Customer Reviews

25 Mini-Lessons for Teaching Writing (Grades 3-6)

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This book is fantastic! Our son (age 9) is extremely bright and a good reader and has always been an excellent student. Now in 3rd grade, there is an emphasis on writing in his classroom and for some reason he developed what the teacher described as a "mental block" about writing, because he didn't know how to get started. He would get anxious and upset and end up in tears, saying "I don't know what to write."

I bought a few different books to help with the challenge, and this book was by far the most valuable. It got him past his mental block. He and I do one mini-lesson each week at home, on the weekends when we are relaxed. The mini-lessons are short, focused and fun. In just a few short weeks, our son has made progress both at home and in the classroom. I even consulted with a professional tutor in our area, who said that we were on the right track by using this book - she was very impressed with it.

Thank you Adele Fiderer!

Using lively student examples, plain language and common-sense teaching, Fiderer has reduced the complex notion of leads (and attention getting sentences) to a bite sided and useful form: a chart in fact. The text is deceptively thin, yet chuck full of wonderful ideas which easily work just as well (after certain modifications) with my high school aged kids as I imagine it would with the elementary school children it was originally designed for; there is much useful material to be absorbed within this text. The author "shows" rather than "tells" how to write, teach and learn; frankly, it is difficult not to love this text and style. Her running theory seems to be have the students do and discover writing as the teacher does (with the class) the same.

The 4th grade at our school decided to try this book out after a writing inservice where the presenter used over half of the book for her material. I have to admit, we're only half way through the book, but the results so far have been awesome. The kids are really showing huge jumps in their writing ability. The lessons are short and sequential. Each one has blacklines to repo or make overheads. The students are really starting to see what good writing looks like, and they're doing it. My favorite part is that this isn't a textbook with pages of theories but a real usable book that an overburdened elementary teacher can pick up and start using effectively immediately.

I teach 5th grade and have used many of the lessons in the book. I like how they have a sheet I can use if I need it. Many times I put it on the overhead and use that way. I have seen a definate improvement in my students writing. I shared it in a writing class I am taking and many teachers ordered it, they were so impressed.

This book works fine for ideas, but it doesn't have a great deal of resources for reteaching.

This was recommended by several co-workers, I received my copy and have been immediately pleased.

Book seems to be what I was looking for to send to my son who is teaching in South Korea.The lesson plans were easy to adjust to the kids and the adult programs.