A Quick Guide to Reviving Disengaged Writers 5-8

Middle schoolers can be the masters of disengagement. Recognizing that all students, adept and struggling writers alike, lose steam at times and need a revitalizing jump start, Christopher Lehman offers effective, developmentally-appropriate fixes for addressing situations that frequently sidetrack or distract adolescent writers.

Organized as a practical on-the-go teaching reference, the first four chapters offer strategies for counteracting commonplace situations that can regularly spring up and disengage middle school writers such as: - writers who seem to have an almost "allergic" reaction to the writing process - writers who "cannot possibly find anything to write about" - writers who "talk, talk, talk the writing time away" - writers who need constant approval before moving on. The final chapter offers an inquiry-based study guide that supports teachers in collaborating on and customizing strategies for reviving the disengaged writers in their learning communities.

"A Quick Guide to Reviving Disengaged Writers" is part of the "Workshop Help Desk" series.

About the "Workshop Help Desk" series The "Workshop Help Desk "series is designed for teachers who believe in workshop teaching and who have already rolled up their sleeves enough to have encountered the predictable challenges. If you've struggled to get around quickly enough to help all your students, if you've wondered how to tweak your teaching to make it more effective and lasting, if you've needed to adapt your teaching for English learners, if you've struggled to teach grammar or nonfiction writing or test prep...if you've faced these and other specific, pressing challenges, then this series is for you. Provided in a compact 5" x 7" format, the "Workshop Help Desk" series offers pocket-sized professional development.

For a comprehensive overview of the Units of Study for Teaching Writing series, including sample minilessons, sample videos, overview presentations, frequently asked questions, and information on the companion principal's guide and the Workshop Help Desk series visit unitsofstudy.com.

Lucy Calkins is the author of the best-selling grade-by-grade Units of Study for Teaching Reading, Grades K-8 and Units of Study in Opinion/Argument, Information, and Narrative Writing, Grades K-8 series, which have quickly become an indispensable part of classroom life in tens of thousands of schools around the world, the new Up the Ladder: Accessing Grades 3-6 Units in Narrative, Information, and Opinion Writing series, and classroom essentials such as the groundbreaking TCRWP Classroom Libraries and the Workshop Help Desk series. Lucy is also the author or coauthor of numerous foundational professional texts with Heinemann, including The Art of Teaching Writing, Writing Pathways: Performance Assessments and Learning Progressions, Grades K-8 , Pathways to the Common Core: Accelerating Achievement, and One to One: The Art of Conferring with Young Writers. She is also the author of The Art of Teaching Reading. In her role as the Founding Director of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project, a New York City - based organization that has influenced literacy instruction around the globe for more than thirty years, Lucy has developed a learning community of brilliant and dedicated teacher educators who have supported hundreds of thousands of teachers, principals, superintendents, and policy-makers in schools that bear their distinctive mark: a combination of joy and rigor in the classrooms, and entire school communities - teachers, principals, parents, kids - who wear a love of reading and writing on their sleeves. Lucy is the Robinson Professor of Children's Literature at Teachers College, Columbia University where she co-directs the Literacy Specialist Program - a masters and doctoral program that brings brilliant teachers and coaches to TCRWP schools everywhere and to the Project itself. She and her husband John are the parents of two sons, Miles and Evan.Christopher Lehman is the Founding Director of The Educator Collaborative, a think tank and educational consulting organization working to innovate the ways educators learn together. He is an international speaker, education consultant, and New York Times best-selling author. His books include: Falling In Love With Close Reading with Kate Roberts; Energize Research Reading and Writing; Pathways to the Common Core with Lucy Calkins and Mary Ehrenworth; and A Quick Guide to Reviving Disengaged Writers. His articles and interviews have appeared in many publications and popular blogs including Voices in the Middle, SmartBrief, EdWeek, Choice Literacy, and Talks with Teachers. Chris has been a middle-school teacher, a high-school teacher, a literacy coach, and Senior Staff Developer with the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University. He now works with schools around the world through The Educator Collaborative, supporting educators, coaches, and administrators in developing rigorous and passionate literacy instruction across content areas. A graduate of University of Wisconsin-Madison, Chris went on to receive his M.A. in Teaching at New York University, and his Ed.M. in Education Leadership at Teachers College, Columbia University. In addition to consulting and writing, he serves on the NCTE Middle Level Section Steering Committee, is Special Advisor to the National Center for Families Learning, is a Booksource Advocate for student reading lives, and served as a project advisor on a joint NCTE/National Center for Literacy Education collaboration initiative. Follow Chris online! Twitter: @iChrisLehman Pinterest: /ChrisLehmanEdu Blog: ChristopherLehman.com