Writing Essentials: Raising Expectations and Results While Simplifying Teaching [With DVD]

Wow! I've read plenty of books regarding how to score or grade students' writing, but this book finally contains the "how" of teaching writing. It's chalk-full of realistic ideas for writing instruction that makes writing a part of what students are learning, not a separate activity. Regie also gives plenty of hands-on examples as well as practical tips for integrating writing into every day instruction, while actually suggesting less work for teachers, not more. I couldn't recommend a better book for teachers of writing!

This is an awesome resource for new and student teachers. Very simple, basic and claerly written.

I purchased this book a few months ago as a textbook requirement for a graduate course I took. Little did I know that I would end up dog-earing practically every page! Regie's approach to teaching writing resounded with me on so many levels. As a kindergarten teacher coming off her first year in a classroom, I had felt a nagging dissatisfaction with our school's packaged writing "program", but really didn't have the professional chops to move from yammering at my kids about sentence conventions and "three sentences, three capitals, three periods!" to teaching the writing process in a joyful way. This book was an awakening, because it showed me how to do just that. If you're a teacher of just about any grade level, and you're uneasy about producing a classroom full of automatons who write in lockstep, BUY THIS BOOK. Yes, it is a textbook, but it doesn't read like one. Nigh unto every page is flooded with examples from Regie's own teaching experiences, and-- as if that weren't good enough-- the appendices give you the lessons Regie taught WORD-FOR-WORD so you can model her practices in your classroom! I cannot speak highly enough of this book. I wish more teachers had the opportunity to learn from Regie and realize that writing CAN be a joyful experience!

This book is an outstanding resource for K-5 teachers who want to bring joy and student engagement to classroom writing. It is a simple, straight forward approach that is extremely teacher friendly. Every elementary school teacher will benefit from reading it...and watching the DVD that accompanies the book.

Regie gives an easy to understand approach on how to effectively teach writing in her aptly named book Writing Essentials. She includes many examples and ideas that you can implement right away, and the book even has a dvd that shows her teaching. She really makes you evaluate your teaching, your students, and how to figure out what is important and effective. This book is great for all teachers of grades 1-5, maybe even beyond.