I vividly remember the first essay, a literary response prompt about The Miracle Worker, I assigned as a new teacher. As a class, we’d both read and watched the play, discussed it extensively, and completed hands-on projects; I didn’t think one small essay would be a problem. I blithely handed out the assignment, told my students to write, and collected their work on the due date. It was that simple-until I actually began to read their writing. (more…)

The second installment in our Author Series comes with many thanks to Sue Macy for allowing us to share her 10 Tips for Young Writers.

Sue Macy is an author and editor of books, magazine articles, and writing for the Web. Much of her work is for kids and young adults, and a lot of it is about sports. Her books include Girls Got Game: Sports Stories & Poems, Play Like a Girl: A Celebration of Women in Sports, Freeze Frame, and Swifter, Higher, Stronger, which received starred review from “School Library Journal” and “Booklist.” She is also on the board of directors of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Players Association, the group that organizes reunions and educates the public about the league.

You can learn a lot more about Sue, her books, and her interests on her website at http://www.suemacy.com/

It’s one of the oldest jokes in the book. “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” asks a tourist lost in New York City. “Practice!” (more…)

Target Grade Level: All levels
Keys Concepts: Writing Process, prewriting, drafting, revising, editing
Contributed by: Stephanie Binckes. Stephanie Binckes is a former high school English and ELD teacher. As a fellow of the California Writing Project, she has worked as a writing coach and mentor throughout her state. She wrote this article to help teachers re-envision MY Access!® as a powerful tool that can be used to support students throughout the composition process.

When I first began teaching in the 1990s, “Writing Process” or “The Writing Process” was familiar jargon in the language arts classroom. However, it wasn’t until I went through a California Writing Project Summer Invitational that I began to fully understand, internalize and embrace a process approach to teaching writing.

A few years later, when I started working as a teacher consultant in school districts throughout Southern California, the mere mention of “Writing Process” was sure to spark a heated debate. Teachers loved it or hated it. Some saw process writing as the only way to teach; others saw it as a waste of time and a “feel good” approach that didn’t accomplish anything. I quickly assessed that those who had a strong aversion to process writing simply didn’t understand it, and I enjoyed the challenge of showing them what process writing actually is. (more…)