A practical guide written by teachers, for teachers, this book provides authentic, proven practices in the teaching of writing, along with samples of student writing, grades 7--12, and integrating Common Core State Standards within a comprehensive English Language Arts curriculum. Teaching Writing Grades 7--12 in an Era of Assessment is an ideal guide for those who have not had access to professional development in teaching writing. In it, readers get the benefit of hearing first hand from real teachers teaching real students. In addition to presenting detailed, specific pedagogy appropriate for seventh grade, eighth grade, and high school students, the book also addresses a wide range of students, including English Language Learners and reluctant writers and readers.

An award-winning photographer captures children's thoughts about their bodies in striking b&w photos and disarmingly honest words.

This unique resource gives middle and secondary school English teachers 180 high-interest activities that build students’ proficiency in the three major areas of the English curriculum—reading/literature, writing, and grammar. All the activities have been classroom tested, can be used with students of varying ability, and are effective as individual, group, or whole-class activities. For quick access and easy use, the activities are organized into 36 weekly packets—each packet including five “Dailies”—and printed in a big 8-1/4” x 11” lay-flat format for easy photocopying. Each “Dailies” activity begins with a well-written student passage followed by prompts that encourage students to examine the passage in terms of usage, stylistic devices, grammatical concepts, punctuation, and reading/literature skills. The activities require students to learn the rules that apply and to use the examples as springboards for their own writing. You’ll find that these integrated “Dailies” activities are ideally flexible. They can be completed as “warm-ups” at the beginning of class, as mini-reviews for more advanced students, or serve as walk-through activities or homework assignments for students who need reinforcement. Each activity will lead to inquiry and lively discussion as students analyze the model passage and learn to write effectively.

If you want to learn how to shoot a basketball, you begin by carefully observing someone who knows how to shoot a basketball. If you want to be a writer, you begin by carefully observing the work of accomplished writers. Recognizing the importance that modeling plays in the learning process, high school English teacher Kelly Gallagher shares how he gets his students to stand next to and pay close attention to model writers, and how doing so elevates his students' writing abilities. Write Like This is built around a central premise: if students are to grow as writers, they need to read good writing, they need to study good writing, and, most important, they need to emulate good writers. In Write Like This, Kelly emphasizes real-world writing purposes, the kind of writing he wants his students to be doing twenty years from now. Each chapter focuses on a specific discourse: express and reflect, inform and explain, evaluate and judge, inquire and explore, analyze and interpret, and take a stand/propose a solution. In teaching these lessons, Kelly provides mentor texts (professional samples as well as models he has written in front of his students), student writing samples, and numerous assignments and strategies proven to elevate student writing. By helping teachers bring effective modeling practices into their classrooms, Write Like This enables students to become better adolescent writers. More important, the practices found in this book will help our students develop the writing skills they will need to become adult writers in the real world.