Product Description

Since its publication in 1998 Craft Lessons has become a mainstay of writing teachers, both new and experienced. Readers value the pithy, practical lessons each printed on one page and appreciate the instructional language geared to three grade-level groupings: K 2, 3 4, and 5 8.
In the decade since Craft Lessons' publication the world has changed in many ways, yet one thing has remained constant: teachers continue to feel starved for time. With new curriculum mandates, daily specials, pull-outs, and precious time devoted to test preparation, the situation has never been worse, and the need for a succinct resource like Craft Lessons has never been greater.
The features that made Craft Lessons so valuable have been augmented. This edition includes:
* Seventeen brand new craft lessons; many based on veteran teachers' observations about typical student writing.
* Revisions to other craft lessons: model texts that have gone out of print have been replaced with current titles, and the resource materials sections have been expanded.
* New thinking about teaching elements of craft and the reading-writing connection.
*Two new indexes: a handy subject index to make it easier to find specific craft lessons, and an index that shows how these craft lessons can be integrated into Ralph and JoAnn's curriculum resource on the qualities of writing Ideas, Design, Language, and Presentation.
The 95 lessons in this book provide a wealth of information for teaching leads, character, endings, stronger verbs, and much more. This new edition reestablishes Craft Lessons as the crucial desert island book for harried writing teachers everywhere.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23207 in Books
• Published on: 2007-11-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

From the Back Cover
Craft is the cauldron in which the writing gets forged.

Ralph Fletcher and JoAnn Portalupi argue that too often we concentrate on the beginning and ending of the writing process - conceiving and correcting - while leaving students on their own to make a thousand critical decisions in their writing about crafting leads, voice, structure, supporting detail, setting, mood, and character.

What elements of craft can we teach student writers, and at what age are they ready to learn them? This book answers both questions. Craft Lessons is the practical text for the over-scheduled writing teacher who wants to give students fresh challenges for their writing but doesn't have time to pore over dozens of trade books to do so.

There are three main sections in the book: one geared for teachers of primary students, one for teachers of grades 3-4, and one for teachers of middle school writers. This developmental structure allows teachers to go directly to those craft lessons most applicable and adaptable to their own students. Each of the 78 lessons is presented on a single page in an easy-to-read format. And every lesson features three teaching guidelines:

- Discussion - A brief look at the reasons for teaching the particular element of craft.

- How to Teach It - Concrete language showing exactly how a teacher might bring this craft element to students in individual writing conferences or a small-group setting.

- Resource Material - A listing of the book or text referred to in the craft lesson plus additional texts you can use and references to a passage, a poem, or a piece of student writing in the Appendixes.

Craft Lessons also explores the context - the crucial classroom conditions - for successfully bringing rich ideas to young writers. It will appeal to both experienced writing teachers seeking new horizons for their writers and teachers who are relatively new to teaching writing.

About the Author
Ralph Fletcher is a friend of writing teachers everywhere. Born in Plymouth, Massachusetts, he received his bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and his master's degree from Columbia University.

A former member of the Teachers College Writing Project, he is currently an author and consultant. He is the author or coauthor with his wife, JoAnnn Portalupi, of numerous professional books and videos.

It has been said that a writer needs to specialize. Alas, I never did that says Ralph about his prolific writing career. He has written all kinds of books for kids, including poetry, picture books, and chapter books. I am a restless kind of person he admits. I don't want to feel confined to any one genre or audience. I guess I am a prolific writer, but I'd rather be remembered as an author of quality than quantity.

Ralph speaks at national conferences around the United States and abroad. He also conducts his own one-day seminars and does occasional author visits to schools.

Ralph and JoAnn have four sons. He grows orchids and giant pumpkins, enjoys reading, travel, movies, dark chocolate, and oaky chardonnay. He says,I was a Boston Red Sox fan long before it was trendy to be one.

JoAnn Portalupi
JoAnn Portalupi likes to introduce herself as a mother, teacher, writer, and artist. Each of these roles informs the work she does in the field of teaching writing.

She began her career in education as a fourth-grade teacher in Epsom, New Hampshire. I was bit by the writing bug my second year of teaching when I was lucky enough to attend the University of New Hampshire's first Institute on Teaching Writing where I met and worked with Tom Newkirk, Lucy Calkins, Donald Murray, and Donald Graves. In that summer I discovered a pedagogy that resonated with my own belief about teaching and learning: that a strong teacher-student relationship lies at the heart of both. Since then she has worked in education as a classroom teacher, a staff developer at Teachers College Writing Project, a university professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and most recently as an independent consultant. JoAnn is also the co-author with her husband, Ralph Fletcher, of numerous professional books and videos.

Her four sons have given JoAnn plenty of opportunity to refine her thinking about teaching writing. Raising school age boys gave me a panoramic view of teaching. Engaging as a parent at home continually challenges me to think about the responsibility of teaching another parent's child. Discovering up close the four distinct personalities in my own children is a constant reminder of the diversity of each and every learner.

After years of traveling to work with teachers, JoAnn prefers putting her time into two new endeavors that continue to inform her thinking about education. She currently serves on the Oyster River Cooperative School Board. My experience as a board member allows me to work with a fine group of administrators, teachers, and staff in the exciting and complex task of building and maintaining an excellent school district

Her newest classroom is her own artist's studio. "After years of wanting to learn to paint, I finally took myself seriously. I built a studio, found a teacher, and have been painting for the last seven years. Standing in front of a blank canvas reminds me of all the excitement and frustration of being a novice and has ushered in new insights about what it means to be a learner. Maybe these ideas will make their way into a book someday, but for now I'm just trying to keep my brushes wet."

Customer Reviews

Great for teaching Writing
This is one of the best books I've seen for helping teach students to be better writers. It gives short minilessons that can give ideas and teach writing techniques with examples. I love it. I wouldn't teach writing without it

If You Teach Writing, You've Got to Have This Book!
Ralph Fletcher is incredible!! This book is a must for anyone who teaches writing. It helps teachers understand writing isn't about some formula to get kids to pass a test, but about craft!! Many teachers who teach writing in the elementary grades don't even understand many pieces of craft...me included, until I got my hands on this book. This is actual application into classroom situations. I highly recommend that you also have "What A Writer Needs", as a companion to this book because it takes each piece of the craft into more depth. Worth every penny and more!!

Model Mini-lessons for the writing workshop
I'm a relatively new teacher, and have switched grade levels every year. Teaching writing has been one of the biggest challenges for me. I believe in a writing workshop model, and use a lot of 6 Traits ideas. I knew that both relied on the idea of the writing "mini-lesson" but I really didn't know what those should look like or what kinds of topics they should cover. This book has been a godsend. I disagree with those who say that this book is too rigid. Yes, each lesson identifies particular literature resources which can be used. If you have that book, that's awesome. If not, just adapt the lesson for use with a different book that illustrates the same concept. The point is, these are concise 15 minute mini-lessons that really help your students recognize writing craft, and give them accessible ideas which they can use to improve their own writing.

And, incidentally, if you're building up your classroom library, your school library, or your bookroom, the literature selections that ARE mentioned in this book are uniformly fabulous. I carry a copy of the list of books used in these lessons each time I go to a used book store.