To prepare for this workshop, you will review the strategies you already use and read two chapters from the book Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom by Katie Wood Ray.

What Do You Do?

Think about a text (a picture book, a novel, an essay, a poem, etc.) that you have used to help you teach writing. In your notebook, briefly jot down specifics about the way in which you incorporated this text into your instruction. Then answer the following questions:

• How did your students respond to the piece?
• What impact did the text have on their writing?
• How would you compare the success of this lesson with one that did not include a literary text?

If you do not regularly use literary texts in your writing instruction, think of one of your favorite pieces of children's literature and then write down ideas about how it might be incorporated into a writing lesson.

Examine the Literature

Print out the Examine the Literature Response Chart (PDF). Then read each chapter listed below, recording your ideas on the chart during and after reading. When you have finished, save your chart to submit as an assignment.

An Invitation to My Library: The Craft of Text Structure (PDF)
This chapter examines how to select books to teach lessons on writing conventions and text structure.

Ray, Katie Wood. Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom, 139-159. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2000. Copyright 2000 by the National Council of Teachers of English (www.ncte.org). Used with permission.

Another Invitation to My Library: Ways With Words (PDF)
This chapter examines how to teach students to see the strategies writers use to create engaging text and to apply these strategies to their own writing.

Ray, Katie Wood. Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom, 161-186. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 2000. Copyright 2000 by the National Council of Teachers of English (www.ncte.org). Used with permission.