"They're All Writers"

“They're All Writers” will help teachers explore the power of writing centers. In elementary school classrooms across the country, writing instruction (not grammar worksheets or spelling drills) is still the neglected “R.” In this book, classroom teachers will find foundational information about the writing process with everything they need to begin and facilitate a peer tutoring writing center. Student-led writing centers harness the social and instructional power of students working and learning together, and this book includes specific lessons to teach students how to be effective peer tutors and how to be better writers.

Book Features:

• A new, research-based approach to writing pedagogy that integrates both writing process theories and writing center pedagogies.
• Complete lesson plans to help teachers implement a writing center curriculum that meets Common Core and other quality standards.
• An approach that harnesses the power of social learning, develops students as leaders in their schools, and facilitates generative conversations around writing.

Jennifer Sanders is an associate professor of literacy education at Oklahoma State University.

Rebecca L. Damron is a former associate professor of English and writing center director at Oklahoma State University.

"By bridging the worlds of academia and practice, Sanders and Damron have provided teachers with a roadmap that not only helps children realize their potential as effective writers, but also helps them realize their powerful potential as citizens."

—Teachers College Record

"Sanders and Damron provide a guide for us—applicable across grades and developmental levels—for apprenticing children into authorship. Through the framework of peer tutoring they show us how children can improve their own writing while also appreciating listening, differing perspectives, and the satisfaction of doing good." —Anne McGill-Franzen, The University of Tennessee

“They're All Writers provides the world of writing centers with what it has long needed: a fully functional text on developing and implementing an elementary writing center. With lesson plans on preparing peer tutors, the authors have established a flexible framework for teachers interested in implementing writing tutoring in their schools.”
—Rebecca Babcock, University of Texas of the Permian Basin

"They’re All Writers!" sheds new light on the concept of implementing a schoolwide writing center. From building the background knowledge of teachers to planning the center and providing authentic writing experiences, this book has it all. Sanders and Damron brilliantly but practically encapsulate the essence of building a community of writers. This is an invaluable resource that should be in the hands of every teacher, instructional coach, and administrator involved in teaching the content and process of writing."
—Jayne Ann Williamson, instructional coach and literacy specialist, Guthrie Public Schools

Acknowledgments

Writing Centers in the Elementary School
A Percolating Idea: How Skyline Elementary Got Its Writing Center
Peer Tutoring Lessons
The Skyline Writing Center
Powerful Practice is Contagious: The Will Rogers Writing Center
Documenting Student Learning
Our Goals for this Book
A Note about Terminology

Building a Strong Foundation with Writing Process Theory
Tenets of Writing Process Theory and Pedagogy
Resources for Getting Writers Started
Conclusion

Writing Center Principles and Pedagogy
The Evolution of Writing Centers and Writing Center Pedagogy
Core Writing Center Principles
Collaborative Learning in the Writing Center
Peer Tutoring Versus Peer Response
Writing Center Pedagogy
Conclusion

Establishing, Maintaining, and Sustaining the Writing Center
The Writing Center Director
Building Your Background Knowledge
Developing an Instructional Framework
Figuring out the Instructional Logistics
The Physical Space
Designing and Staffing the Writing Center
Creating a Writing Center Prospectus
Keeping Records in the Writing Center
Writing Center Session Planning Form
The Writer’s Report
The Tutor’s Report
Sustaining a Writing Center
Conclusion

The Social and Instructional Power of Peer Tutoring
Our Questions
Collecting and Analyzing the Data
The Students
What Did They Talk About? Students’ Writing Center Conversations
Listening in on the Tutoring Sessions
Transcription Legend
Conclusions

Teaching Children to Become Writing Coaches
Connections to the Common Core State Standards
Peer Conferencing or Peer Tutoring?
A Teacher’s First Attempt with a Writing Center: A Reflection by Heather Corbett
The Writing Peer Tutoring Lessons
Week 1: Metaphors for the Writing Process
Week 2: Learning to Peer Tutor with the WRITE Mnemonic
Week 3: Peer Tutoring Demonstration
Week 4: Content and Ideas—“Show, Don’t Tell”
Week 5: Organization
Recommended Narrative and Informational Books
Informational Text Structures
Week 6: Word Choice and Sentence Fluency
Week 7: Grammar and Conventions
Week 8: Practice Peer Tutoring
Concluding Thoughts about the Lesson Plans

The End of the Beginning
Peer Tutoring as a Democratizing and Empowering Process
Peer Tutoring as Powerful Social Interaction
Shifting the Role of the Teacher
Final Thoughts

Supporting Materials for Tutoring Lessons
Supporting Materials for Lesson 1
Extensions on the Metaphorical Introduction to the Writing Process
Supporting Materials for Lesson 6
Supporting Materials for Lesson 7

Student Writing Samples for Tutoring Practice
Sample 3rd-Grade Student Writing
Sample 4th-Grade Student Writing
Sample 5th-Grade Student Writing

References

Index

About the Authors