A resource for people passionate about helping students write well, compiled by Karen Haag

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Other work by Karen Haag

LikeToRead.com

Karen Haag's website devoted to helping teachers and students increase their joy of reading.

Thinking Out Loud On Paper: The Student Daybook as a Tool to Foster Learning

A book that Karen published with fellow Writing Project members Lil Brannon, Sally Griffin, Tony Iannone, Cynthia Urbanski and Shana Woodward. Heinemann. 2008

Literacy Leads

Karen's occasional newsletters about writing and reading, with ideas and lesson suggestions from fellow teachers.

Teachers always ask me, "What books do I need to teach writing?" Usually, I tell them to find the books they love - just 2 or 3 well-crafted books and teach from there. If you have a few favorites or a favorite author, you can teach everything from how to write a lead to how to use literary devices effectively from what you know about your favorites.

The more I teach workshops, the more I've grown to understand that teachers don't always have time to sort through the thousands of available books and collect these favorites. Some books lend themselves better to teaching that genre than others. Often, teachers don't know what books will help them the most.

In an effort to create a holistic writing program, where kids are not just writing prompt after prompt, but truly are learning the craft of writing, I've collected some favorites of my own that help me help kids. Here's a list of picture books and teacher books I just couldn't be without. If I had a limited budget, I'd start at the top and work my way down because I've prioritized my list. I'm not sure that's possible, but I've tried.