Fun-Size Academic Writing for Serious Learning

Gretchen Bernabei
Judi Reimer - Educator, Freelance Writer

Foreword by Barry Lane

Additional resources:

Other Titles in:
English/Language Arts Common Core | Writing (Middle/High School) | Writing (Primary/Elementary)

September 2013 | 264 pages | Corwin

Gretchen Bernabei and Judi Reimer present 95 craft lessons based on real student essays. The premise of the book is that "kids learn from each other faster and more deeply than they learn from us." These real tests are an "instructional gold mine" for modeling narrative, argument, and analytical writing techniques. These are the main kinds of writing taught, tested, and even outlined in the Common Core Standards. An innovative, fun, and easy-to-use resource for teachers looking to improve their writing instruction.

Foreword by Barry Lane

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Part I. Narrative

1. Color It Up

2. Sprinkling Writing With Humor

3. Adding Movement and Sound to Animate a Piece

4. Using Asides

5. Combining Rhetorical Devices: Cataloguing and Repetition

6. Using Literary Characters to Write Fiction

7. Using Specific Language From a Special Setting

8. Using Varied Sentence Openers to Create Rhythm and Flow

9. Using Precise Language to Create Visual Snapshots

10. Using Foreshadowing to Create Mood

11. Building Suspense in a Narrative Through Questions and Answers

12. Using Participles and Participial Phrases

13. Using Variety When Introducing Narrator Thoughts

14. Using Metaphor to Illuminate a Life Lesson

15. Writing Observations

16. Adding Rich Dialogue to a Narrative

17. Writing From the Point of View of a Fictional Character

18. Using Variations of "Said"

19. Using Depth and Detail to "Explode" a Moment

20. Showing How a Character Changes

21. Using Introspection in a Memoir

22. Using Onomatopoeia as an Organizational Device

23. Using a Story to Illustrate a Life Lesson

24. Combining Action and Back-Story

25. Showing Conflicting Feelings in a Personal Narrative

26. Fleshing Out a Kernel Essay With Dialogue

27. Showing How a Character Makes an Important Decision

28. Choosing Vivid Verbs

29. Writing Dialogue With Inner Reactions

30. Using Time Transitions: Flash Forward

31. Using Absolutes as Sentence Fragments

32. Using Time Transitions: Flashbacks

33. Withholding and Revealing Information to Build Suspense

34. Using Anadiplosis to Make a Truism Chain

35. Using Enumeratio to Add Detail

36. Layering Thinking and Dialogue

37. Using Transitions to Develop a Conclusion

38. Weaving Together Text From Different Genres

Part II. Informative/Explanatory

39. Sharing Culture Through Special Events

40. Explaining a Historical Context

41. Using Compound Predicates in a Series

42. Analyzing Characters by Writing Letters Between Them

43. Tracking a Changing Thought Process

44. Responding to Literature: Questioning the Author (Part I)

45. Responding to Literature: Questioning the Author (Part II)

46. Conversing With an Imagined Listener

47. Explaining a Concept From the Point of View of a Character

48. Writing About Clues That Reveal a Situation

49. Writing a Letter Using Second-Person Point of View

50. Using Personification to Turn an Abstract Concept Into a Colorful Character

51. Writing a Graphic Book Review

52. Analyzing Literature: Focusing on Character Tension

53. Responding to Literature: Characters Conversing About a Problem

54. Analyzing Literature: Identifying Character Conflicts

55. Analyzing Literature: Noticing an Author's Choices

56. Recognizing and Illustrating an Important Theme

57. Analyzing the Rhetorical Effects of Poetic Devices

58. Analyzing a Movie

59. Creating an "All About" Essay

60. Giving Writing Vocal Qualities

61. Using Opinions and Facts When Explaining Something New

62. Defining an Important Concept

63. Writing an Epistolary Essay

64. Moving Between Concrete Details and Abstract Ideas

65. Using Quotations to Support a Thesis in a Literary Essay

66. Writing an Extended Apostrophe

67. Multimedia Analysis of a Literary Theme

Part III. Opinion/Argument

68. Using Facts as Evidence

69. Using Formal Versus Informal Language

70. Writing a Script for a Public Service Announcement

71. Examining Quotations

72. Developing Sentence Variety

73. Using Personal Experiences to Support Opinions

74. Using Verbs and Adjectives to Back Up Opinions

75. Making a Claim About a Historical Event

76. Using Sensory Details

77. Using Parentheses

78. Naming and Renaming

79. Using an Innovative Format

80. Using Internal Citations

81. Drawing Editorial Cartoons

82. Knocking Down the Opposition

83. Using Quirky Mental Images in an Argument

84. Using Question and Answer to Frame an Argument

85. Writing a Letter to Raise Awareness About a Social Problem

86. Using Repetition (Anaphora) for Emphasis and Style

87. Keeping an Argument From Sliding Into a Personal Narrative

88. Creating a Poster for Persuasion

89. Using Analogies to Show, Not Tell

90. Anticipating and Overcoming Objections

91. Anticipating a Reader's Objections

92. Using Hyperbole for Effect

93. Discovering a Problem, Proposing a Solution

94. Weaving Information Into a Persuasive Argument

95. Writing a Descriptive Lead

96. Using Third-Person Examples in an Argument

97. Using Opposites (Antithesis) to Make an Impact

98. Revising an Argument for Length

99. Using the Literary Present Tense to Present an Argument

100. Making Inferences From Pictures

101. Supporting an Argument With Expert Knowledge

Appendixes

Appendix A: 25 Ways to Use Great Student Essays

Appendix B: Text Structures

Appendix C: Lessons by Writing Trait and Level of Difficulty

Supplements

Companion Website

“Here is what I love about this book: It has gobs and gobs of student writing samples with smart and lively explanations of how to use each as the focus of a craft lesson to teach writing. The right models of student writing are the best mentor texts a teacher can find and with this book, you need look no further. . . . Breathe, fellow writing teachers. Much needed and wanted help has arrived.”

Ruth Culham, Author of Traits Writing

“Gretchen Bernabei is a wizard. In this book she provides wonderfully practical help for instruction in narrative, expository, and argumentative writing. And like all her work, it rests on a dynamic sense of ‘structure’. At a time when writing instruction is becoming increasingly formulaic, Gretchen continues to show the wealth of options students can have for developing their ideas and expanding on their experiences.”

Thomas R. Newkirk, Author of Holding On to Good Ideas in a Time of Bad Ones

“Gretchen Bernabei has done it again--only better. Fun-Size Academic Writing for Serious Learning plops us down in the middle of the disheveled process of writing and gives us concrete ways to navigate through. This book stands apart in two ways. First, it gives us myriad unpublished mentor texts written by students with diverse abilities and backgrounds. Second, its a la carte format makes it a perfect resource from which teachers can cull lessons.”

Kay Shurtleff, President

Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts

“Once again, Gretchen Bernabei weaves together masterful, concrete strategies with powerful student examples. Gretchen provides text structures and student models to move authentic writing beyond traditional formulas. This book is a must read/must try for all ELA teachers.”

P. Tim Martindell, Ed.D, President-Elect

Texas Council of Teachers of English Language Arts

“The good news is that the book you hold in your hand is a lifeline to real writing instruction. Based on careful observation of wonderfully varied student writing, grades 4-9, and organized around the genres of the Common Core Standards, Fun-Sized Academic Writing is the best book I know for giving students a fun-sized suit that fits their true voices as writers and thinkers.”

Barry Lane, Founder

Discover Writing