Writing is all about making meaning. The prospect of teaching writing to a classroom full of studentssome who speak English and some who don't, can be overwhelming. When students learning English are at different levels, the task is even more challenging. Juli Kendall and Outey Khuon experimented with Ellin Keene's Thinking Strategies Used by Proficient Learners” and found that by integrating writing and reading instruction their English language learners become stronger writers.
Writing Sense outlines the classroom conditions necessary for successful writing instruction with English language learners, whether in writing workshop and/or small-group instruction. It includes 68 classroom-tested lessons for grades K8 that show kids at all levels of language acquisition how to make connections, ask questions, visualize (make mental images), infer, determine importance, synthesize, monitor meaning and comprehension, and use fix-up strategies.
Like the authors' earlier book, Making Sense, the five main sections are geared to the stages of language proficiency, and lessons are divided into younger” and older” students, spanning kindergarten through to grade eight. There are extensive lists of suggested books for mentor texts as well as lists of mentor authors to facilitate teachers' planning and instruction.
| Acknowledgments |
|
vii | |
|
|
|
1 | (15) |
|
|
|
16 | (21) |
|
|
|
37 | (14) |
|
Selecting Texts and Mentor Authors |
|
|
51 | (7) |
|
|
|
58 | (15) |
|
|
|
73 | (21) |
|
|
|
94 | (27) |
|
|
|
121 | (30) |
|
|
|
151 | (28) |
| Resources and References |
|
179 | (18) |
| Appendix |
|
197 | |
Outey Khuon began teaching in Cambodia in 1969. Since 1992 she has taught elementary students in Long Beach, where she is currently a Literacy Specialist. She has presented at many state and national conferences and workshops and is a lecturer teaching Khmer language and Culture (Heritage Language) in the Linguistics Department at California State University, Long Beach. In addition to her degrees from Cambodia Outey has a Masters Degree in Multicultural Education and a BCLAD credential specialising in Khmer (Cambodian). Juli Kendall has been working and learning with Outey Khuon for the last 15 years. She has taught kindergarten through eighth grade and is currently a Literary Specialist. A NBCT, she holds a Masters Dress in Multicultural Education, a Bilingual Specialist Credential in Spanish and is also trained as a Reading Recovery Teacher in English and in Spanish. Juli writes a Reading/Writing Journal for MiddleWeb.
