Customer Reviews

50 Writing Lessons That Work!: Motivating Prompts and Easy Activities That Develop the Essentials of Strong Writing (Grades 4-8)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a teacher of high-school students with learning disabilities I was very happy to find Ms. Rawlings book. Nothing is more difficult in writing than thinking of an idea and getting started. I found that my students would simply stare into space when asked to write, desperately trying to think of something to write about. Now I use the story starters as fun, creative ways to get the kids going. For the first time many of them want to write because the story starters are so compelling they want to start the story and see where it takes them. I also enjoy the sensible teaching tips from a seasoned pro in the classroom. Thank you Ms. Rawlings Miller!

I was disappointed to discover this book is more like 50 activities, not 50 lessons. I realized only after I ordered this book that it is a slim 64 pages. Each "lesson" is like an idea for a student writing assignment, although many of them are not particularly inspired. I tried to use this book with middle school students, but many of them complained that the assignments were cliche and forced them to write on prompts they had heard before (like write an autobiography, describe someone's personality in a paragraph, write about something that annoys you, write about the weather today, etc.). I felt that half of these prompts were things that as a teacher, I could easily come up with on my own. The other half are fine and good, but brief. For my purposes, this book could be condensed to a two-page list of creative writing / essay topics.

At 9.99 for 64 pages, you are better off spending 19.99 on a 300 page book that will last beyond a few weeks, and do more than list off writing prompts.

This book could be useful if you are teaching 4th-5th grade students, and like to have the structure of a book to guide you through getting the class excited about a single writing prompt. If you're a more creative type (and not a by-the-line, I read a cookbook for every detail type), you're better off giving yourself an hour to brainstorm a bunch of writing prompts, typing them up, and using your own ideas.

My son LOVES this book! With the new Harry Potter books, my son (a 10-year-old who normally hates to read and write) has taken an interest in trying to write his own books. As a non-writer I did not know where to start, but Ms. Miller's book is informative and most of all FUN! She demystifies writing so that it is enjoyable and understandable. I would suggest anyone with schoolage children try this book so writing will not be such a scarey thing for their kids. I read it and learned lots -- I wish I had it when I was growing up!

Great resource for lessons, sponge activities, and substitute lessons. Highly recommend for all teachers who want useful support for their writng program.

This is a book on the teaching of writing to middle and junior high students. The writer-teacher may know her stuff, but does not know how to instruct students or her reader-teachers. This is basically--as most books of this type are--a "what to do" book and not a specific "how to" book. My negative comments are intertwined.

1. "[A chosen] motivating topic: 'That's So annoying!' The focus: To create focus with a clear topic sentence."

Students do NOT want to see the above nomenclature written on their assignment paper or the board. And, besides, in fiction, many paragraphs DON'T have topic sentences.

2. "Assignment: Write about something that annoys you; use details that convey FULLY [emphasis mine] why this is so bothersome."

The phrase "Write about" is SO overwhelming to weak writers as well as most students. They do not know how to "convey fully" or weave "details" into their writing. Thus, this admonition just adds to their frustration and dislike of composing.

3. "Warm Up: Think of something universally delightful to your students such as ice cream or amusement parks. With students, brainstorm the things that are wonderful about ice cream or amusement parks; write their responses on the board in a word web so they can see the specific details."

"Universal" does not apply to individual students--more options should be presented or the student be allowed to come up with an annoying topic. A "word web" is still confusing to many teachers--as well as students--and its effectiveness is debatable; I never used it. It is basically a hodge-podge (brain storming) way of listing words, and connecting with lines to those words/ideas that seem to go together. There's a better way to accomplish this. Also, "specific" details are not revealed via a word web. In addition, too many teachers do not understand HOW to "brainstorm." So, they should be given some help here.

4. "After reviewing paragraph structure, have the class compose a great topic sentence: Move them away from the overly general or bland (such as 'Ice cream is great!') to something more specific and interesting (such as 'Creamy, smooth, and sweet ice cream in its many varieties is the perfect solution to life's little troubles.')"

Just HOW is a teacher to "review paragraph structure"? This is a cog in the wheel of instruction right off. HOW does a teacher move students into exciting, catchy topic sentences? Actually, I like the "bland" in this bland topic sentence. No help for the teacher or student here. And is a 4th-8th grader going to come up with a sentence like that?

5. "Discuss how the topic sentence gives the writer somewhere to go."

Textbooks, workbooks and too many guides much overuse the word "discuss." What ARE some discussion points? What about the idea of adding a topic sentence AFTER the paragraph is written--if it needs one at all?

And thus the book continues for many more lessons. Boooring.

The Creative Teacher: Activities for Language Arts (Grades 4 through 8 and Up)

I have my own tutoring service I have used this book to help my students who do not like writing. The prompts located in the book are great ways for children to use their imagination and be creative in many different ways and capacities. I would suggest this book for any teacher or parent who is trying to finds ways to help that struggling student to enjoy writing.

This is good for students who need focus, but not for students who need basic skills.

This book is just what I needed. As a writing teacher for 3rd-6th grade, this book gives me some awesome and fun ideas for writing lessons. I think my students will really enjoy doing some of these assignments!

This book provides many great ideas for writing activities. The reason I didn't give it a five is that many of the writing ideas are cliche but if you take the basic idea and exand it into your overall lesson or then the book becomes very useful and extremely inspiring in the classroom. I think this is fabulous and a great deal for the price - it's not several pages but often the more pages the more we can get lost and the ideas are more difficult to locate when we need something fast. I love this and have used it in middle school and high school and had success. :)

I haven't had much of a chance to use the book in my classroom yet, but it does have some good review lessons.