Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom

Wondrous Words: Writers and Writing in the Elementary Classroom is a "loud" book, as the author tells us, filled with the voices of writers, young and old, experienced and inexperienced. Drawing on stories from classrooms, examples of student writing, and illustrations, Katie Wood Ray explains in practical terms the theoretical underpinnings of how students learn to write from their reading. Beginning with the concepts that underlie how we teach students to write by studying other writers, the book goes on to explore ways to help children read like writers. Students learn the usefulness of prewriting and the role of reading aloud. They not only discover the magic of literature, they discover its value. Elementary teachers will immediately be able to adapt these writing ideas to their own writing lessons. Ray invites readers into her library and offers suggestions on picture books and chapter books by authors including Cynthia Rylant, Debra Frasier, Eve Bunting, and Gary Paulsen that can be used to help teach writing. The book has several additional resource chapters listing children's literature and suggesting how these resources may be used. A bibliography of all the children's literature cited in the book appears at the end. Full of practical ideas and personal recollections, Wondrous Words weaves practice and theory together to provide an important knowledge base for teachers who want to use literature in their teaching and writing.