Suggested Reading

Writer’s Workshop: Working Through the Hard Parts
(And They’re All Hard Parts)
Katie Wood Ray & Lester Laminack

The Art of Teaching Writing

Lucy McCormick Calkins

In this second edition of her classic work, Calkins writes with passion and conviction about the importance of teaching writing. If I had to own only two books on writing, perish the thought, this would be one of them. A hefty volume that covers it all, and keeps the at the forefront a passion for teaching and a fundamental belief in children as writers, this book is divided into sections which address essentials, the power of children to teach us, structures, curriculum and context.
About the Authors:
Writing Workshop with Our Youngest Writers

Katie Wood Ray & Lisa Cleaveland

Together the authors put writing workshop in perspective for teachers working with writers in grades K-2, with a focus on ‘making stuff’. The stuff of writing workshop with young writers is making books. If you loved Wondrous Words and teach younger students, this distills the ideas through a primary filter in much the same way Debbie Miller’s Reading With Meaning does for the concepts presented in Mosaic of Thought.
Wondrous Words:
Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom

Katie Wood Ray

Want to move writing instruction from routine to art form? Love literature? Wallow in words? This is the book for you. It is not the place to begin your journey as a teacher of writing, but it represents a major milestone along the way. Reading this book on heels of Mosaic of Thought will doubly ensure that you will never read a book in quite the same way. Learning to read like a writer opens the door to using literature as a basis for writing instruction.

A Fresh Look at Writing

Donald Graves

Every book I have ever loved written about teaching writing, every leader I admire traces back to the work of Donald Graves. This is not a new book, it is a timeless book and a must read for every serious teacher of writing~a bit like tracing your roots. Donald Graves was pioneered the work of real writing and this is my favorite.

Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage and Style Into Writer’s Workshop

Jeff Anderson

If you have never been ‘hot’ to teach grammar... or if grammar makes you ‘hot’ and yet you struggle to teach it in a meaningful way... this is the book for you! Anderson can show you how grammar instruction can be part of your writing workshop without compromising your principles as a constructivist teacher.

Notebook Know-How: Strategies for the Writer’s Notebook

Aimee Buckner

Ready to move from making books to writer’s notebooks? Buckner’s book is practical, straight forward and presents dozens of practical lessons for using a writer’s notebook and leading a writerly life. She even addresses that gorilla in the corner--assessment and grading. Thanks to Jody Jackson for sharing this wonderful book with me!

WARNING:

This book list is reflects the unabashed personal bias
of TCSD District Literacy Coach and Mentor, Lori Jackson. If you have a must read for writing teachers, please send the title, author and a brief summary to ljackson@tcsdk12.org.