On Their Way: Celebrating Second Graders as They Read and Write (Teacher to Teacher)

The authors view second grade as a dynamic year full of change. As teachers hand the responsibility of choice and participation to their students, something almost magical develops. This book brings the reader into this world by providing specific details of activities, projects, and materials that attract and engage the second grader and transform the classroom into a more meaningful place for the learner. On Their Way includes discussions on:

• reading and writing from the developmental point of view
• organizing and setting up the classroom
• putting rituals in place that help the classroom run smoothly
• the importance of talking and listening to the thinking and learning of young children
• ways to involve students in their evaluation through reference charts and portfolios
• developmental characteristics of seven- and eight-year olds
• samples of classroom charts
• student writing samples.

Jane Fraser taught elementary school for twenty-five years and worked as a staff developer with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, Columbia University. She is a mentor to beginning teachers in the Westport Public Schools in Westport, Connecticut and presents workshops throughout the Northeast and at national professional conferences. Fraser coauthored, with Donna Skolnick, On Their Way: Celebrating Second Graders as They Read and Write (Heinemann, 1994).

Donna Skolnick is a teacher in Westport, Connecticut, and workshop presenter throughout the United States. She has served as a building-based reading teacher, a townwide K-6 writing teacher, and for seventeen years, a classroom teacher.