Writers Read Better: Nonfiction
50+ Paired Lessons That Turn Writing Craft Work Into Powerful Genre Reading
Purchase
eBook
ISBN:
9781506344102
Available from
January 0001
Paperback
ISBN:
9781506311234
Available from
January 0001
Description
We know that writing skills reinforce reading skills, but what’s the best way to capitalize on this beneficial relationship? By flipping the traditional “reading lesson first, writing lesson second” sequence, Colleen Cruz ingeniously helps you make the most of the writing-to-reading connection with carefully matched, conceptually connected lesson pairs. The result is a healthy reciprocity that effectively and efficiently develops students’ literacy skills.
Backed by long-term academic and field research, Writers Read Better presents a series of 50 tightly interconnected lesson pairs that can be implemented either as supplement existing curriculum or as a stand alone module. Each pairing leads with a writing lesson, used as a springboard for the reading lesson that will follow.
Throughout the book’s four sections, organized to cover distinct and complementary phases of working with non-fiction texts, you’ll discover
- Helpful insights on preparing for the section’s overarching goals
- Clear guidance on the intention of each lesson, what materials are required, and step-by-step plans for leading the activity
- Sample teacher language for leading the lesson
- Tips on building and organizing your classroom library, and how you can incorporate the tools, technology and media available in your classroom to make each lesson most effective
- Sample student work, online videos and other supporting resources
Complete with practical suggestions on adapting the lessons to suit the particular needs of your classroom as well as individual students, Writers Reader Better offers a solid foundation for giving your students the advantage of powerful, transferable literacy skills.
Contents
List of Videos
List of Videos
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Introduction
How to Use This Book
How to Use This Book
PART 1. LESSONS FOR GENERATING IDEAS—AND INTERPRETING AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
- What You Will Find in This Section
- When to Use These Lessons
- Preparing to Use the Lessons
- LESSON 1
- Writing: An Author’s Expertise Matters
- Reading: Considering the Source
- LESSON 2
- Writing: Write About What You Take for Granted
- Reading: Learning Unexpected Things From Familiar Topics
- LESSON 3
- Writing: The Relationship Between an Author’s Passions and Stance
- Reading: Identifying an Author’s Stance
- LESSON 4
- Writing: Narrowing Down a Broad Topic
- Reading: Understanding Topics and Subtopics
- LESSON 5
- Writing: The Role of Structure in Informational Texts
- Reading: Considering How Choices in Structure Affect Meaning
- LESSON 6
- Writing: Using Structure to Convey the Writer’s Intent
- Reading: Inferring the Author’s Intent by Noticing Structure
- FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS
- Writing: Choosing the Best Platform for Your Information and Audience
- Reading: Considering Why Authors Might Choose Analogue or Digital Mediums
PART 2. LESSONS FOR DRAFTING—AND UNDERSTANDING AUTHOR’S CRAFT
- What You Will Find in This Section
- When to Use These Lessons
- Preparing to Use the Lessons
- LESSON 7
- Writing: Drafting What You’re Most Ready to Write
- Reading: Spotting What’s Most Important to an Author
- LESSON 8
- Writing: Structure Within Sections: Stacking Information
- Reading: Identifying the Way Information Is Stacked
- LESSON 9
- Writing: Drafting With Placeholders for Later Facts
- Reading: Using Jots to Note Facts Quickly
- LESSON 10
- Writing: Taking a Draft Break to Research
- Reading: Noticing the Various Ways Authors Use Quotation Marks
- LESSON 11
- Writing: Drafting With an Audience in Mind
- Reading: Noticing the Different Genres of Various Publications on the Same Topic
- LESSON 12
- Writing: Drafting in a Mood or Tone That Matches the Content
- Reading: Noticing When the Tone Doesn’t Match the Topic
- LESSON 13
- Writing: Drafting to Someone Else’s Specifications
- Reading: Noticing a Publisher’s Approach
- FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS
- Writing: Fact-Checking Digital Information for Accuracy
- Reading: Identifying False Information
PART 3. LESSONS FOR REVISING FOR POWER, CRAFT, ANALYSIS, AND CRITIQUE
- What You Will Find in This Section
- When to Use These Lessons
- Preparing to Use the Lessons
- LESSON 14
- Writing: Deciding What’s Most Important to Revise
- Reading: Identifying and Questioning the Author’s Values
- LESSON 15
- Writing: Reordering Information With Intention
- Reading: Noticing the Effect of Information’s Placement
- LESSON 16
- Writing: Exploring How Writers Weight Information to Signal Import
- Reading: Looking at Texts to See How Volume Can Signify Importance
- LESSON 17
- Writing: The Power of Story
- Reading: Switching Strategies When Authors Use Story in Expository Text
- LESSON 18
- Writing: Connections and Disconnections Across Paragraphs and Pages
- Reading: Tracing Connections and Disconnections in Transitions
- LESSON 19
- Writing: Vocabulary’s Starring Role in Informational Texts
- Reading: Expecting and Responding to the Subject’s Vocabulary
- LESSON 20
- Writing: The Slipperiness of Facts
- Reading: Reading With Eyes Wide Open for Bias
- FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS
- Writing: Adding Dimensions to Writing Through Multimodal Features
- Reading: Multimodal Readers Prioritize Synthesis
PART 4. LESSONS TO PREPARE FOR PUBLICATION AND THE SCHOLARLY STUDY OF TEXTS
- What You Will Find in This Section
- When to Use These Lessons
- Preparing to Use These Lessons
- LESSON 21
- Writing: First and Last Words: Intros and Conclusions That Attract and Linger
- Reading: Studying an Author’s First and Last Words
- LESSON 22
- Writing: Choosing When to Quote, Describe, or Summarize
- Reading: Identifying Sources and Considering Their Reliability
- LESSON 23
- Writing: Creating Text Features to Enhance and Add Information
- Reading: Integrating Text Features Within and Across Texts
- LESSON 24
- Writing: Creating Strong Titles and Subtitles
- Reading: Titles and Subtitles That Convey Meaning
- LESSON 25
- Writing: The Many Purposes of Paragraphs
- Reading: Seeing Paragraphs as an Author’s Organizational Tool
- LESSON 26
- Writing: Punctuating With Intention
- Reading: Looking Across Texts With an Eye to Punctuation
- LESSON 27
- Writing: Using Meaning to Make Smart Spelling Decisions
- Reading: The Role of Etymology for Readers
- LESSON 28
- Writing: Making Publishing Decisions Based on the Intended Audience
- Reading: Judging the Effectiveness of an Author’s Decisions
- FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS
- Writing: Opening and Maintaining a Conversation With Audiences
- Reading: Responding Digitally to the Texts to Deepen Understanding
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
Resources
Resources
References
References
Index
Index
Resources
Companion website
https://resources.corwin.com/writersreadbetterAdditional materials
Description
We know that writing skills reinforce reading skills, but what’s the best way to capitalize on this beneficial relationship? By flipping the traditional “reading lesson first, writing lesson second” sequence, Colleen Cruz ingeniously helps you make the most of the writing-to-reading connection with carefully matched, conceptually connected lesson pairs. The result is a healthy reciprocity that effectively and efficiently develops students’ literacy skills.
Backed by long-term academic and field research, Writers Read Better presents a series of 50 tightly interconnected lesson pairs that can be implemented either as supplement existing curriculum or as a stand alone module. Each pairing leads with a writing lesson, used as a springboard for the reading lesson that will follow.
Throughout the book’s four sections, organized to cover distinct and complementary phases of working with non-fiction texts, you’ll discover
- Helpful insights on preparing for the section’s overarching goals
- Clear guidance on the intention of each lesson, what materials are required, and step-by-step plans for leading the activity
- Sample teacher language for leading the lesson
- Tips on building and organizing your classroom library, and how you can incorporate the tools, technology and media available in your classroom to make each lesson most effective
- Sample student work, online videos and other supporting resources
Complete with practical suggestions on adapting the lessons to suit the particular needs of your classroom as well as individual students, Writers Reader Better offers a solid foundation for giving your students the advantage of powerful, transferable literacy skills.
Contents
List of Videos
List of Videos
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Introduction
How to Use This Book
How to Use This Book
PART 1. LESSONS FOR GENERATING IDEAS—AND INTERPRETING AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
- What You Will Find in This Section
- When to Use These Lessons
- Preparing to Use the Lessons
- LESSON 1
- Writing: An Author’s Expertise Matters
- Reading: Considering the Source
- LESSON 2
- Writing: Write About What You Take for Granted
- Reading: Learning Unexpected Things From Familiar Topics
- LESSON 3
- Writing: The Relationship Between an Author’s Passions and Stance
- Reading: Identifying an Author’s Stance
- LESSON 4
- Writing: Narrowing Down a Broad Topic
- Reading: Understanding Topics and Subtopics
- LESSON 5
- Writing: The Role of Structure in Informational Texts
- Reading: Considering How Choices in Structure Affect Meaning
- LESSON 6
- Writing: Using Structure to Convey the Writer’s Intent
- Reading: Inferring the Author’s Intent by Noticing Structure
- FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS
- Writing: Choosing the Best Platform for Your Information and Audience
- Reading: Considering Why Authors Might Choose Analogue or Digital Mediums
PART 2. LESSONS FOR DRAFTING—AND UNDERSTANDING AUTHOR’S CRAFT
- What You Will Find in This Section
- When to Use These Lessons
- Preparing to Use the Lessons
- LESSON 7
- Writing: Drafting What You’re Most Ready to Write
- Reading: Spotting What’s Most Important to an Author
- LESSON 8
- Writing: Structure Within Sections: Stacking Information
- Reading: Identifying the Way Information Is Stacked
- LESSON 9
- Writing: Drafting With Placeholders for Later Facts
- Reading: Using Jots to Note Facts Quickly
- LESSON 10
- Writing: Taking a Draft Break to Research
- Reading: Noticing the Various Ways Authors Use Quotation Marks
- LESSON 11
- Writing: Drafting With an Audience in Mind
- Reading: Noticing the Different Genres of Various Publications on the Same Topic
- LESSON 12
- Writing: Drafting in a Mood or Tone That Matches the Content
- Reading: Noticing When the Tone Doesn’t Match the Topic
- LESSON 13
- Writing: Drafting to Someone Else’s Specifications
- Reading: Noticing a Publisher’s Approach
- FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS
- Writing: Fact-Checking Digital Information for Accuracy
- Reading: Identifying False Information
PART 3. LESSONS FOR REVISING FOR POWER, CRAFT, ANALYSIS, AND CRITIQUE
- What You Will Find in This Section
- When to Use These Lessons
- Preparing to Use the Lessons
- LESSON 14
- Writing: Deciding What’s Most Important to Revise
- Reading: Identifying and Questioning the Author’s Values
- LESSON 15
- Writing: Reordering Information With Intention
- Reading: Noticing the Effect of Information’s Placement
- LESSON 16
- Writing: Exploring How Writers Weight Information to Signal Import
- Reading: Looking at Texts to See How Volume Can Signify Importance
- LESSON 17
- Writing: The Power of Story
- Reading: Switching Strategies When Authors Use Story in Expository Text
- LESSON 18
- Writing: Connections and Disconnections Across Paragraphs and Pages
- Reading: Tracing Connections and Disconnections in Transitions
- LESSON 19
- Writing: Vocabulary’s Starring Role in Informational Texts
- Reading: Expecting and Responding to the Subject’s Vocabulary
- LESSON 20
- Writing: The Slipperiness of Facts
- Reading: Reading With Eyes Wide Open for Bias
- FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS
- Writing: Adding Dimensions to Writing Through Multimodal Features
- Reading: Multimodal Readers Prioritize Synthesis
PART 4. LESSONS TO PREPARE FOR PUBLICATION AND THE SCHOLARLY STUDY OF TEXTS
- What You Will Find in This Section
- When to Use These Lessons
- Preparing to Use These Lessons
- LESSON 21
- Writing: First and Last Words: Intros and Conclusions That Attract and Linger
- Reading: Studying an Author’s First and Last Words
- LESSON 22
- Writing: Choosing When to Quote, Describe, or Summarize
- Reading: Identifying Sources and Considering Their Reliability
- LESSON 23
- Writing: Creating Text Features to Enhance and Add Information
- Reading: Integrating Text Features Within and Across Texts
- LESSON 24
- Writing: Creating Strong Titles and Subtitles
- Reading: Titles and Subtitles That Convey Meaning
- LESSON 25
- Writing: The Many Purposes of Paragraphs
- Reading: Seeing Paragraphs as an Author’s Organizational Tool
- LESSON 26
- Writing: Punctuating With Intention
- Reading: Looking Across Texts With an Eye to Punctuation
- LESSON 27
- Writing: Using Meaning to Make Smart Spelling Decisions
- Reading: The Role of Etymology for Readers
- LESSON 28
- Writing: Making Publishing Decisions Based on the Intended Audience
- Reading: Judging the Effectiveness of an Author’s Decisions
- FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS
- Writing: Opening and Maintaining a Conversation With Audiences
- Reading: Responding Digitally to the Texts to Deepen Understanding
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
Resources
Resources
References
References
Index
Index
Resources
Companion website
https://resources.corwin.com/writersreadbetterAdditional materials
Reviews
Writers Read Better: Nonfiction
50+ Paired Lessons That Turn Writing Craft Work Into Powerful Genre Reading
July 2018 | 248 pages | Corwin
| Format | Published Date | ISBN | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paperback | 01/02/2026 | 9781506311234 | $37.95 |
| Lifetime | 01/02/2026 | 9781506344102 | $35.00 |
We know that writing skills reinforce reading skills, but what’s the best way to capitalize on this beneficial relationship? By flipping the traditional “reading lesson first, writing lesson second” sequence, Colleen Cruz ingeniously helps you make the most of the writing-to-reading connection with carefully matched, conceptually connected lesson pairs. The result is a healthy reciprocity that effectively and efficiently develops students’ literacy skills.
Backed by long-term academic and field research, Writers Read Better presents a series of 50 tightly interconnected lesson pairs that can be implemented either as supplement existing curriculum or as a stand alone module. Each pairing leads with a writing lesson, used as a springboard for the reading lesson that will follow.
Throughout the book’s four sections, organized to cover distinct and complementary phases of working with non-fiction texts, you’ll discover
- Helpful insights on preparing for the section’s overarching goals
- Clear guidance on the intention of each lesson, what materials are required, and step-by-step plans for leading the activity
- Sample teacher language for leading the lesson
- Tips on building and organizing your classroom library, and how you can incorporate the tools, technology and media available in your classroom to make each lesson most effective
- Sample student work, online videos and other supporting resources
Complete with practical suggestions on adapting the lessons to suit the particular needs of your classroom as well as individual students, Writers Reader Better offers a solid foundation for giving your students the advantage of powerful, transferable literacy skills.
Table Of Contents:
- List of Videos
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- How to Use This Book
- PART 1. LESSONS FOR GENERATING IDEAS—AND INTERPRETING AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
- What You Will Find in This Section
- When to Use These Lessons
- Preparing to Use the Lessons
- LESSON 1
- Writing: An Author’s Expertise Matters
- Reading: Considering the Source
- LESSON 2
- Writing: Write About What You Take for Granted
- Reading: Learning Unexpected Things From Familiar Topics
- LESSON 3
- Writing: The Relationship Between an Author’s Passions and Stance
- Reading: Identifying an Author’s Stance
- LESSON 4
- Writing: Narrowing Down a Broad Topic
- Reading: Understanding Topics and Subtopics
- LESSON 5
- Writing: The Role of Structure in Informational Texts
- Reading: Considering How Choices in Structure Affect Meaning
- LESSON 6
- Writing: Using Structure to Convey the Writer’s Intent
- Reading: Inferring the Author’s Intent by Noticing Structure
- FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS
- Writing: Choosing the Best Platform for Your Information and Audience
- Reading: Considering Why Authors Might Choose Analogue or Digital Mediums
- PART 2. LESSONS FOR DRAFTING—AND UNDERSTANDING AUTHOR’S CRAFT
- What You Will Find in This Section
- When to Use These Lessons
- Preparing to Use the Lessons
- LESSON 7
- Writing: Drafting What You’re Most Ready to Write
- Reading: Spotting What’s Most Important to an Author
- LESSON 8
- Writing: Structure Within Sections: Stacking Information
- Reading: Identifying the Way Information Is Stacked
- LESSON 9
- Writing: Drafting With Placeholders for Later Facts
- Reading: Using Jots to Note Facts Quickly
- LESSON 10
- Writing: Taking a Draft Break to Research
- Reading: Noticing the Various Ways Authors Use Quotation Marks
- LESSON 11
- Writing: Drafting With an Audience in Mind
- Reading: Noticing the Different Genres of Various Publications on the Same Topic
- LESSON 12
- Writing: Drafting in a Mood or Tone That Matches the Content
- Reading: Noticing When the Tone Doesn’t Match the Topic
- LESSON 13
- Writing: Drafting to Someone Else’s Specifications
- Reading: Noticing a Publisher’s Approach
- FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS
- Writing: Fact-Checking Digital Information for Accuracy
- Reading: Identifying False Information
- PART 3. LESSONS FOR REVISING FOR POWER, CRAFT, ANALYSIS, AND CRITIQUE
- What You Will Find in This Section
- When to Use These Lessons
- Preparing to Use the Lessons
- LESSON 14
- Writing: Deciding What’s Most Important to Revise
- Reading: Identifying and Questioning the Author’s Values
- LESSON 15
- Writing: Reordering Information With Intention
- Reading: Noticing the Effect of Information’s Placement
- LESSON 16
- Writing: Exploring How Writers Weight Information to Signal Import
- Reading: Looking at Texts to See How Volume Can Signify Importance
- LESSON 17
- Writing: The Power of Story
- Reading: Switching Strategies When Authors Use Story in Expository Text
- LESSON 18
- Writing: Connections and Disconnections Across Paragraphs and Pages
- Reading: Tracing Connections and Disconnections in Transitions
- LESSON 19
- Writing: Vocabulary’s Starring Role in Informational Texts
- Reading: Expecting and Responding to the Subject’s Vocabulary
- LESSON 20
- Writing: The Slipperiness of Facts
- Reading: Reading With Eyes Wide Open for Bias
- FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS
- Writing: Adding Dimensions to Writing Through Multimodal Features
- Reading: Multimodal Readers Prioritize Synthesis
- PART 4. LESSONS TO PREPARE FOR PUBLICATION AND THE SCHOLARLY STUDY OF TEXTS
- What You Will Find in This Section
- When to Use These Lessons
- Preparing to Use These Lessons
- LESSON 21
- Writing: First and Last Words: Intros and Conclusions That Attract and Linger
- Reading: Studying an Author’s First and Last Words
- LESSON 22
- Writing: Choosing When to Quote, Describe, or Summarize
- Reading: Identifying Sources and Considering Their Reliability
- LESSON 23
- Writing: Creating Text Features to Enhance and Add Information
- Reading: Integrating Text Features Within and Across Texts
- LESSON 24
- Writing: Creating Strong Titles and Subtitles
- Reading: Titles and Subtitles That Convey Meaning
- LESSON 25
- Writing: The Many Purposes of Paragraphs
- Reading: Seeing Paragraphs as an Author’s Organizational Tool
- LESSON 26
- Writing: Punctuating With Intention
- Reading: Looking Across Texts With an Eye to Punctuation
- LESSON 27
- Writing: Using Meaning to Make Smart Spelling Decisions
- Reading: The Role of Etymology for Readers
- LESSON 28
- Writing: Making Publishing Decisions Based on the Intended Audience
- Reading: Judging the Effectiveness of an Author’s Decisions
- FOR DIGITAL CLASSROOMS
- Writing: Opening and Maintaining a Conversation With Audiences
- Reading: Responding Digitally to the Texts to Deepen Understanding
- Publisher’s Acknowledgments
- Resources
- References
- Index
Recent Product Reviews:
Lots of books teach us the reasons why writing matters, yet Colleen adds a new reason to the list: Writing can be a lever that lifts our kids' reading work. And that can happen even when kids are not writing about reading, but are, instead, doing their own important writing work. Once again, Colleen nudges us forward.
Lucy Calkins, Founding Director of the Teachers College Writing and Reading Project
Colleen offers literacy teachers a valuable comprehension instruction ‘hack’: help students get inside the brains of the writers they read by doing the same kind of writing themselves before they read. She argues convincingly that the more students understand how something was made, the better they’ll understand it when they encounter it as readers. She doesn’t just offer compelling research to prove it; she offers teachers dozens of paired lessons so that students will read and write information texts with more power. The lessons are streamlined to allow students maximum time for practice and application, and to help the busy teacher go from the page to the classroom quickly and almost effortlessly. I encourage all upper elementary and middle school teachers to give these lesson sets a try!
Jennifer Serravallo, Author of "Teaching Reading in Small Groups" and "Conferring with Readers"
Most professional books on teaching nonfiction focus on teaching writing or reading, but not both. In this unique book, Colleen Cruz shows us how to teach complementary writing and reading lessons that will help students use what they’re learning about nonfiction writing to help them become more powerful nonfiction readers .
Carl Anderson, Author of "How's It Going?" and "The Teacher's Guide to Writing Conferences"
This book refuels your energy to think about the way you plan and teach reading and writing. Colleen holds strong to the tenets of workshop—choice, voice, and agency—then beautifully blends the lessons and theory with her vast experience in classrooms, new research on writing and reading, and the dance we do with it all now in the digital world. The structure of the book and the lessons are completely accessible for all teachers, the way Colleen believes the learning and craft to be accessible for all students. It’s a gamechanger for those looking to augment and reflect on their current workshop model and for those who are going to give it a go. Colleen is with you every step of the way.
Sara K. Ahmed, NIST International School, Bangkok, Thailand