Writing in the Elementary Classroom: A Reconsideration

The educational climate for teaching writing is a lot different now than it was in the eighties when much of the groundbreaking research was first published. The contributors to Writing in the Elementary Classroom take that thinking and push it in new directions. The authors are all internationally respected educators and researchers, who offer new insight on children as thinkers and writers, and ways to support them in today's classrooms.

Writing in the Elementary Classroom considers writing development from many different angles, creating a rich collage that focuses on how to help students develop into competent writers. The first section of the book consists of four chapters on how to support younger writers. In the second section, the authors explore how a variety of issues influence narrative and poetry writing. The third section looks at nonfiction and ways to do this kind of writing effectively. The final section considers how to prepare writing to be read by an audience. By considering all the different types of writing as well as why we write, the importance of writing, the process of writing, and variety of diverse issues, Writing in the Elementary Classroom is by far the most comprehensive book on writing instruction available today.

This book is available in North America, Australia and New Zealand. Anyone outside these territories should contact David Fulton Publishers, www.fultonpublishers.co.uk.

Janet Evans, formerly an elementary school teacher, is currently Senior Lecturer in Education at Liverpool Hope University College in Liverpool, England. Janet has taught in India, Nigeria, Australia, and Canada, and was awarded two scholarships, which allowed her to work and study in the United States. Janet has written several books on language, literacy, and math education for elementary educators, including What’s in the Picture? Responding to Illustrations in Picture Books (Paul Chapman).

Prisca Martens is an assistant professor of language education at Indiana University, Indianapolis. Martens researches, publishes, and conducts presentations and workshops in the areas of early literacy, reading, miscue analysis, and retrospective miscue analysis.