Target Grades: Middle-High School
Key Concepts: Writing on Demand, SAT^®, AP^®, state assessments, academic writing, college readiness
Submitted by: Kathryn S. Pabst, Lovejoy High School, Lucas,Texas Kathryn_Pabst@lovejoyisd.net

Kathryn S. Pabst currently leads the Pre-AP/Eng. II team at Lovejoy High School in Lucas, Texas—a unique district that has adopted the philosophy of “Pre-AP for All.” At Lovejoy, AP^® strategies are embedded in the curriculum to ensure a deeper and more enriched learning experience for all students. Kathryn’s passions are teaching writing—in all its complexities and nuances—and crafting and writing curriculum. In 2008-2009, Kathryn’s responsibilities will expand to include the teaching of AP Language. She will also be an AP^® presenter at the 2008 National Conference. Kathryn holds a GT Endorsement and earned her M.A.T. in 2004 from The University of Texas at Dallas. Her current goals include alignment for grades 6-12 and the initiation of a student literary magazine for her district. Kathryn also published a memoir, TAKEN, in 2003.

“Research and experience show that writers need three things: ownership of the form and subject of their writing, feedback from other writers, and time to draft and revise. Yet the harsh and confusing reality of today’s college-entrance and state-mandated examinations—or any test with an essay component—is that students, trained in writing workshops, go on the clock to compose a paper on an assigned topic, in a prescribed form, for which they will receive no feedback. …And their future depends on it.”
Anne Ruggles Gere, University of Michigan
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Dan Gutman is the author of more than 80 books, fictional and non-fictional, for both children and adults. His published works include The Homework Machine, The Million Dollar Putt, and Landslide! A Kid’s Guide to the U.S. Elections. He’s also published the & Me baseball card adventure series as well as the My Weird School series. We would like to thank Dan for allowing us to post his “Tips for Young Authors” in our Vantage community. You can learn more about Dan and his books and find some fun surprises on his Web site at http://www.dangutman.com.

Writing non-fiction…
If you have to write a report for school on a topic (say, the Civil War), it is really no different than what I go through when I write a book such as “Gymnastics” or “Baseball’s Greatest Games.”

The first step is to gather information. What I do, basically, is to try and find out everything I can about my subject.

For gymnastics, I went to the library to see what books had been published on the topic. I went through The New York Times Index and the Reader’s Guide to Periodicals to read articles written about gymnastics. I skimmed five years of International Gymnast magazine. I checked out gymnastic web sites. I interviewed gymnasts and coaches. (more…)