Journeys The Teaching of Writing in the Elementary Schools

"I should see the garden far better," said Alice to herself, "if I could get to the top of that hill: and here's a path that leads straight to it--at least, no it doesn't do that." After going a few yards along the path, and turning several sharp corners--"but I suppose it will at last. But how curious it twists! It's more like a corkscrew than a path!" --Through the Looking Glass(Carroll, 1872) Teaching writing is filled with twists and turns; it is more like a corkscrew than a straight path. Seldom does it move from point A to point B without a hitch. New demands are always popping up unexpectedly, while familiar paths are often riddled with unmarked passages. Nothing about teaching writing is tension free or foolproof. It is a lifelong journey that takes persistence, commitment, and a desire to improve. Teachers who embark on this journey will find that, although teaching writing is a lofty goal, never before in our history has so much been written about it. Countless studies building on the pioneering research of the 1970s--and now only a keystroke away--offer plenty of advice to guide instructional practice. The challenge, however, is making sense of this voluminous body of research and presenting it in a way that is conceptually sound and practical.Journeys: The Teaching of Writing in Elementary Classroomsprovides such a conceptual framework for planning, implementing, and evaluating instruction and for presenting the strategies and skills necessary for achieving various kinds of writing. This framework is intended not only to create essential links between research and practice but also to place all writing advice and instruction within a meaningful context that considers student needs and development, types of writing tasks, curricular goals, and ongoing assessment. Accordingly, you will not find separate chapters on grammar or assessment, prewriting or reading, spelling or the writing process. Instead, strategies and skills of the craft are integrated in ways that reflect natural connections, grounded in context, and presented when most needed or appropriate. In addition to the book's conceptual framework and set of practices, the examples and details of its application should inspire a love and passion for writing and what it can do. The journey metaphor drives this point home. The fact that writing is not simply about the destination but about the quality of the journey is something every teacher understands. Teachers want their students to enjoy writing, to see it as an adventure filled with fascination and endless discoveries. In times of accountability and widespread testing, it is all too easy to lose sight of this. As a gentle reminder about the playfulness of language and the joys and rewards of writing, quotes fromThrough the Looking Glass(1872) open each chapter. Lewis Carroll, its creator, is a genius at showing how curiosity and imagination can provide splendid adventures for children. Another important message of the journey is its emphasis on growth and change. Like the journey motifs in children's literature, where the main character goes off on an adventure and returns changed in some way, students are transported beyond the written word to new understandings of self and the world. They perceive and look at things with increased sensitivity and sensibilities; confront writing problems and gain, new confidence; and learn patience, commitment, and discipline. These destinations are important to life work and should not be overlooked on this journey. KEY TEXT FEATURES This text is designed for novice as well as veteran teachers responsible for teaching writing in varied contexts and content areas in language arts, across the curriculum, and in cyberspace. It is appropriate for an undergraduate or graduate class and can be used as a stand-alone text or as one of a colPiazza, Carolyn L. is the author of 'Journeys The Teaching of Writing in the Elementary Schools', published 2002 under ISBN 9780130221445 and ISBN 0130221449.