Blasts from the Past
Each summer, I review this blog’s stats to see what kinds of topics resonate most with readers. And year after year, I notice a trend. Readership tends to fall off in April. I think there are a few reasons. First, most schools have finished their informational writing unit for the year, so fewer educators are […]
A Mega-fun Mentor Text for Opinion Writing
In most states, the ELA standards expect students to create opinion pieces, or persuasive writing. A quick google search can provide lists of fictional mentor texts, but since the pieces students create will be nonfiction, wouldn’t an informational book make a better mentor? Your school’s librarian or literacy coach can probably create a list of persuasive nonfiction […]
Resources for Educators: Persuasive Writing Activity
More and more, teachers are requesting educational resources that go beyond traditional teachers guides and activity sheets. So while I do still have those kinds of materials on my website, I’m also offering resources that delve deeply into the nonfiction reading and writing process from an author’s point of view. Some of these resources focus […]
Persuasive Writing Text Set
We all know the value of mentor texts, so when Jenny Lussier, the fabulous library media specialist at Brewster School in Durham, CT, tweeted this: I took her request seriously. Back in November 2014, I wrote this post about persuasive books. It describes how surprised I was when an article in Book Links included my […]
Behind the Books: The Nonfiction Book Review-Persuasive Writing Link
According to state ELA standards, students should know how to write persuasive texts. Writing and orally presenting book reviews is one way for them to practice this style of nonfiction writing AND learn to summarize and synthesize the nonfiction (or fiction) books they’ve read. In the early elementary grades, children can focus on the topic […]
Behind the Books: Influencing Your Audience with Persuasive Nonfiction
When I first started compiling Common Core-related book lists in 2012, persuasive writing had me stumped. I couldn’t think of any good mentor texts. Then my friend, writer and school librarian Sam Kane, forwarded me a link to this an article in Booklist. It discusses Common Core text types and recommends recently-published science books in […]