Priscilla Ann Ing
Summer 2006
Book Review #2
Calkins, Lucy, THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF TEACHING WRITING. Portsmouth, NH: FirstHand, 2003
Though this book on the teaching of writing was aimed at the primary elementary level, it was most beneficial to one who is attempting to revamp or create a writing curriculum in a self-contained elementary classroom of any level. The basic tenants of writing instruction can be generalized and adapted for the upper elementary grades. Every chapter of this book not only explained the thinking behind each point, but also gave examples of teacher dialogue to be used in each step of the writing process.
One of the most helpful outlines in the book was a curriculum calendar which was explicit but also flexible enough to allow for extensions and varying speeds of work. Even as a 4th grade teacher, reading this book, I found this schedule to be inspiring for establishing a writing curriculum for the coming school year. The suggested schedule is as follows:
September - establish writers workshop behaviors and work expectations including using consistent key phrases as cues for student work.
October/ November - create stories and practice rereading and revising with focus on detail and sequence. - Personal narrative
November / December- focus on spelling including techniques that relieve the writer of worrying about spelling but teach tools to check and improve spelling
December / January - Study the writing process and teach young writers to ask, “How can readers best understand me?” - Expository
January / February - Study authors, not only learning about and appreciating their lives and works, but relating to the writing process - Imaginative
February / March - Write a book - Non fiction
April / May - Poetry
The issue of classroom structure was also addressed. While the small group structure was highly recommended because it helps facilitate peer work relationships, it is not absolutely necessary. I especially liked the idea of community supplies and writing utensils assigned to table groups. This stops short the excuses used by some students who cannot seem to proceed with an assignment due to lack of paper or sharpened pencils.
The structure of each day’s lesson, called minilessons, was also provided. Most of these steps are present in every good teaching presentation. First, each lesson begins with a brief connection which is a quick review of what was presented during the last day’s minilesson. The second step is the actual teaching of the concept which the student is to learn and use. Teaching could be accomplished in one or more of the following ways: demonstration, explicitly telling and showing, allowing students to inquire (figure out how), and/or with guided practice. Active engagement is the step of guided practice which often includes a peer partner. At this time students try their hand at what was just taught. The link step happens as students try, independently, what they have been taught and begin to show what they can produce. In mid-workshop teaching, while informally assessing the work in progress, the teacher presents a mini-reteaching of any part of the new concept from which many of the students could benefit. After writing is the name of the last step of the minilesson where students share what they have accomplished during the writer’s workshop that day.
Conferencing was also addressed in the “nuts & bolts” of writing. If one looks at conferencing as coaching individual students, it gives a focus via informal assessment. It was suggested that conferences could be directed in four ways. The teacher can research what the child intended in his/her writing through questioning, conclude what needs reteaching and how to do it, teach using guided practice in the one-on-one conference situation, or link what was accomplished with what the student will need to remember for tomorrow. I especially appreciated these different approaches to conferences because each offer a measurable goal.
The ELL student was also addressed. The major point was to allow literate students to first write in their own language and to only ask for English writing work based on progress in English reading work. It also reminded the teacher that speaking and listening, especially child-to-child, is most beneficial. As with all children, using drama, partner reading, independent and guided reading, being read to aloud, word walls, phonemic awareness, and story telling should all be employed to raise English language awareness.
Lastly, an assessment rubric and checklist were given for launching the writing workshop. These would be very helpful to the teacher to stay on track through the year. It would also be very helpful at report card time when both student progress and effort are evaluated.
This book is an excellent resource and will most likely serve as a basis for my 2006-07 writing curriculum, combined with the commercial writing program my school has adopted. I see this system as flexible enough to work with many different published program structures.
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