Next-generation lessons for today’s student writers
Move over, old-school writing lessons. In High-Impact Writing Clinics, teacher-poets Sara Holbrook and Michael Salinger deliver 21st-century engagements in a 21st-century format that are certain to finally hook today’s i-touch generation on writing--and help meet the Common Core Standards, too.
How? Sara and Michael’s 20 high-energy projectable lessons for grades 4-8 harness the brevity and potency of poetry for teaching the intricate skills behind writing well in any subject. The 100 poems―set against vivid full-color photographs and graphics on more than 500 slides―serve as a springboard for activities in which students read, discuss, and write to meet the literacy objectives of the Common Core:
- Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings
- Interpret words and phrases as they are used in text―including determining technical, connotative, and figurative meanings―and analyze how specific word choices shape meaning or tone
- Analyze the structure of texts, including how specific sentences, paragraphs, and larger portions of text (e.g., a section, chapter, scene, or stanza) relate to each other and the whole
- Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience
- Present information, findings, and supporting evidence such that listeners can follow the line of reasoning and the organization, development, and style appropriate to the task, purpose, and audience
If our students are to read and write complex literary and informational texts independently, they need highly effective, instructional scaffolding. With High-Impact Writing Clinics teachers and students alike will become fully equipped to do the rigorous, deep dives into complex texts day after day.
“I encourage you to jump right into High-Impact Writing Clinics. Your kids will thrive. And they will become far better writers who will not only meet, but exceed, the standards.”
―Stephanie Harvey, Coauthor of Strategies That Work, Second Edition
Learn more about Sara Holbrook′s PD offerings
Sara Holbrook is a full-time educator, author/poet and consultant, who has been teaching in classrooms acrpss the U.S. and abroad for more than twenty years. She is the author of over a dozen books for children, adults, and teachers as well as an award-winning performance poet. A frequent keynote speaker, Sara shows teachers how to use writing and oral presentation exercises to help raise vocabulary and other literacy skills, along with how to teacher comprehension through collaboration, writing, and classroom performance across all grade levels and content areas.
Learn more about Michael Salinger′s PD offerings
A fixture in the performance poetry and education community, Michael Salinger has been writing and performing poetry and fiction for over twenty years. His work has appeared in dozens of literary journals published in the U.S. and Canada, and he has coauthored two professional books with Sara: Outspoken! and High-Definition. Michael is also the founder and chief facilitator of the teen writing and performance program at Cleveland’s Playhouse Square Foundation--the second largest performing arts center in the United States after Broadway.
