Writing

Writing Resources

Patterns of Wonder:

Inviting Emergent Writers to Play with the Conventions of Language, PreK-1

By: Jeff Anderson, Whitney La Rocca

Author Jeff Anderson and literacy coach Whitney La Rocca adapt their vibrant approach to grammar instruction in Patterns of Wonder: Inviting Emergent Writers to Play with the Conventions of Language, PreK-1. Here, young, emergent writers are invited to notice the conventions of language and build off them in this inquiry-based approach to instructional grammar.

The Patterns of Power Series Also Includes:

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Amazon.com: ISBN-13: 978-1625314505 / Stenhouse Publishers (December 24, 2021) / 400pp / Paperback.  (View a sample of the book Here.)

The book comes with standards-aligned lessons that can be incorporated into basal texts in just 10 minutes a day. Patterns of Wonder’s responsive, invitational approach allows young students to play and inquire about language and experiment, take risks, and have fun.

Inside You’ll Find:

Patterns of Wonder provides a simple classroom routine that is structured in length and approach, but provides teachers flexibility in choosing the texts, allowing for numerous, diverse voices in the classroom. The practice helps students build cognitive recognition and provides a formative assessment for teachers on student progress. Grounded in play, conversation, and most of all, wonder, Patterns of Wonder brings the authors’ irrepressible excitement for inquiry and writing instruction to the ways we support our Pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st grade emergent writers.

How's It Going?: 

A Practical Guide to Conferring with Student Writers (1st Ed)

By: Carl Anderson

"This is by far the best writing on the conference I have read. It is a book that is far superior to the other texts-including my own." —Donald M. Murray

Our one-on-one talks with students during writing workshop offer us perfect opportunities to zero in on what each student needs as a writer. For Anderson, the key to a powerful writing conference lies in understanding that it is a conversation with a clear purpose and a predictable structure. 

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Amazon.com: ISBN-13: 978-0325002248 / Heinemann; 1st edition (February 21, 2000) / 224pp / Paperback. 

This is the best lens through which to view the task of talking about writing. To that end, Anderson shows how we can take what we already know about having effective conversations and use that knowledge. Sample transcripts of conferences with elementary and middle school students in both urban and suburban settings walk us through the process step by step, providing new insight into how ambitious conferences unfold.

Above all, How's It Going? is a practical book. Written in a conversational style, its filled with lots of useful advice, including an in-depth discussion of the teachers role in conferences, strategies for teaching students to take an active role, ways to weave in literature, minilessons, classroom management strategies, and responses to the most frequently asked questions about conferring. Along the way, readers will learn new ways of thinking, develop effective techniques, and perfect straightforward strategies. At the same time, theyll grasp the art and logic of conferring, and with this learning in mind, discover for themselves how to confer well.