Four Square Writing Method : A Unique Approach to Teaching Basic Writing Skills for Grades 1-3 [Paperback]

Judith S. Gould (Author), Evan Jay Gould (Author), Judy Mitchell (Editor), Mary Rojas (Illustrator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1573101885 | ISBN-13: 978-1573101882 | Publication Date: November 1, 1999

Teach writing skills using this innovative new approach that has been proven to work in classrooms just like yours. The Four Square method can be used with all forms of writing and will fit any reading or language arts program. This step-by-step approach is built around a simple graphic organizer that first shows students how to collect ideas and then helps them use those ideas to create clear and polished prose. Open-ended reproducibles make the technique accessible to writers of all ability ranges. Also great for content area writing.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Judith Gould is an experienced classroom teacher. She is a writing resource teacher for grades K-5 at Windy Hill Elementary School in Florida. As a teacher consultant to the National Writing Project, she has been a frequent workshop presenter on methods to improve writing scores.

Evan Gould has been teaching music and drama for over 10 years. He teaches at Paterson Elementary School in Florida where he has been named teacher of the year. He has had great success integrating the basic subject areas into his hands-on arts program. He is currently enrolled at the University of Florida in a program for Educational Leadership in Administration.

Product Details

• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Teaching & Learning Co (November 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1573101885
• ISBN-13: 978-1573101882
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, visual approach to teaching kids to write reports, March 2, 2007

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Learning All The Time "It's Never Too Late to... (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Four Square Writing Method : A Unique Approach to Teaching Basic Writing Skills for Grades 1-3 (Paperback)

This approach is soooo much better than the outlining approach I learned over 30 years ago. I have no idea why it is so much easier for kids to fill in boxes than fill out an outline, but for some reason it is. My kids are writing basic reports quickly and easily and without the tears and frustration we had last fall. The method is easy to learn and use, and I highly recommend it.

However, if you are more interested in teaching creative writing, then I wouldn't use this approach - in my view, 4-square is well suited to non-fiction reports and essays, but not for writing adventure stories, etc...

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars AN UPDATE, September 1, 2006

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I. F. Walker (Milwaukee, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Four Square Writing Method : A Unique Approach to Teaching Basic Writing Skills for Grades 1-3 (Paperback)

3 years later and I'm back with an update. I still like 4 Square as a graphic organizer.
The structure is easy for children to understand. You will get writing that is organized with details.

I can say that I have moved away from it as my ONLY graphic organizer. If you plan on using 4 Square I would couple it wih 6 TRAITS materials or the authors 4 Square additions/extensions.

Students do need to be taught voice, word choice, and sentence fluency, in addtion to organization.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Useful Tool, February 1, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Four Square Writing Method : A Unique Approach to Teaching Basic Writing Skills for Grades 1-3 (Paperback)

This is a very practical, useful book for teachers working with writers grades 4-8. The 4-square method offers a simple, yet innovative graphic organizer which my students (7th grade reg. ed. and grades 5-8 learning dis./lang. impaired) found extremely easy to understand and use. The method is also helpful in notetaking from text or narrative, and the authors give some lesson ideas across curriculums.

The graphics are serviceable, but seem more appropriate for younger students.