After the End: Teaching and Learning Creative Revision

Tired of trying to browbeat your students into revising their writing? Afraid you might scream if you have to slog through The Writing Process one more time? Try this welcome antedote. Humorously written but based on sound theory, Mr. Lane's book is chock-full of exercises that are fun, practical, easy to modify, and based on classroom experience. I've used them with third and fourth graders, high school students, and even teachers!The book's first chapter, "Good Writing is Good Questions," is reason enough to buy the book. When we (or our students)respond to a student's writing with questions about what we want to know more about, revision happens naturally."A large part of writing is simply trusting your own instincts and asking questions that will help you dig deep enough," Mr. Lane writes. Dig deep into this book. There's gold here.

For so long, I have found revision difficult to teach for primary students. This book is a wealth of information. The vignettes given as examples are entertaining and are the basis for numerous mini-lessons to guide students through revision painlessly and effectively. This book will remain on my desk throughout the year. I highly recommend it.

This book has helped me change the focus of my classroom. Lane agrues persuasively that writing IS revision, and provides techniques and examples of how to help students realize the creative possibilities of revision. Any teacher of writing will find good ideas, but he concentrates on 5-9th grade writers. A good companion to Atwell's IN THE MIDDLE.

As a first year teacher, my mentor loaned her copy of _After the End_ to me. I have found this book to be a true blessing!! I have already used several techniques Barry Lane created himself! His writing is clever, witty, and honest. His insight is based upon his own research in the classroom. I am not afraid to teach writing; I embrace it now.