Originally published as part of the bestselling series: Units of study in opinion/argument, information, and narrative writing [Grades K-8].

When we read a nonfiction text, what is the difference between one that keeps us interested and one that merely informs? Especially when the topic may be a bit, well, dry? The difference is narrative. The writer who threads a story throughout her text - using the tools of human connection, of narrative - is the writer who brings information to life. The argument she makes is compelling and real, because we care about the story within her story. This writer understands the power of narrative. In Story Matters, Liz Prather provides activities, lessons, exercises, mentor texts, and student samples to help teens learn to seamlessly weave narrative into their nonfiction writing. She provides concrete ideas for using the tools and techniques of narrative, including: - finding stories within any topic - using characters - creating tension - exploring structure - selecting details - crafting words and sentences. Give Liz's ideas a try and watch your students' writing rise to new levels. Because story matters.

"The start of first grade is a time for dusting off the skills and habits that children learned during kindergarten. In the first unit, Building Good Reading Habits, you'll reinforce children's learning from kindergarten, and you'll establish ability-based partnerships that tap into the social power of peers working together to help each other become more strategic as readers. The second unit, Learning About the World: Reading Nonfiction, taps into children's natural curiosity as they explore nonfiction, while you teach comprehension strategies, word solving, vocabulary, fluency, and author's craft. The third unit, Readers Have Big Jobs to Do: Fluency, Phonics, and Comprehension, focuses on the reading process to set children up to read increasingly complex texts. The last unit of first grade, Meeting Characters and Learning Lessons: A Study of Story Elements, spotlights story elements and the skills that are foundational to literal and inferential comprehension, including empathy, imagination, envisioning, prediction, character study, and interpretation"--provided by publisher.

This series of books is designed to help upper elementary teachers teach a rigourous yearlong writing curriculum.

Children have voices that need to be heard and ideas that need to be understood. Building on this premise Sarah describes why you should try a persuasive writing unit of study, describes two units of study for the primary classroom, and lists tips and ideas for helping students get their persuasive writing out into the world. A Quick Guide to Teaching Persuasive Writing is part of the Workshop Help Desk series. About the Workshop Help Desk series The Workshop Help Desk series is designed for teachers who believe in workshop teaching and who have already rolled up their sleeves enough to have encountered the predictable challenges. If you've struggled to get around quickly enough to help all your writers, if you've wondered how to tweak your teaching to make it more effective and lasting, if you've needed to adapt your teaching for English learners, if you've struggled to teach grammar or nonfiction writing or test prep...if you've faced these and other specific, pressing challenges, then this series is for you. Provided in a compact 5" x 7" format, the Workshop Help Desk series offers pocket-sized professional development. For a comprehensive overview of the Units of Study in Opinion/Argument, Information, and Narrative series, including sample minilessons, sample videos, videos, frequently asked questions and more, visit UnitsofStudy.com.

"Writing allows each of us to live with that special wide-awakeness that comes from knowing that our lives and our ideas are worth writing about." -Lucy Calkins Teaching Writing is Lucy Calkins at her best-a distillation of the work that's placed Lucy and her colleagues at the forefront of the teaching of writing for over thirty years. This book promises to inspire teachers to teach with renewed passion and power and to invigorate the entire school day. This is a book for readers who want an introduction to the writing workshop, and for those who've lived and breathed this work for decades. Although Lucy addresses the familiar topics-the writing process, conferring, kinds of writing, and writing assessment- she helps us see those topics with new eyes. She clears away the debris to show us the teeny details, and she shows us the majesty and meaning, too, in these simple yet powerful teaching acts. Download a sample chapter for more information.