I set my summer professional goal to ramp up writing instruction. It’s an area in which I feel a level of competence and confidence, but I am always looking for ways to improve. I asked Twitter for suggestions. I’m embedding the tweet here so you can follow the suggestions if you like.
Best professional learning books with ideas for teaching writing to high school students? #nctechat #engchat
— Dana Huff (@danamhuff) July 2, 2018
Later, this tweet also crossed my timeline, so I’m embedding it, too:
Hi @ncte !! 😃 I’m looking for recs on a similar mentor/companion text like How To Read Literature Like a Professor, but for *writing* 📠Hoping to use with my 11th grade Lit & Comp classes ðŸ‘🻠Any ideas?! #nctevillage pic.twitter.com/hAeUukhJBn
— Maggie Bryant (@msmaggiebryant) July 2, 2018
Maggie’s question is really what I was trying to ask in a way: I am looking for something that goes beyond theory and offers concrete ideas for exercises to try. I don’t need to give the book to students, but I do want takeaways I can actually use.
I did, however, get a lot of great suggestions, and I will read through some of the selections and post thoughts here on the blog from time to time. I won’t devote a blog post to each book I read. I might read a few of them and then write a blog post with quick thoughts and takeaways from each book.
What a great professional goal! I really value They Say, I Say. We did a book study on it a few years ago, and it’s been a great tool for teachers and students. You’ll have to let us know what you find.
Kristi, that’s in my stack.
Oo, I’d love to see what you came up with!