Take a tour with author Tom Newkirk through eight big ideas in literacy instruction and their embodiment of democratic values. He explores ideas from the founders of the “writing renaissance,” 1975–1987, and the impact those ideas have had on teaching and learning. Central to the book is the belief that all students come through the school door with rich histories and interests—and as teachers we need to respect that richness and connect it to school goals. Newkirk argues that 'the house of literacy has a thousand doors, and our job is to help students find one that will let them in.' He explains each of the eight ideas, argues for their importance, and draws on his own teaching practice/observations, including interviews from the next generation who have built upon those ideas. He also tells a few stories along the way. This is an engaging book—personal and conversational—that celebrates teaching that can invite all students into the House of Literacy.
In Writing Unbound, Tom Newkirk argues that as a teaching profession, we shoot ourselves in the foot when it comes to writing. We fail to take advantage of a huge opportunity that is before us. That opportunity is fiction writing.
Consider this: Our deepest wish is for students to develop a love of books— particularly a love of fiction. To discover the power of stories to transport us into worlds we never knew existed. At the same time, we want them to build a love of writing. To really love it; not just endure it.
So if these are our two primary goals, how did they become so disparate? Why is the writing we’re asking our students to do so completely opposite from the fiction they enjoy reading? “My worry,” Tom Newkirk writes, “is that we have been asked to buy a lie—or rather a series of them. That analytic writing is somehow a higher form of thinking than story, that “creativity” is for the talented few, and that fiction writing is unteachable… If we accept these lies, we lose our birthright as English teachers.”
Through 40 in-depth interviews with student writers as well as teachers of writing, Newkirk builds an argument for bringing fiction back into our writing curriculum as a way to strengthen all writing. He addresses the common obstacles and resistance to fiction and illustrates, through students and teachers’ insights, why keeping fiction writing on the outside of school walls is a missed opportunity. “If reading fiction is humanizing and valuable,” Tom writes, “the same, perhaps even stronger, case can be made for writing fiction.”
Children Want to Write is a collection of Donald Graves most significant writings paired with video that illuminates his research and his inspiring work with teachers. See the earliest documented use of invented spelling, the earliest attempts to guide young children through a writing process, the earliest conferences.
This collection allows you to see this revolutionary shift in writing instruction-with its emphasis on observation, reflection, and approaching children as writers.
