Softcover

ISBN 10: 032503785X ISBN 13: 9780325037851

Publisher: FirstHand, 2012

"Nonfiction texts govern as much as 90% of the reading and writing done by literate adults and comprise more than 70% of standardized assessments. For our children to succeed in school and beyond they need to be fluent in the different purposes of nonfiction writing. They need to know how to plan, compose, revise, edit, and publish a range of nonfiction texts." Tony Stead and Linda Hoyt

In Explorations in Nonfiction Writing, Tony Stead and Linda Hoyt offer teachers and students alike scaffolds to move forward with nonfiction writing, using writing as a natural way to wonder, learn, and think about topics that excite them. It includes opportunities for students to explore a variety of real-world nonfiction texts and to work collaboratively as researchers and writers to create their own informational texts.

While learning how to locate, access, interpret, record, publish, and share information, students also consider ways to activate their voice and make their nonfiction writing clearer, more authoritative, and better organized. Designed around a consistent mix of explorations-some are extended units of study that engage primary writers in the complete writing process and others are targeted minilessons that expose students to various forms of nonfiction writing-Explorations in Nonfiction Writing is easily adaptable and will support you whether you are integrating nonfiction writing into your established literacy block or developing a new nonfiction writing program that supports your entire academic curriculum.

Explorations in Nonfiction Writing components:

• The teacher's guide outlines the series' guiding principles, offers practical tips for outfitting and organizing classrooms, and describes strategies and procedures for embedding nonfiction writing into your curriculum.
• Organized around 5 major purposes for writing nonfiction-to inform, to instruct, to narrate, to persuade, and to respond-the lesson book supports your nonfiction writing instruction in two ways.
  • Extended Writing Units are in-depth studies-two weeks to a month in length- that give children a chance to explore more deeply a particular type of nonfiction text. In the course of an extended writing unit, students work collaboratively on a class research writing project and then apply what they've learned to an individual project.
  • Power Writes are compact minilessons that encourage students to analyze and try their hand at a wide variety of nonfiction texts from across the curriculum, such as signs, letters, labeled diagrams, reports, poetry, directions, and interviews.
• Mentor texts provided as reproducibles and in poster format show how engaging and vibrant nonfiction texts can be and set a high standard for young writers.
• The Resources CD-ROM provides a wealth of printable resources including instructional charts, checklists, and assessment forms.

This series includes:

• Explorations in Nonfiction Writing: Grades K
• Explorations in Nonfiction Writing: Grades 1
• Explorations in Nonfiction Writing: Grades 2
• Explorations in Nonfiction Writing: Grade 3
• Explorations in Nonfiction Writing: Grade 4
• Explorations in Nonfiction Writing: Grade 5
  
• Nonfiction Writing DVD: Intentional, Connected, and Engaging, Grades K-2
• Nonfiction Writing DVD: Intentional, Connected, and Engaging, Grades 3-5+
• Crafting Nonfiction: Lessons on Writing Process, Traits, and Craft, Primary
• Crafting Nonfiction: Lessons on Writing Process, Traits, and Craft, Intermediate

About the Author:

When Linda Hoyt is asked what people should know about her professional career, she is often heard to say, "I'm a teacher. That will always be the heart of my professional work." Though she spent many years as a classroom teacher, reading specialist, curriculum developer, staff developer, and Title I District Coordinator, Linda's passion will always center around vigorous and engaging classrooms where teachers and children learn together. This passion for vigorous and engaged learning has led Linda to create twenty-four professional books and video programs, plus numerous instructional resources for children. A few titles from her multidimensional list of Heinemann publications include Revisit, Reflect, Retell; Make It Real; Interactive Read-Alouds; Solutions for Reading Comprehension; and her newest resources, Explorations in Nonfiction Writing and Crafting Nonfiction. Three of her popular Heinemann video programs include Nonfiction Writing (one for primary and one for intermediate) and Navigating Informational Texts. Linda is a full-time author, consultant, and highly requested speaker at conferences throughout the United States, in Canada, and in Australia. Linda and her husband, Steve, live in the mountains of central Oregon where they enjoy outdoor activities and the high-desert climate. Read more from Linda's most recent blogs here: - Just Do It! Informational Writing in the Primary Grades - Guided Writing, Part 1 - Guided Writing, Part 2 - Reading For Life by Laura Robb - Strategies for Teaching Nonfiction Writing (Grades K - 2 3 - 5) Listen to an interview with Linda Hoyt on Education Talk Radio - 11/09/2011 (35:58) Writing - Explorations in Nonfiction Writing - Crafting Nonfiction - Primary and Intermediate - Nonfiction writing DVDs, K-2, 3-5 - "plus pack" at each grade level Reading - Interactive Read Alouds - K-1, 2-3, 4-5 Professional Books: - Make it Real - Revisit, Reflect, Retell Professional Development Services - Online PD: Strategies for Teaching Nonfiction Writing, grades K-2 and 3-5 - Onsite PD: Making Sense of Informational Texts - Onsite PD: Explorations in Nonfiction Writing - Onsite PD: Time-Tested Strategies for Teaching Comprehension - DVD: Nonfiction Study Staff Development Bundle - DVD: Literacy Mini-lessons staff development bundle

Tony Stead has taught at both the elementary and university level and is the author of several publications on teaching reading and writing, including Is That a Fact?: Teaching Nonfiction Writing K - 3; Reality Checks: Teaching Reading Comprehension with Nonfiction K - 5; Good Choice!: Supporting Independent Reading and Response K - 6; and Should There Be Zoos?: A Persuasive Text. He is also the author of two video series: Time for Nonfiction and Bridges to Independence: Guided Reading with Nonfiction.