The Write Thing

Description

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 KwameTime! videos that bring Alexander into the classroom. Kwame's QuickTips feature easy-to-implement ideas that have worked for Alexander. With 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. Front Cover Page 2 - Credits Page 3 - Table of Contents Page 5 - Acknowledgments Page 7 - Foreword: Discovering the Neglected Genre Page 9 - Preface: An Unconventional, Uncommon Writing Workshop Page 13 - Introduction: Finding Your Writing Groove Page 14 - Creating a Student-Run Publishing Enterprise Page 17 - Helping Students Find Their Voices Page 17 - How to Use The Write Thing Part 1: Writing Page 23 - Chapter One—Setting the Stage: Why Start with Poetry? Page 26 - The Essential Joy of Poetry Page 28 - The Transformative Power of Poetry Page 32 - Vision and Validation Page 35 - Chapter Two—Launching the Writing Workshop Page 35 - Begin with a Thrill Page 38 - Pull a Poem Out of Your Pocket Page 41 - The Students Are the Curriculum Page 46 - The Importance of Free Writing Page 47 - The Magic Between the Lines Page 49 - Chapter Three—Preparing to Write Page 49 - Emotions, Meaning, and More Page 62 - The Rules (and How to Bend Them) Page 65 - Chapter Four—Writing the Draft Page 65 - Form and Structure Page 80 - Stealing Words and Choosing a Topic Page 81 - Lights! Camera! Action! Page 83 - Chapter Five—Revising Is Re-Envisioning Page 83 - One Size Does Not Fit All Page 85 - Purposeful Revision Page 91 - Literary Excellence Part 2: Publishing Page 95 - Chapter Six—Making Student-Run Publishing a Priority Page 95 - Why Publish in the Classroom? Page 98 - Exploring Publishing Alternatives Page 104 - Creating a Classroom Publishing Center Page 107 - Chapter Seven—Step-by-Step Book Publishing Page 107 - Step 1: Select the Poems Page 108 - Step 2: Produce the Final Manuscript Page 108 - Step 3: Choose a Title Page 110 - Step 4: Publish the Book Page 114 - Step 5: Explore Printing Options Page 116 - Celebrating Your Published Authors Page 116 - Giving Students Voice Part 3: Presenting Page 121 - Chapter Eight—Presenting Student Work Page 121 - The Joy of Presenting! Page 126 - Bring Writing to Life: Methods for Presenting Poetry Page 131 - Harness Your Inner Greatness Appendixes Page 136 - Appendix A: Teacher Resources Page 144 - Appendix B: Poetry Form Mini-Lessons Page 172 - Appendix C: Book Publishing Resources Page 194 - Appendix D: References Thank You!