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Bestseller!

Writers Read Better: Nonfiction

50+ Paired Lessons That Turn Writing Craft Work Into Powerful Genre Reading
By flipping the traditional “reading first, writing second” sequence, this innovative book lets you make the most of the writing-to-reading connection via 50 carefully matched lesson pairs.

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Product Details
  • Grade Level: PreK-12
  • ISBN: 9781506311234
  • Published By: Corwin
  • Series: Corwin Literacy
  • Year: 2018
  • Page Count: 248
  • Publication date: January 15, 2024
Price: $35.95
Volume Discounts applied in Shopping Cart

Review Copies

Review copies may be requested by individuals planning to purchase 10 or more copies for a team or considering a book for adoption in a higher ed course. To request a review copy, contact sales@corwin.com.

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Description

We know that writing skills reinforce reading skills, but what’s the best way to capitalize on this beneficial relationship? By flipping the traditional “reading lesson first, writing lesson second” sequence, Colleen Cruz ingeniously helps you make the most of the writing-to-reading connection with carefully matched, conceptually connected lesson pairs. The result is a healthy reciprocity that effectively and efficiently develops students’ literacy skills.

Backed by long-term academic and field research, Writers Read Better presents a series of 50 tightly interconnected lesson pairs that can be implemented either as supplement existing curriculum or as a stand alone module. Each pairing leads with a writing lesson, used as a springboard for the reading lesson that will follow.

Throughout the book’s four sections, organized to cover distinct and complementary phases of working with non-fiction texts, you’ll discover

  • Helpful insights on preparing for the section’s overarching goals
  • Clear guidance on the intention of each lesson, what materials are required, and step-by-step plans for leading the activity
  • Sample teacher language for leading the lesson
  • Tips on building and organizing your classroom library, and how you can incorporate the tools, technology and media available in your classroom to make each lesson most effective
  • Sample student work, online videos and other supporting resources

Complete with practical suggestions on adapting the lessons to suit the particular needs of your classroom as well as individual students, Writers Reader Better offers a solid foundation for giving your students the advantage of powerful, transferable literacy skills.

Author(s)

M. Colleen Cruz photo

M. Colleen Cruz
Colleen Cruz is the author of several titles for teachers, including The Unstoppable Writing Teacher, as well as the author of the young adult novel, Border Crossing, a Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award Finalist. She was a classroom teacher in general education and inclusive settings before joining the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, where she shares her passion for accessibility, twenty-first century learning, and social justice as the Director of Innovation.

Table of Contents

List of Videos

Acknowledgments

Introduction

How to Use This Book

PART 1. LESSONS FOR GENERATING IDEAS—AND INTERPRETING AUTHOR’S PURPOSE

What You Will Find in This Section

When to Use These Lessons

Preparing to Use the Lessons

LESSON 1

Writing: An Author’s Expertise Matters

Reading: Considering the Source

LESSON 2

Writing: Write About What You Take for Granted

Reading: Learning Unexpected Things From Familiar Topics

LESSON 3

Writing: The Relationship Between an Author’s Passions and Stance

Reading: Identifying an Author’s Stance

LESSON 4

Writing: Narrowing Down a Broad Topic

Reading: Understanding Topics and Subtopics

LESSON 5

Writing: The Role of Structure in Informational Texts

Reading: Considering How Choices in Structure Affect Meaning

LESSON 6

Writing: Using Structure to Convey the Writer’s Intent

Reading: Inferring the Author’s Intent by Noticing Structure

FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS

Writing: Choosing the Best Platform for Your Information and Audience

Reading: Considering Why Authors Might Choose Analogue or Digital Mediums

PART 2. LESSONS FOR DRAFTING—AND UNDERSTANDING AUTHOR’S CRAFT

What You Will Find in This Section

When to Use These Lessons

Preparing to Use the Lessons

LESSON 7

Writing: Drafting What You’re Most Ready to Write

Reading: Spotting What’s Most Important to an Author

LESSON 8

Writing: Structure Within Sections: Stacking Information

Reading: Identifying the Way Information Is Stacked

LESSON 9

Writing: Drafting With Placeholders for Later Facts

Reading: Using Jots to Note Facts Quickly

LESSON 10

Writing: Taking a Draft Break to Research

Reading: Noticing the Various Ways Authors Use Quotation Marks

LESSON 11

Writing: Drafting With an Audience in Mind

Reading: Noticing the Different Genres of Various Publications on the Same Topic

LESSON 12

Writing: Drafting in a Mood or Tone That Matches the Content

Reading: Noticing When the Tone Doesn’t Match the Topic

LESSON 13

Writing: Drafting to Someone Else’s Specifications

Reading: Noticing a Publisher’s Approach

FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS

Writing: Fact-Checking Digital Information for Accuracy

Reading: Identifying False Information

PART 3. LESSONS FOR REVISING FOR POWER, CRAFT, ANALYSIS, AND CRITIQUE

What You Will Find in This Section

When to Use These Lessons

Preparing to Use the Lessons

LESSON 14

Writing: Deciding What’s Most Important to Revise

Reading: Identifying and Questioning the Author’s Values

LESSON 15

Writing: Reordering Information With Intention

Reading: Noticing the Effect of Information’s Placement

LESSON 16

Writing: Exploring How Writers Weight Information to Signal Import

Reading: Looking at Texts to See How Volume Can Signify Importance

LESSON 17

Writing: The Power of Story

Reading: Switching Strategies When Authors Use Story in Expository Text

LESSON 18

Writing: Connections and Disconnections Across Paragraphs and Pages

Reading: Tracing Connections and Disconnections in Transitions

LESSON 19

Writing: Vocabulary’s Starring Role in Informational Texts

Reading: Expecting and Responding to the Subject’s Vocabulary

LESSON 20

Writing: The Slipperiness of Facts

Reading: Reading With Eyes Wide Open for Bias

FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS

Writing: Adding Dimensions to Writing Through Multimodal Features

Reading: Multimodal Readers Prioritize Synthesis

PART 4. LESSONS TO PREPARE FOR PUBLICATION AND THE SCHOLARLY STUDY OF TEXTS

What You Will Find in This Section

When to Use These Lessons

Preparing to Use These Lessons

LESSON 21

Writing: First and Last Words: Intros and Conclusions That Attract and Linger

Reading: Studying an Author’s First and Last Words

LESSON 22

Writing: Choosing When to Quote, Describe, or Summarize

Reading: Identifying Sources and Considering Their Reliability

LESSON 23

Writing: Creating Text Features to Enhance and Add Information

Reading: Integrating Text Features Within and Across Texts

LESSON 24

Writing: Creating Strong Titles and Subtitles

Reading: Titles and Subtitles That Convey Meaning

LESSON 25

Writing: The Many Purposes of Paragraphs

Reading: Seeing Paragraphs as an Author’s Organizational Tool

LESSON 26

Writing: Punctuating With Intention

Reading: Looking Across Texts With an Eye to Punctuation

LESSON 27

Writing: Using Meaning to Make Smart Spelling Decisions

Reading: The Role of Etymology for Readers

LESSON 28

Writing: Making Publishing Decisions Based on the Intended Audience

Reading: Judging the Effectiveness of an Author’s Decisions

FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS

Writing: Opening and Maintaining a Conversation With Audiences

Reading: Responding Digitally to the Texts to Deepen Understanding

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

Resources

References

Index

Reviews

Quote by Lucy Calkins, Founding Director of the Teachers College Writing and Reading Project: Lots of books teach us the reasons why writing matters, yet Colleen adds a new reason to the list: Writing can be a lever that lifts our kids' reading work. And that can happen even when kids are not writing about reading, but are, instead, doing their own important writing work. Once again, Colleen nudges us forward.
Lots of books teach us the reasons why writing matters, yet Colleen adds a new reason to the list: Writing can be a lever that lifts our kids' reading work. And that can happen even when kids are not writing about reading, but are, instead, doing their own important writing work. Once again, Colleen nudges us forward.
Lucy Calkins
Founding Director of the Teachers College Writing and Reading Project
Quote by Jennifer Serravallo, Author of "Teaching Reading in Small Groups" and "Conferring with Readers": Colleen offers literacy teachers a valuable comprehension instruction ‘hack’: help students get inside the brains of the writers they read by doing the same kind of writing themselves before they read. She argues convincingly that the more students understand how something was made, the better they’ll understand it when they encounter it as readers. She doesn’t just offer compelling research to prove it; she offers teachers dozens of paired lessons so that students will read and write information texts with more power. The lessons are streamlined to allow students maximum time for practice and application, and to help the busy teacher go from the page to the classroom quickly and almost effortlessly. I encourage all upper elementary and middle school teachers to give these lesson sets a try!
Colleen offers literacy teachers a valuable comprehension instruction ‘hack’: help students get inside the brains of the writers they read by doing the same kind of writing themselves before they read. She argues convincingly that the more students understand how something was made, the better they’ll understand it when they encounter it as readers. She doesn’t just offer compelling research to prove it; she offers teachers dozens of paired lessons so that students will read and write information texts with more power. The lessons are streamlined to allow students maximum time for practice and application, and to help the busy teacher go from the page to the classroom quickly and almost effortlessly. I encourage all upper elementary and middle school teachers to give these lesson sets a try!
Jennifer Serravallo
Author of "Teaching Reading in Small Groups" and "Conferring with Readers"
Quote by Carl Anderson, Author of "How's It Going?" and "The Teacher's Guide to Writing Conferences": Most professional books on teaching nonfiction focus on teaching writing or reading, but not both. In this unique book, Colleen Cruz shows us how to teach complementary writing and reading lessons that will help students use what they’re learning about nonfiction writing to help them become more powerful nonfiction readers
.
Most professional books on teaching nonfiction focus on teaching writing or reading, but not both. In this unique book, Colleen Cruz shows us how to teach complementary writing and reading lessons that will help students use what they’re learning about nonfiction writing to help them become more powerful nonfiction readers
.
Carl Anderson
Author of "How's It Going?" and "The Teacher's Guide to Writing Conferences"
Quote by Sara K. Ahmed, NIST International School, Bangkok, Thailand: This book refuels your energy to think about the way you plan and teach reading and writing. Colleen holds strong to the tenets of workshop—choice, voice, and agency—then beautifully blends the lessons and theory with her vast experience in classrooms, new research on writing and reading, and the dance we do with it all now in the digital world. The structure of the book and the lessons are completely accessible for all teachers, the way Colleen believes the learning and craft to be accessible for all students. It’s a gamechanger for those looking to augment and reflect on their current workshop model and for those who are going to give it a go. Colleen is with you every step of the way.
This book refuels your energy to think about the way you plan and teach reading and writing. Colleen holds strong to the tenets of workshop—choice, voice, and agency—then beautifully blends the lessons and theory with her vast experience in classrooms, new research on writing and reading, and the dance we do with it all now in the digital world. The structure of the book and the lessons are completely accessible for all teachers, the way Colleen believes the learning and craft to be accessible for all students. It’s a gamechanger for those looking to augment and reflect on their current workshop model and for those who are going to give it a go. Colleen is with you every step of the way.
Sara K. Ahmed
NIST International School, Bangkok, Thailand

Other Titles in: Curriculum & Content | Literacy, K-12

Price: $35.95
Volume Discounts applied in Shopping Cart

Review Copies

Review copies may be requested by individuals planning to purchase 10 or more copies for a team or considering a book for adoption in a higher ed course. To request a review copy, contact sales@corwin.com.

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