Synopses & Reviews
Writing Workshop Survival Kit
Second Edition
The second edition of the Writing Workshop Survival Kit offers English teachers and writing teachers in grades 5-12 a thoroughly updated and revised guide to teaching the writing process. This comprehensive, step-by-step resource is an invaluable aid for teachers who are conducting a writing workshop or managing a writing workshop in the classroom. The book includes activities, numerous reproducibles, and 100 mini-lessons that concentrate on various types of writing, writing techniques, and the mechanics of writing. In addition, the second edition contains new material on timely topics such as Enlisting Support for Your Writing Workshop, Using Search Engines to Find Information on the Internet, The Use of Computers in Revision, and How to Establish a Web Site to Display Student Writing.
The new edition is designed for easy use and the lay-flat format makes photocopying the book's reproducibles a snap. Each activity and mini-lesson can stand alone, allowing teachers to use the materials in a manner that best suits their classroom environments and their students' abilities.
Part I: THE DYNAMICS OF THE WRITING WORKSHOP
AN OVERVIEW OF THE WRITING WORKSHOP presents topics such as the teacher's role, a model of the typical workshop, scheduling, and promoting the writing workshop.
MANAGING YOUR WRITING WORKSHOP contains information on creating and maintaining a successful writing environment, time management, discipline, evaluation, and monitoring students' progress.
Part II: THE STAGES OF THE WRITING PROCESS
PREWRITING includes topics such as freewriting, brainstorming, idea lists, writing journals, using search engines, and exploring writing topics.
DRAFTING provides strategies for writing drafts.
REVISION offers information including tips for teaching revision, pitfalls to avoid, using computers in revision, and writing conference strategies.
EDITING includes strategies for teaching editing skills; using a dictionary, thesaurus, or author's stylebook; and working with editing partners.
PUBLISHING provides information on various ways to publish and share student writing, e-mail etiquette for writers, tips for producing class magazines, and Web sites that publish the writing of students.
Part III: USING MINI-LESSONS IN THE WRITING WORKSHOP
MINI-LESSONS FOR TYPES OF WRITING includes 16 mini-lessons on topics such as narratives, essays, articles, fiction, movie reviews, advertising, rhyming poems, and strategies for taking writing tests.
MINI-LESSONS FOR THE ART OF WRITING offers 29 mini-lessons on topics such as effective leads, developing imagery, managing point of view, transitions, cutting clutter, avoiding clichés, and more.
MINI-LESSONS FOR THE MECHANICS OF WRITING contains 55 mini-lessons that cover topics such as subject-verb agreement, paragraphing, varying sentences, using confusing words correctly, and much more.
"Gary Muschla's Writing Workshop Survival Kit provides many effective strategies that will make the writing process a more enjoyable, efficient, and productive experience for your students. They will become more confident writers who will both look forward to and benefit from these valuable classroom-tested activities. Muschla leaves no stone unturned in this comprehensive and insightful journey through the writing process. Writing Workshop Survival Kit should be a part of every writing teacher's library!"
Jack Umstatter, English teacher and author,Cold Spring Harbor School District, Cold Spring Harbor, New York
Review
"Gary Muschla’s
Writing Workshop Survival Kitprovides many effective strategies that will make the writing process a more enjoyable, efficient, and productive experience for your students. They will become more confident writers who will both look forward to and benefit from these valuable classroom-tested activities. Muschla leaves no stone unturned in this comprehensive and insightful journey through the writing process.
Writing Workshop Survival Kitshould be a part of every writing teacher’s library!"
--Jack Umstatter, English teacher and author, Cold Spring Harbor School District, Cold Spring Harbor, New York
Synopsis
For English teachers and writing teachers in grades 5-12, here is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide to teaching the writing process in a class workshop setting?all conveniently organized into two parts.
Part I, ?The Writing Process in the Writing Workshop,? explains the writing workshop, offers specific strategies and tools for classroom management, and provides reproducible handouts and activities for each stage of the writing process, prewriting to publishing. Among the most important topics covered are:
- Structuring Your Writing Workshop?Shows how to set up a workshop and includes reproducible handouts such as ?Student Responsibilities in the Writing Workshop? and ?Rules for Working in Groups.?
- Evaluation?Provides descriptions of various evaluation methods as well as reproducible evaluative/monitoring devices such as a ?Skills Analysis Sheet.?
- Discipline?Includes a list of discipline problems along with specific suggestions on how to manage them effectively.
- Publishing/Sharing?Describes various ways to share, from in-class readings to class magazines, and offers information on how students can submit their works to local, regional and national publications.
- Use of Word Processors and Typewriters?Presents information on the effective use of technology, from simple writing to producing class publications.
Part II, ?Using Mini-Lessons in the Writing Workshop,? contains three different kinds of mini-lessons focusing on specific writing topics and skills. Each of these mini-lessons stands alone and can be implemented whenever you wish, and many are accompanied by reproducibles. The lessons include:
- Mini-Lessons for Types of Writing: These 16 mini-lessons feature topics such as Personal Narratives... Essays... Articles... Persuasive Writing... Fiction... Poetry... Plays... and Screenplays.
- Mini-Lessons for the Art of Writing: These 25 mini-lessons focus on methods and techniques to make writing powerful and expressive. Sample topics include Effective Leads... Conciseness... Active and Passive Constructions... Developing Imagery... Choosing Strong Verbs... and Developing Settings.
- Mini-Lessons for the Mechanics of Writing: Here you?ll find 59 mini-lessons on topics such as Subject-Verb Agreement... Subject-Verb Agreement with Intervening Phrases... Agreement of Pronouns and Antecedents... Combining Sentences for Variation... and Point of View... as well as mini-lessons on words that are easily confused, such as Affect-Effect.
Altogether, the
Writing Workshop Survival Kit places at your fingertips more than 150 ready-to-use activities/lessons you can share with your students. They will give your students a variety of interesting writing experiences and help make your teaching in the writing workshop easier and more effective.
Synopsis
The second edition of the Writing Workshop Survival Kitoffers English teachers and writing teachers in grades 5-12 a thoroughly updated and revised guide to teaching the writing process. This comprehensive, step-by-step resource is an invaluable aid for teachers who are conducting a writing workshop or managing a writing workshop in the classroom. Gary Robert Muschla explains the stages of the writing process and shows how to engage students in the dynamics of writing. The book includes activities, numerous reproducibles, and 100 mini-lessons that concentrate on various types of writing, writing techniques, and the mechanics of writing. In addition, the second edition contains new material on timely topics such as Enlisting Support for Your Writing Workshop, Using Search Engines to Find Information on the Internet, The Use of Computers in Revision, and How to Establish a Web Site to Display Student Writing.
Synopsis
The Writing Workshop Survival Kit offers over 150 exciting, effective, and ready-to-use activities to help students of all ability levels become capable, enthusiastic writers without increasing your workload. It is conveniently organized into two parts: "The Writing Process in the Writing Workshop," and "Using Mini-Lessons in the Writing Workshop."
About the Author
Gary Robert Muschla, B.A. and M.A.T., Trenton State College, has taught writing for over 15 years at Appleby School in Spotswood, New Jersey. He is also the author of two other practical resources for writing teachers, Writing Resources Activities Kit (1989) and The Writing Teacher?s Book of Lists (1991).
Table of Contents
Table of Contents.
About Writing Instruction.
How to Use This Resource.
Part I: The Writing Process in the Writing Workshop.
Section 1. An Overview of the Writing Workshop.
Section 2. Managing the Writing Workshop.
Section 3. Prewriting.
Section 4. Drafting.
Section 5. Revision.
Section 6. Editing.
Section 7. Publishing.
Part II: Using Mini-Lessons in the Writing Workshop.
Mini-Lessons for Types of Writing.
Mini-lessons for the Art of Writing.
Mini-Lessons for the Mechanics of Writing.
Books and Resources for Teachers of Writing.