the new and strange discoveries that fill their worlds on a daily basis. Marika Paez Wiesen offers a framework that will help you harness this energy and implement an informational writing unit of study that thoughtfully addresses the wide range of learners typically found in a second grade classroom. Addressing the heightened emphasis on reading and writing informational texts in the Common Core State Standards and on state tests, this unit of study guides you through the entire writing process. After considering how to plan and prepare an informational writing unit that builds on young writers?passions, interests, and abilities, Marika describes how to get started choosing topics, planning a draft, and beginning to write chapters. Ensuing chapters explore ways to elaborate on and revise these chapters with an eye towards addressing conventions and using features common to nonfiction texts. The final chapter offers ideas on how best to celebrate this writing and extend this learning across the curriculum. A Quick Guide to Teaching Informational Writing, Grade 2is part of the Workshop Help Deskseries. About the Workshop Help Deskseries The Workshop Help Desk series is designed for teachers who believe in workshop teaching and who have already rolled up their sleeves enough to have encountered the predictable challenges. If you''ve struggled to get around quickly enough to help all your students, if you''ve wondered how to tweak your teaching to make it more effective and lasting, if you''ve needed to adapt your teaching for English learners, if you''ve struggled to teach grammar or nonfiction writing or test prep...if you''ve faced these and other specific, pressing challenges, then this series is for you. Provided in a compact 5" x 7" format, the Workshop Help Deskseries offers pocket-sized professional development. For a comprehensive overview of the Units of Study for Teaching Writingseries, including sample minilessons, sample videos, overview presentations,frequently asked questions, and information on the companion principal''s guide and the Workshop Help Desk series visit unitsofstudy.com.

Author Biography

Marika Pez Wiesen Informational writing taps into second graders' natural inclination to explore and excitedly share the new and strange discoveries that fill their worlds on a daily basis. Marika Pez Wiesen offers a framework that will help you harness this energy and implement an informational writing unit of study that thoughtfully addresses the wide range of learners typically found in a second-grade classroom. For twenty-five years the Reading and Writing Project has developed state-of-the art teaching methods and provided professional development to hundreds of thousands of educators. Its director, Lucy Calkins, and other Project members authored the best-selling Units of Study series. For more information about these resources for reading and writing workshops or other books in the Workshop Help Desk series, visit www.unitsofstudy.com.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
Introduction	p. ix
Getting Ready: Planning and Preparing for Informational Writing Units That Fit Young Writers' Passions, Interests, and Abilities	p. 1
Getting Started: Choosing Topics, Planning a Draft, and Beginning to Write Chapters	p. 21
Saying More: Elaboration in Informational Writing	p. 36
Preparing to Publish: Revision, Conventions, and Editing in Informational Writing	p. 54
Celebrations and Beyond	p. 79
Works Cited	p. 89
Appendix	p. 91
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