Daily Guided Writing

What is important about Carol Simpson's wonderfully well-planned and illustrated book Daily Guided Writing for teachers of kindergarten through second grade, is that it is full of practical lessons in guiding writing plus it contains the work of several of her students. Not only does Simpson give grade by grade lesson plans on a daily basis, she encourages the use of her daily guided writing lessons in such a manner that does not demoralize the experienced teacher who has run out of ideas with which to stimulate his or her students. She realizes that there are "...those elementary teachers who feel they need some additional ideas for teaching their students how to become good writers. The ability to communicate with pencil and paper, or word processor, is an important skill for our fast-paced world"(Preface iii). Nor does she demoralize the most important person, the young student who is keen to explore new worlds and to express him or herself.

I briefly borrowed Daily Guided Writing by Carol Simpson from another teacher. As a teaching resource for early writers (K-2), I found it to be quite useful and am purchasing my own copy. What pleased me most is that I didnÕt have to wade through inessential theory to get to the well-organized ideas and suggestions.The book is divided into three sections: Experience Stories, Using the Daily News, and Journals as Guided Writing Lessons. All sections contain information I already knew along with ideas that made me think, ÒOf course! Why didnÕt I think of that?Ó It is designed with the understanding that your students are progressing in their writing skills throughout the year, so suggestions are given for modeled, shared, guided, and independent writing.In addition to the main sections, Daily Guided Writing contains an appendix with reproducible Daily News (with and without illustrations), story starters, and suggestions for publishing studentsÕ stories. The appendix is a nice bonus in an already valuable book.