Improving students' writing, K-8: from meaning-making to high stakes!

Preface About the Authors 1. Writing to Learn and Understand Purposes for Writing Yesterday's and Today's Challenges Literacy Connections in Your Classroom The Three Hardest Parts About Helping Student Writers Writing Together as a Way of Communicating, Learning, and Meaning-Making 2. Writing About Information Informal Writing Formal Writing Connections Between Informational Text and Student Writing Reading Informational Text to Learn About Structure Final Thoughts 3. Narrative Writing Narrative Writing Writing Development Gender and Writing Informal Narrative Writing Formal Narrative Writing Final Thoughts 4. Writing With Purpose for Real Audiences Part of a Classroom Culture Writing for Real Audiences Writing for Real Purposes Analyzing Writing as a Craft Revision Responding to Writing Editing Writing With Reason 5. Preparing for High-Stakes Writing Assessments Historical Perspective Writing Assessment Methods Writing Assessment Tasks Helping Students With Trait-Scored Divergent and Convergent Assessment Items Product Versus Process Final Thoughts 6. Connecting Writing and Classroom Conversation Academic Conversations Final Thoughts Afterword Appendix References Index