BUILDING STRONG WRITERS IN MIDDLE SCHOOL

By Deb Delisle and Jim Delisle. How can educators promote authentic language arts skills? By engaging young people in meaningful writing activities that relate to their lives. This book features 24 classroom-ready activities that incorporate adolescent interests into writing assignments supporting Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. Students are empowered to write about what matters to them—their identities, their goals and dreams, their struggles, their relationships. The activities include:

• Writing to Get to Know Each Other: short, single-session activities designed to help students and teachers learn more about each other
• Writing to Understand Ourselves: activities for students to explore their personal beliefs and ideas
• Writing to Make a Difference: activities in which students acknowledge people who have impacted their lives and/or share their finished products with others who may be positively affected by the projects
• Writing to Make Art: activities that involve a form of literary expression (such as fiction, poetry, and song lyrics) and an element of visual art.

Each activity includes classroom, school, and family extensions. The accompanying CD-ROM includes all of the handouts from the book, including many that are customizable. 8½" x 11". Grades 4–8. Free Spirit. 176 pages. ©2011.commoncore