Unit of Study: Process Studies Ron Rash Book Group Discussion Ron Rash Book Group Discussion  

This page is to share the suggested list of process study ideas discussed in class and to provide a space for us to add to this list collaboratively.  This is also a place where you can post your writing that has been influenced from this unit of study.  *Please add your first and last name and the title and author of your text with your post. Please also add a picture if available and a hyperlink to the page where we could order the book online if we choose to.

Vivid Language by P.L.Thomas

Suggested by Kim Wells

How many times as a teacher of writing do you second guess yourself on correct instruction of Standard English?  Unless your were an English major or a grammarian, you may dismally realize your comments to students have been erroneous. Flipping through an appendix or glossary in the teacher's edition of student's text book can be replaced by Vivid Language. The first chapter is stuffy and academic; but past that, this paperback is chock full of rules of Standard English and writing process in a concise, readable, easy-reference format. Some of the features are:

• quick rules
• quick examples
• bold-type key words
• comprehensive index
• practical correct word choice list(s)
• writing process explanations
• practical revision appendix(How do I grade a writing assignment?)

Craft is great, but teachers will agree observance of basic rules are essential to writing and speaking effectively. For those of us who doubt our own expertise, this handbook serves well as a desk companion.

     Everyday Editing by: Jeff Anderson

Recomended by Kimberly Barnette:  I have to admit I needed a little help with this selection since I'm not an ELA teacher.  I had to turn to my literacy coach for assistance, and she told me that she used this book several times when helped her students revise or edit thier works.   

Writer's Notebooking: 

A Writer's Notebook By: Ralph Fletcher

Recommended by April Camp: This book is an outstanding way to really get your students involved in the wet up of their writer's notebook. It makes a great read aloud with funny stories that show examples of different notebooking processes. It begins with "What is a writer's notebook", and then goes into different types of writing that would be good to use in your writer's notebook. I have used this book several times when I was teaching third grade and they loved it. Sometimes it can be a little long but it is easy to skip through and use what you want from it. It is quick and easy for you, the teacher, to read a head of time in order to figure out just what parts you want to read.

Notebook Know-How:  Aimee Buckner 

Recommended by Amber McDonald:  This is a great book as to how to set up notebooking in your classroom. I do feel that is a great addition to anyone's library. I like how the chapters are divided into certain parts of how to use a writer's notebook to its fullest advantage!

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Do-It-Yourself Book by Jeff Kinney

Recommended by Heather Yordy.  I decided to get this book for one of my nephews because he LOVES the Wimpy Kid series... as I looked over it, I thought it would be a great selection to post here and even do a noticings chart on!  It gives sample writing, has a lot of questions to get them thinking about what they want to write about, has unfinished comics and then empty cartoons for the kids to try their own writing.  It really walks them through writing their own Wimpy Kid creation!

*Process Study:  Revision

The Revision Toolbox by Georgia Heard

Recommended by Dawn Mitchell.  This is a professional development text that I have used with a variety of grade levels 2nd grade through adults with success.  Georgia Heard who is a well known published writer and teacher of wriitng created this text to help us learn different tools for revision.  In this text, Heard provides multiple strategies for teaching revision and ideas for revision centers and even conferring strategies.  A great must-have for all writing teachers.

Craft Lessons by Ralph Fletcher and Joann Portalupi 

Recommended by Cammie Price.

This is a great book to have in your classroom. We have a copy of this in our literacy closet that teachers often refer to. This book has practical lessons in an easy to read one-page per lesson format. I like how the book is divided into 3 groups by grade levels (ex. K-2). The index is also helpful to help you quickly find specific lessons. Each lesson has 3 parts: discussion-reason for teaching craft, how to teach-teaching in writing conferences or small groups, and resource-contains additional texts you may want to use. This is helpful for new teachers of writers along with teachers who have been teaching awhile but need new ideas.

Live Writing by Ralph Fletcher

Recommended by Kim Sutherland. This book does a great job of teaching writing in small components. For example, how to teach students to write and describe a character, conflict, or use dialogue. Also, it gives examples of do's and don't for students.  Very user friendly and easy read.  This would be a great resource for all ELA teachers!!! 

The Revisor's Toolbox by Barry Lane

Recommended by Joan Green.  There are so many great ideas to teach revision in this book.  I think it is applicable to any grade because you could take his ideas and easily adapt them to the grade that you teach.  The second chapter is called, "Using the Binoculars," and it has lots of ways to teach students to use details to zoom in on the important part of their stories.  Lane gives examples of rubrics, checklists, and different ideas for conferences.  I think this is a great writing resource.

Mentor Texts: Teaching Writing Through Children's Literature, K-6 by Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli

Recommended by Lindsay Blanton.  I just recently found this book and was able to purchase it for my school.  We've done so much with children's literature and writing and used 6+1 Writing Traits this year that I had to check it out.  There is a Nonfiction Mentor Text book as well.  I'll post the picture.  Great resource and helpful with units and looking at picture books that you may have and how to use them in mini-lessons.

Nonfiction Mentor Texts: Teaching Informational Writing Through Children's Literature, K-8 by Lynne Dorfman and Rose Cappelli 

Recommended by Lindsay Blanton.  This is the Nonfiction Mentor Text book from the one I previously listed.  Same authors and same lay-out, just has the informational writing as the focus.  Great resource for creating writing units and mini-lessons.

Is That a Fact? by Tony Stead

Recommended by Lindsay Blanton.  I love Tony Stead!!!  He is a great presenter and ever since I attended the SCIRA conference I look for his books.  This is a great book for teaching nonfiction writing in grades K-2.  He loves to focus nonfiction reading and writing with the primary grades.  There is a lot of ideas in this book and he has several others that are must haves too!

Lucy Calkin's Unit of Study:  The Craft of Revision  (No image available on Amazon)

 Recommended by: Amber Pitts  This is the first year that I have used Lucy Calkins Unit of Study books. I have been really surprised at how easy they are to read and all of the great resources she offers. The craft of revision book really helps you set up peer conferencing in your classroom. She has students work with a partner or peer to revise their work. One of my favorite things from these texts are the great anchor charts she gives. She actually tells you word for word anchor charts. I have really used her ideas and molded them to fit my classroom.

Process Study: Leads

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Recommended by Sarah Stephanoff. Ba-room, ba-room, ba-room, baripity, baripity, baripity, baripity - Good. His dad had the pickup going. And so begins Bridge to Terabithia. Students will love to model their own writing after this and begin many pieces with onomatopoiea. Onomatopoiea became my students favorite and most effective type of lead.

*Process Study:  Punctuation

Diary of a Wombat by Jackie French

Recommended by Sarah Stephanoff. Diary of a Wombat is the hilarious story of a wombat moving into a family's yard. Students will enjoy the story and they will notice the author's use of punctuation with a purpose. The author uses colons to describe the wombat's daily activities in list format.

 Recommended by Cathy Rode

This is a wonderful tool to use for 3rd - 6th grade.  Students will be actively engaged in learning the rules for capitalization and other puctuation.  We don't have activie boards in our individual classrooms, but we have a "Mustang Corral" which we can use if we sign up.  This also contains CD's that you can use to print out hard copies as well. 

*See the Appendix of "Study Driven" to find more possibilities for process studies.

Writing Through CHildhood  Rethinking Process and Product by Shelly Harwayne

Recommended by Crystal Weathers

This is a book to use for setting up the writing workshop to minilessons used in the writing workshop, from spelling to edting. 

Process Study"- Drafting, Revising, and editing for publication

      What You Know by Heart  by Katie Wood Ray

After our class I started going through the many books I have accummulated over the years and have used at one time or the other and have put away. I came across several Katie Wood Ray books, Wondrous Words, and What you know by Heart.

     This book has many sources for process studies but one that I have used and will use again is Drafting, Revising and editing for Publication. A few of the revision tools that KWR has gathered throughout the years  and are what she focuses on in her text,

• Take a line and use my notebook to try writing it lots of different ways.
• Find all the verbs in the draft and ask, "Is there a more precise verb I might use?"
• Have someone read the draft and then give a summary of it. Ask myself, "Did my piece make sense to this reader?"
•  Consider shifting the voice of the piece by changing the person of the pronouns. 
• Take a small chunk and write it longer (add inside thinking, add an image, slow time down). Take a long chunk and make it shorter (say a lot in one sentence, speed time up)
• Try starting the draft in a different place. 
• Try crafting techniques in the draft that I've seen other authors use in other texts. 
• Look closely at puncutation. Are there places wher I could exploit punctuation marks to help make my meaning stronger? 
• Add anything that would make the meaning stronger. 
• Read the draft aloud, over and over and over. LISTEN for what I need to do to it. 

Writing Toward Home Tales and Lessons to Find Your Way by Georgia Heard

Recommended by Renee Phillips

This is a great book that could be used k-12. With the younger students I think that it gives the teacher ideas for her writing and what kids of things you might right about and share with students. For intermediate grades the writings in this book can serve as a model for students. With older students it could even be a text from which you teach writing. It is must have for any teacher of writing.Unit of Study: Book Reviews

Punctuation and Capitalization by Harold Jarnicki

Recommended by Martha Vest

Love this series by The Mailbox. This book and others in this series excite children with funny pictures and illustrations and cartoons while teaching them grammar. Fun games and puzzles and drawing pages draw the children in and help engage them in too often dull concepts.