Because Writing Matters: Improving Student Writing in Our Schools, Revised Edition - Paperback

by National Writing Project (Author), Carl Nagin (Author)

This updated edition of the best-selling book Because Writing Matters reflects the most recent research and reports on the need for teaching writing, and it includes new sections on writing and English language learners, technology, and the writing process.

Front Jacket

A good writer can effectively present an idea, argue a point, analyze an issue, clarify the confusing, and evoke the intangible. The writing ability children develop in their school and college years is a valuable skill that will last them a lifetime.
"Because Writing Matters" examines the myths and realities surrounding the teaching of writing in schools. This important book reveals how kids learn to write, what schools need to do to teach writing effectively, and shows that effective writing teachers address more than content and skills. Sponsored by the National Writing Project, a nationally recognized organization for teachers, "Because Writing Matters" offers step-by-step recommendations for developing effective writing programs in all grades. Each of the book's action steps is prioritized from the easily achieved to the larger and longer term.
Teaching writing well involves multiple teaching strategies that deal with both process and product, both form and content. This book offers many examples of these effective strategies and classroom practices. In addition, "Because Writing Matters" includes a guide to help educators and administrators analyze and improve writing instruction in their classrooms.
From curriculum and assessment to professional development, this book will provide teachers, parents, administrators, and policy makers with a blueprint for improving writing in their schools.

Back Jacket

The Definitive Guide to Teaching Writing in Our Schools

This updated edition of the best-selling book Because Writing Matters reflects the most recent research and reports on the need for teaching writing, and it includes new sections on writing and English language learners, technology, and the writing process.

PRAISE FOR BECAUSE WRITING MATTERS

"Because Writing Matters has sweeping appeal to teachers, administrators, and parents alike. It is full of pragmatic tools to increase both the quantity and the quality of writing in schools. Not haughty or esoteric, it is relevant, accessible and, above all, a practical guidebook that presents ways by which writing within the educational landscape can be improved." --Essays in Education

"I just finished a fantastic book about writing. In about 120 pages, the authors synthesize years of insights into writing, instruction, professional development, and assessment... I felt like I learned something new with each page, or found on each page some important new validation for what I already do in my own classroom." --Jim Burke, moderator, CATENet, and author, The Reader's Handbook and The English Teacher's Companion

"This book is must-reading for teachers, school district leaders, and policy makers who wish to restore writing to its rightful place in student learning." --Donald Graves, Professor Emeritus, Education, University of New Hampshire

Author Biography

The National Writing Project (NWP) is a nationwide professional development program for teachers begun in 1974 at the University of California, Berkeley. Through its extensive network of teachers, the NWP seeks to promote exemplary instruction of writing in every classroom in America.

Carl Nagin is a journalist, editor, and teacher. He has worked for the PBS series Frontline, and his articles have appeared in such national publications as The New Yorker, the New York Times, and Art and Antiques where his writing was nominated for a National Magazine Award. He taught writing at both the high school and college level for more than fifteen years as a faculty member at Harvard University and the New England Conservatory of Music.