Independent Writing: One Teacher---Thirty-Two Needs, Topics, and Plans » (1st Edition)

M. Colleen Cruz has taught fourth grade, both general education and as a co-teacher in an inclusive setting, at P.S. 321 in Brooklyn, New York. She is also a staff developer with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project and the author of a children's novel, Border Crossing.

There is a truth, and an irony, in this - that writing is a supreme act of independence and yet most writing programs foster inherently dependent behaviors. But no more. Colleen Cruz knows that it's possible to teach and fully support a whole classroom full of independent writers. And you can do this with each young writer no matter the genre, the topic, or the stage of the writing process. With Independent Writing, she takes you inside her classroom and documents a full school year of writing instruction with plentiful student examples, teacher's notes, practical advice, and attention to writing standards.

Cruz offers a variety of methods not only to get students writing independently, but to get them producing work that both reflects their own interests and displays their skills. Look inside for:

step-by-step instructions in the use of "mentor texts" - published pieces of writing used to inform students' own work in progress

ways to turn notebooks into authentic working documents by referring to writing notebooks of professional writers

examples for changing the classroom into a writing colony full of writers who can be a resource to each other

suggestions for dealing with trouble, maintaining quality of work, and moving forward

easy-to-follow charts for organizing minilessons, addressing problems, and making modifications for students needing additional support.

Children can "make or write anything they want," says Cruz, and they can do it independently if they are shown how. Find out how in this practical book. And make each of your students a lifelong writer.

	Foreword
	Acknowledgments
	Introduction
1	Getting started	1
2	Finding and using mentors in the independent workshop	47
3	When the writer's notebook becomes the writer's notebook	73
4	The writing colony : building community for independent writers	93
5	Trouble!	123
6	Taking stock and moving forward : assessment and planning writing lives	149
	Afterword	175
	Bibliography	177
	Index	179