Anderson, Carl. How's it Going?:
A Practical Guide to Conferring with Student Writers
. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2000.
Anderson's text provides lessons and ideas for use with students while they write their final essay projects. These lessons allow teachers to differentiate for each student's needs.
Anderson, Jeff.
Mechanically Inclined: Building Grammar, Usage, and Style into Writer's Workshop
. Portland: Stenhouse, 2005.
For teachers interested in incorporating grammar and convention lessons into a writing unit, this book provides useful suggestions and sample lessons.
Atwell, Nancie.
In the Middle: New Understandings About Writing, Reading, and Learning
. Portsmouth: Boynton/Cook, 1998.
Atwell's book is a wonderful overview of the reading and writing workshop method of teaching middle school writers. In order to teach this unit effectively, I would highly recommend using this teaching style.
Campbell, Kimberly Hill.
Less is More: Teaching Literature with Short Texts– Grades 6–12
. Portland: Stenhouse Publishers, 2007.
Campbell is an advocate of using short pieces rather than long texts in order to teach skills and concepts. This method works very well with middle school readers and writers as some texts require close reading (like the Iliad) due to their complexity.
Robb, Laura.
Teaching Middle School Writers: What Every English Teacher Needs to Know
. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2010.
Robb's book is a comprehensive overview of strategies and lessons for teaching middle school writers.
