1st Edition

The Learning-to-write Process in Elementary Classrooms

By Suzanne Bratcher Copyright 1997
    244 Pages
    by Routledge

    by Routledge

    This text models for teachers how to help children learn and write by establishing comfort with writing, building confidence, and developing competence. Several themes run through the learning-to-write-process presented in this text:
    * Writing is communication;
    * Writing is a powerful tool for learning;
    * How children feel about their writing and themselves as writers affects how they learn to write;
    * Teachers are coworkers with students; children from many backgrounds can learn to write together.
    The text sythesizes what we know about how children learn, how we write, and what we write into a process of teaching children to write. It is intended to serve as a starting place for developing theories of how to best teach writing.

    Contents: Preface. Part I: The Learning-to-Write Process. Learning to Write. Establishing Comfort. Building Confidence. Developing Competence. The Conventions of Writing. Part II: Reasons to Write. To Communicate. Telling Our Own Stories. Sharing Information. Trying to Change Things. For the Love of Writing. To Learn. Part III: The Teaching-Writing Process. Learning to Teach Writing. Teacher Evaluation of Student Writing. Tuning Teaching. Appendix: Quick Review of Editing Rules (For Teachers Only)!

    Biography

    Authored by Bratcher, Suzanne

    "There are many good language arts texts on the market but this is the first to include both teachers and students in the writing process....Bratcher doesn't tell teachers what to do--she models for them....Bratcher easily connects the processes of writing with theories from child development and socio-cognitive learning perspectives....The writing style is informal and reader-friendly....Bratcher writes from the heart--and from years of experience both as a writer and as a teacher of writing."
    Janet Richards
    University of Southern Mississippi

    "The contribution of this book is to orient readers toward a believable and achievable pedagogy....I congratulate Bratcher on her smoothness of integrating theory in ways that do not alienate or intimidate, but inform the reader....Bratcher's voice is clear, sincere, down-to-earth, and intelligent. Any teacher could find ideas to put into action."
    Judith A. Doherty
    University of Massachusetts and Co-Director, Boston Writing Project

    "Particularly good for new teachers....This text gives specific suggestions and has an excellent chapter at the end to help new teachers design their year-long curriculum."
    Sharon Evans Brockman
    California State University, Stanislaus