Helping students put words on a page can be hard enough. “I don’t have anything to write about!†they say. And when writing does happen, how do you help them develop these ideas into more effective pieces?
A powerful tool to jumpstart writing
In The Quickwrite Handbook, master teacher Linda Rief shares 100 compelling mentor texts and shows how to use each one as a powerful tool for sparking successful writing. Each mentor text includes “Try this†suggestions for inviting students to get started. You’ll also find “Interludes†woven throughout: examples of quickwrites that students crafted into more fully developed pieces.
These mentor texts are curated in four categories:
- Seeing Inward: How do students view themselves?
- Leaning Outward: What do students consider when they step outside of themselves?
- Beyond Self: What do students notice and wonder about the world at large?
- Looking Back: How does reflection help students grow into more articulate, thoughtful citizens of the world?
Quickwrites go beyond writing prompts
The pages of this book champion Linda’s wise words: “Quickwrites—writing to find writing—are a powerful teaching tool that help students find ideas, discover their voices, and build their confidence as they discover they have important things to say.â€
Quickwrites are more than a set of formulaic prompts. They are opportunities for students to use another writer’s words to stimulate their thinking and—through writing themselves—to discover a voice they didn’t know they had.