Readers to Writers

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Home : 2002 : January : 25

Readers to Writers
By Elaine

Debbie,
I still wading through chapter 5. I plan to read it before going to bed tonight!!!!!! Something clicked in my brain when I read your comment about helping your kids use what they know as readers to help them
as writers. I ran across a language/writing book one time that approached reading and writing in this way. Everything that is read (in the classroom) is read from a author's point of view. Guiding students to take notice of the author's choices of words, use of story elements, character development, etc. will help students think more about the processes an author goes through before,

during, and after (in revision) writing. Does this make any sense? After reading that one idea, it really helped me see that even when reading just for enjoyment, we can learn so much just by paying careful attention to the ways authors write.

Are you familiar with the Six-Traits of Writing? I was thinking of how we are sometimes able to "spot" one of our favorite authors because of his/her unique "voice." I'd love to more about how to teach the six-traits. I've gone to the NREL website. That's where everyone always says to go when I ask. It's a really good site, but I guess I just want to hear from someone who's actually doing or has done it.

Elaine